Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher has received the first penalty for his vicious elbow that left Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes convulsing on the pitch last week.  This is only the first of several official penalties and a public excoriation that is sure to follow and threaten Thatcher's football career.

The team-imposed penalty calls for suspension of six matches and six weeks wages, with two of the match bans suspended, and comes as a penalty separate from any that will likely be imposed on him Sept 12th at a hearing by the England Football Association, which has charged him with serious foul play.  This of course does not include the vehement public and professional spite whirling around him, espcially from Portsouth fans, players  and incensed Pompey manager Harry Redknapp, who appropriately directed his ire towards the refs in print.

However, the replay doesn't lie.  Thatcher's elbow was vicious and unnecessary, and there will be a price to pay for the cruel blow he imposed on a professional peer and member of his fraternity.   

At the time of the incident, Thatcher was merely booked a yellow card and continued play. The FA is considering increasing that penalty as well, going against its policy of retroactively upgrading yellow cards, explaining that "the incident is being regarded as a special case."

Thatcher has already caused a veritable abandoning of the rule book as far as the football powers that be are concerned;  imagine what opponents such as the Portsmouth team are thinking.  What about the millions of fans who have watched the replay condemning Thatcher?

Contesting a ball as it ran out along the sideline, Thatcher's elbow amidst a hard foul sent Mendes into the advertisement boards on the side of the field.