Soccer stories: Barton's slap on the wrist totals 12, Webb warns simulation may kill

Two stories of soccer in the brief interval between end of club season and the start of the European championships in about two weeks:

-- The ban is in for Joey Barton:  Twelve matches, says the FA.

The pontification by the FA went as follows:

"The chairman of the regulatory commission stated after the hearing: 'There are rules of conduct that should be adhered to, and such behavior tarnishes the image of football in this country, particularly as this match was the pinnacle of the domestic season and watched by millions around the globe.'"

I'd say.  But twelve matches, for a man with his record,  plus the stature of the match, plus the very ominous possibilities that such anarchy on the pitch could be the undoing of Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League just doesn't sit well for me.

It's as if the FA, knowing it got exactly what it wanted, let this on-pitch hooligan off easy.  Here's what I think he should've gotten:

• Four matches for the red
• Five matches for the kick to Aguero
• Five more for the fact that the kick was after he was served the red card
• Five more for blatant intent to injure
• Six more for the headbutt attempt to Kompany
• Six more than that for the fact that the attempt was after he was served the red card
• and the rest of a season for several "acts which bring the game into disrepute" 

And that doesn't take into account his previous record, the stature of the match, the fact that another QPR player actually advised him to get a Manchester City player sent off (THAT is a 10-12 match offense...) and the situation at hand.  I could give a season for just his acts on the pitch at that moment.

Twelve matches is a JOKE!

On a better note, World Cup 2010 Final referee Howard Webb was asked to speak at a recent FIFA conference and gave the most compelling argument to end the scourge of football that is diving/simulation:

It could quite literally kill somebody!!

Don't believe me?  Webb should know.  He was the referee on the fateful day that Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup tie.

Webb's quick action was lauded as the basis on which Muamba was allowed to survive his massive heart attack and his heart being stopped for a significant period of time!

So listen to Webb as he talks about the act of simulation in this article:

''If players and if people cry wolf too many times, then there is a possibility that maybe we will not react in the way we need to,'' Webb said. ''If we come under criticism for stopping the games too many times for doctors or physiotherapists to enter the field of play, then referees might be inclined not to stop the game.''

And that would kill somebody.  Period.

They've been looking for a long time to deal with diving and faking injuries.  I think they may finally have found the cure.