A abovementioned, two red cards for the... one for the "tackle" AND one for the elbow .as to the handball, time to retire Mr A, your judgment is not what it was...
I know Deeney hasn't started for a while but still shame the club couldn't remember his name: please log in to view this image I wonder if Jenas/Sherwood and co would have said the sly elbow was just an honest attempt to block off Richarlison had it been Prodl on Kane for example?
Got to admit, I thought for large parts of the game, we were poor. Our passing was inaccurate, we were slow on the ball and gave it away far too often - but also much credit to Spurs who didn’t allow us time on the ball. They also obviously targeted our left hand side, with Zeegelar often being too narrow, leaving acres of space. Performance alone, I’m very happy to take a point away from that.... it credit to Silva going for the win! The ref - one of those games neither team seemed happy with him. The first half, we were getting nothing. Like Man U, they seemed to be getting all those niggly fouls their way and we were getting nothing. Son should have had a yellow for an awful dive and think it was Trippier who could have got a yellow of a challenge similar to the Kabasele one on Kane - it was early in so maybe that’s why the ref didn’t The red card was a red... but was surprised we got it. Personally think that was the 4th official decision as he was right in front of it and would have seen the elbow. From then, I said to a mate that they’d be doing all they could to even up the numbers... and they certainly did. Kane, Alli, Son and even Vertonghen in the box went down like a sack of s**t, clutching his face, then just gets up and runs off. Another ref would have given some extra yellows, but fortunately he wasn’t buying all their theatrics. Their levels of recovery were remarkable. As for the penalty at the end... even hearing some Spurs fans, the only ones who didn’t see it seems to be the officials...
I see Sherwood has started a new career as a mind reader since failing as a manger. What a load of twaddle from the three of them...
It was the sort of incident where if it went against you there might be some disappointment but every manager/fan and player in the land would have been screaming for a red if it had been against one of theirs. Bit like the Richarlison penalty incident against Arsenal. The handball ball as you say was much worse - it was blatant and yes we got away with some fouls but then players cheat and dive so much its hardly a surprise refs make mistakes.
What MOTD didn’t show was the penalty shout in the first half where Richarlison got a shove in the back right in the corner of the box. I thought it was a better shout than the one they did show!
I'm told that Graham Poll reviews referees and said it was a stonewall pen for handball. My reason for going on about it is to ask our knoweledgeable refereeing friends why the h official doesn't intervene if it's so obvious /
The only thing I can think of is that the referee has an obscured view. The assistant must have been the other side, to also have an obscured view. In the case of the assistant, how often do you see assistants give penalties now if the referee hasn't and they have a clear view of it?
Assistants are there to assist the referee to not see what he has already not seen. To be fair to the assistant in the handball penalty claim he is on the wrong side of the pitch to make a "credible decision" however blatantly obvious to the rest of us in the stands. If your 15-25 yards away, then you can claim position to make a credible call. If you're 50 yards+ from where you give a decision, especially a penalty, then it is not going to be credible however right it is. Referees don't like it when a flag goes up from miles away - "assist not insist" is the mantra. I once got crucified by a league referee secretary for flagging for a penalty in the last minute of a cup-final. Absolute nailed on stonewall penalty but I was told in no uncertain terms that it was not my decision to make even though I only flagged when I saw that the referee, relatively young and inexperienced, had missed it. To be fair he was at the wrong angle to see it clearly, a shirt pull that was so hard it exposed the shoulder and tore the collar slightly. I was running "right wing" and the incident happened in the inside-left channel. I wasn't popular with the losing team either but the spectators behind me said it was a good call, and they were supporting the team that lost.
I was asking about the 4th official - not the muppets on the line who even wait for the ref before deciding who gets a throwin. How much longer before we get fast video checks ? Or do you all think the FA likes controversy in order to make the game more 'talked abut' ?
I think the FA could do without the controversy. Personally I am more in favour of better training for referees and using former players to referee rather than video replays. The Italians are currently experimenting with the use of video technology in Serie A, particularly for penalties. The referee calls for the replay, goes to the side of the pitch where he watches the replays from various angles and then finalises the decision. Again it is down to the referee to get the call right first time - there is plenty of argument to suggest that had the Richarlison / Bellerin incident been referred to on the replays available from the tv companies then the decision may have been reversed.... of course the club's "different angle" video showed it was a clear cut shove but that has not been made available in the mainstream. Imagine the video referee got it wrong? We've seen it a few times in rugby and cricket for sure. The 4th official has enough on his plate without worrying about this stuff as well. It used to be the same game for all, but now it is not. How many times have we seen the "additional assistants" get it wrong in the Europa/Champions League? They are there because the clubs in the smaller, less affluent countries, cannot possibly afford the Hawkeye technology. One referee, two linesmen and a 4th official are all that's required providing they do their job properly... best we try to remember that next time the star centre forward skies over from three yards with an empty net beckoning.
Seems to be mixed reviews on VAR - works on occasions but is no help at all on others. There would have to be set guidelines if it comes in that all nations across the world follow in their respective leagues. I am sure there is enough money around to set up the system - pay that star striker who misses from 3 yards a bit less and maybe put his wages towards something more useful for everyone! As for players becoming officials - I have thought that might help but guess with the money a lot earn now from playing and the likely stick they'd get from certain fans most would not want the hassle. Even more so if they usually spend most of their time in the media telling everyone what to do!
To be honest, I don't like the idea of players becoming officials at all. Far too many of those who now 'work' as pundits spend too much of their time justifying the cheating that goes on in matches - "there was contact, he had to go down" to "he took one for the team, he had no choice". It's the players who create the problems by spouting their own skewed versions of the rules. If they actually recognised the rules and stuck to them, both during and after their playing careers, I'd have no problem with it at all.
Reading between the lines some people seem to think I am suggesting that former professionals, top professionals at that, should be referees. I am not, far from it as I don't think it is appropriate My point is, and I've made this clear on many an occasion on these boards and elsewhere (referees forums included) that a lack of playing experience at any level of PMGOs is a serious problem. Bear this in mind that the generally acknowledged world's best referee, Pierluigi Collina, played at a decent regional level in Italy - Atkinson and Atwell to name two, stopped playing at 14 - and referees are actively discouraged from playing adult football at junior and intermediate level, let alone senior football. Therein lies a major problem imho.
