At the time I was convinced it was a penalty - and still am - but reckon the ref thought "Oh it's him. He wouldn't have scored." so played advantage! It was one of many crap decisions. I try hard to be generous to referees. It is a thankless task, after all. But my god he was bad. The red card was classic. Mane jumps with their player. He goes down like a sack of spuds and the crowd bay for blood. I had left the FA Cup game on pause (or something technical) so I could watch it when I got home. The ref in that had a really good game. Two reds and both spot on. Didn't get carried away by the home crowd screaming for cards and seemed to get the fact that football is a contact sport. Can we have him at our games, please. (Tom, who is he?) Oh and to prove it wasn't just me watching it as a neutral, an Everton fan I met this morning at the paper shop agreed that the ref was excellent, and managed a potentially very difficult game well.
Think Mark Hughes has helped our case in appealing the Mane red card by coming out after and also saying it shouldn't have been given. Will be intererested to see which game (or indeed which league) Lee Mason is given next week!
What the ref is saying is that Mane has taken a 30 yard run up for a flying headbutt, without looking. If he had managed that he should be applauded not sent off.
Just watched the Hughes interview. What a refreshingly honest guy he is. Great player and a very straight bloke. I wish to make it clear that the use of the word "straight" is no reference to Mr Hughes' sexual orientation.
Give him a medal! - as the bloke behind me once shouted out when the ref reached for his pocket following a particularly full blooded Alexander Ostlund tackle.
For Tadic, I still don't get it. I just think both officials lost concentration at the wrong moment. He got past the defender, touched the ball before the GK got there, who slid into him. There was barely a decision to make. The strange thing was Lee Mason was having a good game up to then. And yes, the lino has done him no favours etc etc. Kept his cards in his pocket and so on - but none of that really matters, it's the ones that get on MotD that count.
Many of us(including myself) didn't think the Benteke penalty was a penalty last weekend. So what are the differences between this and Tadic? Who did himself no favours by grimacing and holding his ankle until he realised the penalty had not been awarded and he leapt up to remonstrate with the official.
Haven't seen the Benteke one so can't compare, to say Tadic was looking for it was true in the sense that he knew that Butland would trip him out and if he got the ball away from him first, it would be a foul. Getting your opponent to foul you isn't cheating, it's just good play.
On goals on Sunday Kammy and Ben with Ritche,Cook and Surman of Bournemouth all agreed stonewall pen and never a red.
Only one person in the Universe thought it was a red card, and he was wrong. Had he given a penalty, would he have been obliged to wave a card too?
