Simon Jordan and Danny Murphy have reached the same verdict on Krystian Bielik's two-match suspension, while Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy has also had his say on the incident.
The Cardiff City midfielder was handed a two-match ban and fined £10,000 by the Football Association after admitting a misconduct charge relating to his altercation with a young Portsmouth supporter.
Incident and punishment
Bielik was involved in the incident while attempting to retrieve the ball from the South Stand during Cardiff's Championship fixture at Fratton Park on September 5. The referee did not take action at the time, while the supporter was subsequently escorted from the stadium by security.
The FA later opened disciplinary proceedings, with Bielik ultimately admitting the charge before an independent Regulatory Commission imposed a two-match suspension and £10,000 fine. The punishment followed a separate police investigation into the incident, which concluded with no further action after an out-of-court disposal was agreed between Bielik and the supporter. An apology was also provided by the Cardiff player as part of that resolution.
talkSPORT pundits in agreement
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan and ex-Liverpool midfielder Murphy both agreed that the two-match suspension was an appropriate punishment, although Jordan stressed that Bielik had crossed a line by putting his hands towards a supporter.
Jordan said: "You raise your hands to a supporter and you open yourself up to the consequences of it, however minimal the contact may be. I don't excuse the supporter's behaviour, being antagonistic to the player, but there is a difference, one is a professional footballer and the other is a kid supporting their football club. I don't find myself in disagreement with the FA - and I find myself in disagreement with the FA on 99% of the things they interact with. I think that you can't bring the game into some form of disrepute, can't put your hands near a fan. With that in mind, they have a menu of sanctions they can bring into place."
Murphy agreed that the sanction was about right and rejected the suggestion that Bielik should have received a longer suspension. "I think it should be about right. I don't think (it should be harsher)," he said. "You get three games for violent conduct in a game where you two-foot someone or elbow them in the face. It was hardly that. You can't win. If you gave them six we would be sitting here saying it was too much. The legal part of this was settled out of court. They obviously met. I'm assuming the FA have seen the report or the agreement and they've both apologised."
Police investigation and mitigating factors
The pair then discussed the fact the police investigation had ended without further action. Jordan said: "I would imagine the fan dropped hands. It was not a domestic abuse situation. If the young lad drops the complaint, the police can't do anything with it."
Murphy suggested the circumstances surrounding the resolution should have been a mitigating factor when the FA considered its punishment. "Well the young lad has probably said he is partly to blame as well," he said. "If two people have concluded it and apologised to each other, I think it would mitigate the FA's decision to throw the book at him."
Jordan ultimately stressed that while Bielik had made a mistake, he did not believe the midfielder should be subjected to excessive criticism. "It's never enough for some people," he said. "The only place we meet in the middle is we all agree the professional footballer should have been professional. Did he throttle him? No. Did he put his hands on him? Was it an unnecessary gesture? Yeah. Should we have this guy thrown outside, put in pillars and be absolutely lambasted? That's what some people want."
Barry-Murphy's verdict
Bielik's suspension means he will miss Cardiff's return to Championship action against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, as well as Tuesday's home fixture with Watford, before becoming available again next weekend.
Barry-Murphy was asked about the punishment ahead of the trip to Ewood Park and said the most important thing for Cardiff was that the uncertainty surrounding Bielik's availability had now been resolved. "Just pleased that we know, really," the Cardiff boss said. "While the investigation was ongoing and we were waiting for the verdict, we were never quite sure when he would or wouldn't be available. So now that we know, it's good for us to be able to plan without him for Saturday and Tuesday, and then know that he's going to be back next Saturday."
Barry-Murphy was then asked whether he had spoken to Bielik personally about what happened and whether there were lessons for the midfielder to take from the incident. The Cardiff manager indicated that Bielik was already well aware of what he should have done differently. "I think he knows what he needs to do in that situation and what he should or shouldn't have done, so I think he'll be fine," Barry-Murphy said.
Bielik has become an important part of Barry-Murphy's Cardiff side since arriving at the club and has established himself as a key figure in defence. The return to fitness of both Dylan Lawlor and Will Fish, therefore, are timely indeed for the Bluebirds boss.
