You wouldn’t think that in 2021, a tackle where a player didn’t have to go to ground but did. and chose to do so at excessive speed, with his studs showing and going over the ball would create so much controversy, but here we are.
Ryan Porteous’s back catalogue is quite the collection but when you compare his red card record to Alfredo Morelos’s, you’d think it was the Colombian that set out to maim fellow professionals on a near weekly basis, however, anyone of a non green and white persuasion is in agreement that it is only a matter of time before the Hibs defender seriously injury someone, unless he changes his ways.
He’s just not that type of player. pic.twitter.com/Kb1SFJSsi2
— Hutch (@Alan50583050) October 3, 2021
Former Hearts manager, Craig Levein has gone one further though and suggested that if he continues to make such rash challenges, he could end up in court, as reported by the Edinburgh Evening News:
“I think that down the line, the next really horrific tackle where some player gets seriously injured, I think this could go to court. That’s where I think this might head.
“If somebody makes a reckless challenge on another player, I think it could go beyond football. That’s something we have to be very careful of.
“I think he (Porteous) just needs to have a look at the way he plays the game in that particular aspect of his football.
“He’s a good player, he’s got decent pace, he doesn’t need to go to ground. I think he’s got the tools to be a really good player but he needs to eradicate this from his game.”
It would have to be a pretty violent and deliberate attempt to injure a player for it to go that far in my opinion, yes, Porteous was out of order, but a charge of attempted assault is probably taking it a bit too far.
Levein is right though, he has to change his ways, we’ve seen tackles on Borna Barisic, Lassana Coulibaly, Alfredo Morelos and now Joe Aribo that could all have ended with long-term injuries and that’s not including those that he makes against other teams too.
When Morelos was being sent off for petulance, he would be widely criticised by the Rangers support – and even the management team – that is the difference, Hibs are protecting Porteous, almost enabling his behaviour – no wonder Scottish teams struggle against better opposition in Europe if this is the standard that the deem acceptable.