Once again, these discussions just highlight the inconsistency in refereeing. Had Jones been in charge of our game, he most probably would have given the penalty against Vertonghen, 2-0 - different game! Judging by what we saw yesterday, you could possibly conclude that Dowd may not have given either penalty to L'pool. Again, completely different game, then. It makes the whole thing a kind of lottery.
I think the differences are from mistakes rather than inconsistency. On the major points of contention yesterday the Laws are very clear and are clarified really well in the Gudielines section at the end see below.
On the handballs it is really clear that Dowd was right and the ref in the Liverpool match wrong. It is not quite so clear whether the Stoke penalty non-award was right. Note that the guidelines say that the hand must be moving towards the ball. This was clearly not the case with Vertonghen as his hand was already planted on the ground before the ball was deflected on to it. The third bullet point below makes the Stoke one debatable.
"Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with
the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into
consideration:
• the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an
infringement
• touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.)
counts as an infringement
• hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard, etc.) counts as an
infringement"
On Offsides I think the Guidelines mean that Costa was Offside because he definitely tried to touch the ball so distracted our defender who might otherwise have been able to clear the rebound.
"In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply:
• “nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s head,
body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the
second-last opponent. The arms are not included in this defi nition
• “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or
touched by a team-mate
• “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from
playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s
line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball
• “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball
i. that rebounds or is deflected to him off the goalpost, crossbar or an
opponent having been in an offside position"
ii. that rebounds, is deflected or is played to him from a deliberate save
by an opponent having been in an offside position
A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent, who
deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save), is not considered
to have gained an advantage.