Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Ruben Emir Gnanalingam calls referee 'blind and bias'


If this was in Malaysia, then surely Ruben would have faced a six month ban akin to what former national coach B. Sathianathan had to endure for speaking the truth.

There is no doublt that the sending off was questionable, and more so given the fact that the Norwich player fell like a deck of cards.

Still we expect the English FA to "investigate" the tweet that Ruben sent out and later deleted as per the story that appeared in The Telegraph today. Read on...

QPR director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam calls referee 'blind and bias' after Joey Barton sent off against Norwich

Queens Park Rangers director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam could face Football Association action for describing Premier League referees as “biased and blind” on Twitter after the dismissal of Joey Barton during the 2-1 defeat by Norwich. 

Gnanalingam, who joined the club’s board of directors in August, where he sits alongside chairman Tony Fernandes, posted his tweet just after Barton’s sending-off for an apparent butt on Norwich's Bradley Johnson. “F------ EPL refs are a big load of b-------!” he wrote. “Biased and blind. Thank you for spoiling the game.” 
Gnanalingam, a Malaysian businessman who is the chief executive of one of the country’s biggest ports, Westports Malaysia, deleted the tweet within minutes. It is not known how many of his Twitter followers would have seen it. 

After the game he sent a tweet to Barton, saying: “We are behind you all the way. Get the lads to keep their heads up and minds focused on the next game. Great goal by the way”. 

Gnanalingam’s earlier tweet could land him in trouble, given that this would not be the first time a QPR director has attracted the FA’s attention with a tweet about referees. 

In September, after Michael Oliver awarded Aston Villa a penalty during a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road, Fernandes tweeted: “The ref is blind. Two clear handballs”. 

In response, the FA wrote to the club to warn them about bringing the game into disrepute. Fernandes was not sanctioned. 

QPR would not confirm on Monday night whether Gnanalingam had written the tweet.