What we all want to see is consistency, not only from each individual referee, but also from the referees as a group. We don't like it when they fail to caution or dismiss so that they can 'let the game flow' and we don't like it when they ruin games with wrong or ridiculous cards. If there was consistency we and the players would know what to expect and the games would be better for it. We started the season with red cards for defenders pulling shirts in the box. After two or three weeks they stopped even giving penalties for it. Players surrounding the ref was also supposed to be clamped down on. Again after a few weeks it returned, but single players querying a refs decision still get booked, sometimes. The FA and Premier league need to get a grip and deliver instructions to to referees that they they then enforce properly and without distinction as to who the offender is.
This always happens. There's a big, new thing that all the refs have been told to do, then they forget and it goes away. It doesn't help when the one bloke that kept it up got slagged relentlessly in the media for doing it, either.
You've had a mare here Matth! I like the way your arguments are akin to 'well I don't agree' or 'you wouldn't saying that if it happened to....insert team of other poster here' . Hazard is the most fouled player in Europe. He's not a diver as such but does go to ground fairly easy. But to be fair to him, he is targeted and has lumps kicked out of him every game, doesn't complaint, doesn't brandish the imaginary card and is generally a joy to watch. Hatchet men like Jones and Rojo on the other hand.... United have also got away with quite a few sending offs this season and also within the same game, so you can't complaint when one goes a bit against you. Especially given the circumstances (ref warning the captain, constant fouls on the same player). What's so funny about this incident, is how United were clearly sent out to try and bully Hazard, to spread the fouls around and it backfired. It was a decent contest up until that point but partly because De Gea kept you in it and any other time we made progress our players were hacked down! Jose plays this kind of dire negative football; especially in big games. Get used to it!
Indeed. I wouldn't call it negative football myself. But this is how Jose will set up United for all the big games, especially away from home, so you will need to get used to it. Believe us Matth, we know.
And the game was only ruined because United let the sending off ruin it. Plenty of teams have gone down to 10 men and made a fist of it. United just went into a shell, trying not to get battered and clocking up the fouls. Why didn't the worlds most expensive haircut step up his game instead of watching Kante run past him constantly?
Very true. Jose set up against us for a 0-0, really poor from a Man Utd manager, especially facing such a rival as we are.
I don't know why people are blaming the ref, Mourinho and United were to blame for their cynical Revie-esque tactics of targeting Hazard.
