Soccer is brutal.

That sounds bad, yes, but you can't call football a game that's "supposed ot be fun and safe". Fun yes, safe no. Not much.

Look at the WC matches, watch the South American matches, watch the European Cup, Euro '08, English leagues, Italian Serie, Deutsche Fußball-Liga - they can all get pretty violent.

You won't have heard it over there, but about a week ago a Manchester City [Thatcher] literally went THROUGH a Portsmouth player [Mendes] - he was knocked unconscious. Completely taken out. Thatcher's now been fined £100k and has a loooooooong ban.

Some of the best football matches (ones you rarely see in the Premiership) are the scrappiest - Burnley (team I support) in a derby against Blackburn (biggest rivals) is one of the bloodiest.

And Conference League, County League and Sunday league can get really bad. But that's because very few of the players (Conference excepted) are professionals.

I was nicknamed "Bonecrusher Lendrum" at Primary school, and still am sometimes - I'm a defender, and I really am quite mad, sometimes. It gets the ball, I can intimidate the other players with marking like superglue, and, above all, they stay away from my wing (right). In a primary school match against my [now] best friend's school, I completely went through someone who got past me. Reports say that I ran up behind him and seemed to Rugby tackle him. But I got the ball... Even after the manager had taken me off, the players kept away from the right wing.

All in all - Football can be a very violent sport. What you'll see will be World Class football, ie safe and too professional. What you don't see much of is proper football. In fact, if you watch the 1974 WC match between Hungary and Germany you'll see Hungary going mad with W. Germany after the penalty.

But yeah, I agree, that is an awful foul. Even I wouldn't try that.