Jump with out raising yuh elbow.
I doh know wha peeps on about nah.
Dey ackin like dey never play de game
EVERYBODY jumps using their hands to gain more lift. It's NATURAL and NECESSARY
In such a case, there is BOUND to be incidental contact. Gourcuff's incident was one such example.
There was zero INTENT on his part and the rule is that the referee would give a red if he deemed that there was INTENT.
Quite how the ref determined that Gourcuff intended to elbow the SA player is beyond understanding.
The ONLY INTENT on display in that incident was on the part of the referee.
PATHETIC
Yaow, de rule is jumping with yuh elbows is a red card offence, whether or not its incidental.
What so hard for people to understand about that? Its not a new rule.
There are a few ways a man could jump using his arms. One is when you are OBVIOUSLY using your arms for leverage or balance, especially when you jump straight up in the air, and another, as in this case, is when you are OBVIOUSLY leading with your elbow, in some or most cases, to "take in front" and protect yourself in case the man jumpin' wit you trow a elbow himself. The french man didn't need his arms to jump because he used momentum in a running jump. He didn't need to lead with his arm/elbow and was appropriately punished. The only thing that was "harsh" was the impact to the South African face.
Referee Ramesh Ramdan was on CNC 3 last night explaining this thing. He said that FIFA has told the referees that they need to judge whether or not the player is jumping for the ball and the elbow is not deliberate or that the player has no intention of going for the ball and the elbow is deliberate.
He said the referee was harsh on the French player. He said a perfect example of a player who should have been sent off was the American some days ago. His elbow was deliberate and malicious and deserved a red card. I didn't see that incident myself but I know it generated discussion on here and elsewhere.
Just a 2 cents ah throw een the mix....