The Refereeing Thread

[StartingPrice]

Also as soon as that challenge is made and the calls are there to send Chico off, he (Dowd) is seen gesturing twice to indicate NO, not going to send him off. Then after a Mourinho tantrum aka "deliberation" the ref decides it was a second yellow, now he can't have received better advice from his linos as they are much further away than him, so is the fourth official looking at a screen and advising now?

What was hilarious was Carragher and Redknapp justifying it on the basis that it was technically a yellow card offence (not that I'm sure it was, anyway), like the old he's just booked him, I think he'll half a quiet word - that's good refereeing line hadn't been trotted out a million times for just such incidents. I wander if they felt the same about the Suarez dive and feel Clatty got that one wrong?

 

[StartingPrice]

But you shouldn't be blind guessing penalties. They are way too important.

They shouldn't.

Not just for penalties. To use the example from our game against Citeh at the Lane*: for Dawson's goal, it is habitual, noways, for both defenders and attackers (it's not just about blaming the defenders, if blame is the right word, in this instance because it was Citeh) for free-kicks (particularly close to the area) to be jumping before and after an imaginary off-side line. In/out, in/out - like the teeth of a buzz-saw, doing the hokey-cokey, but without a Coco Lamela in sight. It was virtually impossible to know that any of our players were off-side (or, indeed, on-side). The match officials have to guess. Even after analysis, that particular guess was shown to be ambiguous, at best. On top of which, the officials are supposed to favour attackers - so, in a situation where any decision was inherently guesswork, and supposedly making favouring the attackers, how on earth could the officials have known that goal should have been disallowed?

*On top of which, to get back to the other topic: that was another example of the refs bending the give them a quiet word rather than send them off maxim to suit themselves. The ref clearly believed that the foul for the above free-kick was a yellow card offence and reaches for a yellow card to book Toure (funnily enough, I didn't think it was a foul at all - but that is not the point, here, because the ref clearly reaches for a yellow card). realizing he has only moments before booked Toure, he decides to be sensible (that's what they call it, isn't it?) and not book Toure. Didn't stop him guessing (incorrectly) that Danny Rose hadn't got the ball, and giving him a straight red - or ignoring the fact that the waving of imaginary cards that several of the Citeh players were doing, while crowding him (something they are not supposed to do) is also a yellow card offence. Honestly, it is like they are making it all up as they go along and deciding who to be lenient with and who to punish ever so harshly. And, yes, I know it's a difficult job - but surely that is the whole point. The game has got faster, there's far more gamesmanship and far more cynical manipulation, and the officials really can't cope with the half of what is going on.

 

[Toela65]

What did Clatty miss, get wrong or guess at, today.

For a start, I would like someone to go through every time Suarez threw himself down at the slightest of touches, or no touch at all, and then ask Clatty just why he decided to let him off with a second yellow!
Refs need to start justifying these decisions: just why does one player get sent off with undue haste, where the ref is almost falling over himself to dish the card out, whereas another will be let off several times, then yellowed then let off several times again and then commit a blatant yellow borderline red card offence and the ref just has a stern talking with him! Why?

And when holding is as blatant as Skrtel's was, just there, that the commentator is joking about him clutching at two players and calling it WWF, and then moments later clearly punching the ball in the area, how is nothing done about this?

Refereeing is becoming more of a guessing game, or playing to the players or the loudest and most vociferous fans, almost game by game.

We got a few decisions today granted, but as the cliche goes, that just balances all the decisions that went against us at the Etihad which were ridiculous especially the disallowed goal.

But I imagine you're only interested in looking at the decisions that Liverpool profited from this season.

 

[StartingPrice]

We got a few decisions today granted, but as the cliche goes, that just balances all the decisions that went against us at the Etihad which were ridiculous especially the disallowed goal.

But I imagine you're only interested in looking at the decisions that Liverpool profited from this season.

As with other assertions you have made, that I have demolished (and note you haven't made any attempt to respond to), no, not at all.

Maybe you should look at it this way: I am discussing refereeing inconsistencies in general - and mention the Liverpool-lite decisions today AS I HAD JUST WATCHED THE GAME AND IT WAS FRESH IN MY MIND. There, that shouldn't be too difficult for you to understand.

Indeed, if you had continued reading rather than jumping right in with your precious sensibilities you would note that immediately I discuss the decision that went in favour of Chelsea, in the Swansea match, as soon as it happened - because I was watching it and it was even more fresh in my mind.

But, boo hoo, nasty man who won't just say Liverpool will just inherently be the greatest team with a massive international following no matter how, relatively small their stadium, how disproportionately high their wage bill, or how long it may hypothetically go without them winning anything (seen as that is the only discernible reason for your hissy fit when I always spoke to you reasonably and stuck for you on occasion), uses immediately occurred decisions in a Liverpool game that has just happened - what a MONSTER!

As a matter of fact, Danny Rose dived yesterday - it was pathetic and embarrassing. But, y'know what: HE GOT BOOKED! And that is the point I am making, not aimed against poor old Liverpool (boo hoo) but pointing out how incredibly inconsistent referees are. Pity you didn't notice that in your drive to ultimate paranoia.

I have a lot of bug-bears about modern refereeing. Inconsistency is one, and when the referees are inconsistent in our benefit (not that it happens mucho) I might be momentarily happy that it has benefited my team, but I will still always acknowledge it after,and remember it as just one more instance of inconsistency. And it didn't escape my notice that it was Citeh being on the receiving end when they have been on the benefiting end so many times this season - against us at the Lane, against you at the Etihad. But the fact it, today the shocking decisions all seemed to be in your favour. Another match where I could give you a few examples (and, again, they just happen to have gone against us) was against Chelsea at the Lane. Ramires blasted the ball right across the pitch when he was caught miles off-side and the referee decided not to give him a yellow card. Moments later, one of our players disliked a decision and threw the ball into the ground (note, not kicked or thrown away, just into the ground where the free-kick was) and the ref nearly fell over himself to book him. He then ignored a couple of clear yellow card offences by Ramires, then finally booked him, and then allowed him to get away with another couple of yellows - for the last one, finally, deciding to have a quiet word with him. The most pertinent example today just happened to be Suarez. How do the refs decide? Why do they let some players off with several offences and give them a quiet word (usually described by pundits as being sensible) but cannot wait to get their cards out for others? And in this instance, Suarez had already been booked and that was a clear dive and a clear yellow card offence. Wouldn't it be impressive if you actually discussed this, on these terms, rather than trying to deflect by pointing to some (previously, imagined) hatred I have of Liverpool?

 

[nightgoat]

I don't think it's any coincidence that after Man City beat Liverpool earlier in the season and Rodgers blamed it all on the referee with some pretty libelous statements that Clusterfuck was basically Liverpool's 12th man today. If that game had been refereed fairly Liverpool wouldn't have won.