Kevin Muscat...Melbourne Victory

About time this sniper gave it away...i didn't watch the game between the Victory and Melbourne Heart but saw what Muskat did to a kid in a replay on the SBS soccer show, they showed it about 5 times.... he put this kid from the Heart out for the season with a nasty sweep..Could well be a career ending injury as well.
The Victory administration / coaches haven't taken any action against Muscat who is a repeat offender, so i guess he'l keep on taking players out...there's a couple more in the Victory team that seem to follow Muskat's style as well.

Scans on the kids legs showed not as much damage as they thought initially and that it would not be career ending. SBS are just making too much of it IMO - just because it is Kevin Muscat.

Look up Eduardo (Arsenal) broken leg on youtube. The Birmingham City player was not given any extra penalty and Eduardo was out for 12-18 months.

However, I do believe it is time for new leadership at the Melbourne Victory.

Unless you've met and chatted with the guy and I have, nobody has any clue except for what they see on television.

Is that not enough?

Trial by video seems to be a fairly conclusive indictment in many suspensionable cases.

He might be a nice guy off the field HTWWW but he wasn't so nice in this tackle. Check out the Victory's coach facial expression... None !!

Reputation ( courtesy of Wiipedia )

Muscat was branded a “lowlife” and a “nobody” by ex-England striker Ian Wright, then of Nottingham Forest, in September 1999. Wright claimed he was about to shoot when he heard Dougie Freedman, Forest's other striker, shout "leave it". Wright stepped over the ball to allow Freedman to hit it, but instead Muscat (who had, according to Wright, merely impersonated Freedman) appeared to clear the ball.

Muscat was dubbed the "most hated man in football" by then Birmingham City player Martin Grainger in 2000. He seriously injured both Craig Bellamy and Christophe Dugarry, the latter in a friendly international between Australia and France in 2001 with a sliding tackle from behind.[ The French manager Roger Lemerre dubbed the tackle "an act of brutality". There was speculation that Muscat’s temperament was the reason he was never selected for inclusion in an Old Firm encounter during the season he was at Rangers.

In 2004, a lawsuit on Muscat brought by former Charlton Athletic player Matty Holmes resulted in a settlement of £250,000 plus costs in favour of Holmes, bringing the estimated settlement to around £750,000. Holmes had to have four operations on his leg following a tackle by Muscat in 1998, and there were initial fears that his leg might have to be amputated. The claim was settled at the High Court without any admission of liability. In a League Cup tie while at Millwall, he grabbed the throat of Liverpool striker Milan Baros. Also in 2004, Iwan Roberts admitted he deliberately stamped on Muscat in a match against Norwich City in revenge for his attempt to injure Craig Bellamy in 1999. Roberts was subsequently fined and suspended by the Football Association for his comments.

In December 2005, he was the first A-League player to appear before a FFA disciplinary hearing and was subsequently suspended for two matches for "violent conduct". At an A-league game in October 2006 Muscat clashed with then Adelaide United coach John Kosmina, knocking Kosmina from his chair while retrieving the ball. Kosmina responded by grabbing Muscat by the throat, an action for which Kosmina was suspended for four matches.

Muscat's dominant personality and aggressive style has equally won him admirers and detractors in the A-League, with former England international Terry Butcher stating "Every manager in the A-League would love to have Kevin, and I'm no exception".

On October 11, 2010, Aston Villa winger Ashley Young revealed he was threatened by Muscat during his first professional match as an 18 year old. Young told the media "I remember my first game for Watford. When I came on, Kevin Muscat's first words to me were 'Don't go past me or I will break your legs'." This is despite the fact that by the time Young had been substituted in, Muscat had already been sent off. However, it has been found that this was said by Muscat when he jogged past Young in the warm-up

Big Phil wrote:Guy is an absolute w@nker FULL STOP

Well said

Muscat has a minum six weeks suspension straight to the reveiew panel. Decsion tomorrow night

HTWWW - I know many athletes who are great off the field but dangerous on - the two are separate issues.

