BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Red cards and a black eye for football


A coach and two women’s football players were meted out strong sanctions in a decision handed down by the Disciplinary Committee for the 71st Season Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines Football Tournament last Saturday, February 14, 2009.

Kim Chul So, the first year coach of Far Eastern University’s women’s football team and player Karol Joy Barrientos were handed out an unprecedented two-year suspension from UAAP play while another Lady Tamaraw, Libra Dawne Villarante was suspended for four matches for their actions during a hotly contested match between FEU and the University of Santo Tomas last Thursday, February 12 at the Ocampo Field in Ateneo.

In the 80th minute of the match, the Lady Tamaraws’ Sarah Sumalde hit a UST player on the chest in the penalty area resulting in a red card that merited an expulsion from the field and a corresponding penalty.

Before the spot kick could be taken, FEU’s Korean coach charged on to the field to protest the call to referee Emil Balidio who was officiating the match. Kim was eventually persuaded to return to his bench.

The EspaƱa team drew level at 2-2 with the spot kick but that’s where the troubles got worse.

Two minutes later, another FEU player, Rutchel Latap, was issued a red card for her second cautionable offense to howls of protest by the Morayta-based eleven. Already hot under the collar over perceived prejudiced calls, FEU player Carol Joy Barrientos charged Balidio and struck him from behind with an elbow.

The referee issued his third red card on the FEU team and Kim once more entered the field of play to challenge the calls. As match officials escorted the Korean back to the bench, Barrientos and Villarante, both now in the FEU bench, threw plastic Gatorade bottles at the UST team.

Security was called in to pacify both squads but the match was suspended for a walk-over win for UST since FEU had less than the number of required players on the field of play as stated in the Tournament Rules and Regulations.

As of press time, FEU athletics officials were still in a meeting for their response to the decisions of the Disciplinary Committee. They would like to elevate the matter to the UAAP Board for reconsideration and review. How this affects the Lady Tamaraws’ campaign as defending champions has yet to be determined since they will be missing the services of key players with two matches to go.

Said an FEU player who refused to be named, “The calls were not fair. If the referee had called things correctly none of this would have happened.”

Richard Gannaban, Referee Assessor for the Football Tournament said to this writer that all match officials are graded after every performance and if their officiating is deemed to be subpar, they are meted out sanctions as well.


My take on this: Having spoken to people who were there at the time of the game, they all swear that the officiating was bad for both sides. And no matter how bad it was, they did not have to pull a Jawo/Big Boy Reynoso on the zebra. If the UAAP board can ban one of those who must not be named after sucker punching Arwind Santos from behind then why not their coach who uses expletives and yells like anything.

This brings to mind an incident during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Remember how his countrymen (coaches and boxing officials) beat up New Zealander ref Keith Walker when judges awarded a fight to Bulgarian bantamweights Alexander Hristov after Korean Byun Jong Il of South Korea was penalized two points for headbutting? Should Doug Collins and company beat up the refs who jobbed them in Munich? Er, yes. But they didn't. I'm surprised the coach of that Soviet team has been nominated for a place in the Hall of Fame. They should return their medals if they were men of integrity.


But back to the incident, dapat nga i-review ng mabuti pero tama lang yung ban. It's tough pero ganyan talaga.

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