Thatcher The Thug

[faceless]

Manchester City thug Thatcher has been banned six games and fined ?120,000 by his club over the sickening assault on Pedro Mendes which left the Portsmouth star unconscious. But Thatcher escaped any punishment for this vicious challenge on Ralph Welch, which left the Rovers youngster with a swollen left cheek the size of a football. The 19-year-old needed a metal plate inserted in his face. His jaw still gives him pain and his career is in ruins.

Welch reported Thatcher after the attack during a reserve team game in February, but claims his complaint was brushed under the carpet. Welch yesterday reported the incident to the police and is to demand immediate action from the FA.

He insisted: "I have no doubt Ben Thatcher set out to hurt me. He knew exactly what he was doing. He has done it before and he will do it again. It's almost like his trademark. It seems when you step over the white line there is no law. I didn't want to rock the boat at the time because I was hoping to build a career. I think the authorities just thought it was a reserve game, I'm not a high-profile player and it would go away.



"When I saw what Thatcher did to Mendes I thought he would probably get away with it because it was the same as he did to me. It looks like you can do what you want and all that happens is you might get fined or receive a little ban. No one thinks about the police getting involved."

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what a fucker! After seeing that sliding tackle the other week where he knocked the guy unconscious I thought it was a one-off...