I have always thought that when a player is injured by a reportable act that the guilty player should be suspended until such time as the injured player returns to the field -- if the injuries are such that he never plays again at that level then bad luck the guilty player also is finished.

A couple of weeks/rest of season for ending a career or delaying a career for 12-18 months is not fair justice IMO.

LIFE guy is a idiot

Cannot possibly be defended after that incident, his 5th red card in his time in the A league and his second in 2 games.

He was kicked out of the English League for a cowardly tackle that ended a Charlton Athletic players carreer. BYE BYE MUSK RAT, times up and good ridance, the competition is far better of without mugs like you.

And if he played for Adelaide United, would this be a different story?

Don't apologise BP. We are all entitled to our opinion. I've just been around the game a long time as a player, coach and referee and have seen worse in my opinion and I get the feeling that their is extra heat on Kevin, just because he is Kevin. I think if it was someone like Dodd or Flores who did it to a Victory player, then it would be a 'one off' incident. I'm not saying an Adelaide player would, just thinking hypothetically here. I'm just disappointed so many are willing to jump the gun and follow the media without looking at the incident in a collective manner.

I'm not justifying saying that tackles like those are part of the game, but every player walks out onto a pitch knowing that something like that could occur. Even the Heart coach says the incident is over and his club is moving forward.

From the World Game:
Melbourne Heart coach John van't Schip says his club is putting the incident behind it and chasing nine points from its remaining three games in a bid to make the play-offs.

The coach says he hopes Zahra can recover from his knee injury in time for the pre-season campaign.

Van't Schip said he was pleased to see Zahra getting around training at Bundoora on Tuesday on crutches and in good spirits.

"He's laughing. He's happy that it is not as bad as maybe we expected," the coach told reporters.

"He can work on his comeback now.

"Everybody was happy for him and also for the club. He has done very well until now.

"Of course he will miss out for the next games but he will be sharp and fit in the pre-season."

Van't Schip said he didn't want to give a view on what sort of suspension Muscat should receive.

"No I don't think it has any importance what I think about it. We just have to go from here," he said.

"He has to deal with whatever punishment he's going to get and I think he will accept it, from what he said.

"So for us, it's over."

Muscat gets 8 weeks

Kevin Muscat has been handed an eight week ban for the tackle that saw him red carded against Melbourne Heart.

The ban will effectively rule the Victory skipper out for the remainder of the season; with three regular rounds and four weeks of finals yet to play in the 2010/11 A-League season. Melbourne Victory currently sits fifth in the table.

The 37-year-old has been widely criticised for his two-legged tackle on Melbourne Heart youngster Adrian Zahra in Round 24.

The FFA tonight released a statement outlining the meeting of the A-League’s Disciplinary Committee. The Committee - which consists of Lachlan Gyles SC (Chair), Anthony Lo Surdo and Robert Wheatley - has determined that Muscat will serve an eight-match suspension.

Muscat is still eligible to play in Asian Champions League matches but his long-term future is now unclear.

Melbourne Victory has confirmed it has accepted the ban releasing a statement saying, “Melbourne Victory Football Club is satisfied that Kevin received a fair hearing, with both club and player taking the opportunity to re-iterate their remorse over the incident which subsequently ended Adrian Zahra’s debut A-League season.”

Muscat himself said: “I was prepared to accept whatever ban came my way. While I was relieved to hear Adrian’s injuries weren’t career-threatening, I’m still bitterly disappointed by my actions and I wish him a speedy recovery.

“I haven’t really given any thought to my future. My focus over recent days has been on Adrian Zahra and I was pleased to be able to personally apologise to him on Monday – which thankfully he accepted.

“My actions warranted a lengthy suspension and that’s what has eventuated, so now I have to sit down with a variety of people and work out where we go from here.”

Melbourne Victory Football Operations Manager, Gary Cole added: “We acknowledge that Kevin’s actions were unacceptable and deserved a lengthy suspension. We’re extremely supportive of Kevin as our captain, but we certainly don’t condone his actions in this instance.”

We never gave any consideration whatsoever to appealing his sanction. Kevin knows he made a poor decision and now he’s going to have to accept the consequences.”