Cascarino Urges Clampdown On 'Grapplers'

Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has called for more penalties to be awarded to stop 'grappling' in the box.

Cascarino told the Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ that Chelsea should have been awarded two spot-kicks against Manchester United when John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic were 'wrestled' to the ground.

The former Republic of Ireland striker believes if referees clampdown on defenders manhandling their opponents, managers will urge their players to cut it out.

"One of the biggest problems we face in football is penalties," he said. “It’s quite clear that this type of incident is grappling and stopping people being able to score.

“Phil Dowd (referee) was perfectly placed there. He has to see that Terry and Ivanovic are being fouled and grappled to the ground, it was like a wrestling match.

“Managers will go in and change the way they want their defenders once there’s numerous penalties - that will stop it.”

His views were echoed by former Queens Park Rangers boss Gerry Francis, who cited the incident last weekend when Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross conceded a penalty for tussling with Wilfried Bony against Swansea City.

"The only way it’s going to stop is giving penalties," he said. “If you see that as a linesman, you flag it up and tell the ref.

“As a coach you say ‘I don’t want you to hold people, that’s where you give away penalties’. ’Don’t grab hold of them.’ They’re wrestling them to the ground, much worse than Ryan Shawcross the other day. It’s about being close without holding on. “

The match at Old Trafford finished 1-1 with Robin Van Persie’s stoppage time goal cancelling out Didier Drogba’s header, and Cascarino, who spent two years at Chelsea, believes the draw was good for the title race.

“I think if Chelsea had won it would have taken a real big comeback from somebody because they clearly are a machine.

“They didn’t give as much respect to United in the second half. United were superb for 45 minutes, they matched Chelsea.”

Jose Mourinho’s side are four points clear at the top of the table going into Saturday’s clash with QPR while United, who face Manchester City on Sunday, are in eighth place.

Credit: Skysports.com