“It is killing the game” – Paul Heckingbottom sends message to officials ahead of Sheffield United’s clash v Birmingham City | OneFootball

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Football League World

·29 September 2022

“It is killing the game” – Paul Heckingbottom sends message to officials ahead of Sheffield United’s clash v Birmingham City

Article image:“It is killing the game” – Paul Heckingbottom sends message to officials ahead of Sheffield United’s clash v Birmingham City

Sheffield United have got off to a really strong start to the new season and having won seven of their opening ten games, they sit three points clear at the top of the league.

Paul Heckingbottom has been pleased with his side’s performances and the attitude his squad has shown and will be hoping for more of the same this weekend as Birmingham City make the trip up to Bramall Lane.


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However, something the boss hasn’t liked to see so much this season is games stopping for silly fouls and ahead of Saturday’s game he has urged the officials to let the game flow as he told The Star: “Is it the ref’s fault? I don’t know. There’s so much shirt pulling and everyone can see it, but we’re giving free kicks when players feel a push and go down.

“We got one at Swansea when Bash [Chris Basham] went down in front of us. It’s not a foul. They’re the things we want to get out of the game.

“Cheating’s the wrong word but people are buying cheap free kicks. That’s what I thought the changes were for. A shirt pull is still a foul, a bad tackle is a tackle. A red card, a yellow card or whatever.

“But I thought minimal contact is what we were trying to get out of the game. It is killing the game.

“We’re delivering something that isn’t right, we’re rewarding people for going to ground too easily, when we said we weren’t going to.”

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Article image:“It is killing the game” – Paul Heckingbottom sends message to officials ahead of Sheffield United’s clash v Birmingham City

Reda Khadra

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The Verdict:

You can understand where Paul Heckingbottom is coming from with his frustration as when the games are stop start it does slow it down and make it harder for the players to find their rhythm.

What’s more, you often see players choosing to go down for the foul knowing they wouldn’t get it if they stayed on their feet and it’s being given.

Whilst the Blades may benefit from this themselves sometimes, you can see Heckingbottom’s point and as they go into a busy run of games in October they will be keen to make sure their players aren’t getting silly cards and giving away fouls in dangerous areas because the officials are giving things too easily.

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