Premier League nothing changes

Just like bad keeping errors or bad misses by strikers, officials will always have their worst moments highlighted, especially when on television!

The Rooney incident was at home TL and Callum is one example compared to the several above and several others we could list.

I understand you defending refs and I understand it’s a tough job but you will never convince me, or most football fans, that the big clubs don’t get preferential treatment. There are far too many examples. It isn’t just football either.

The media has had a big say in it highlighting every poor call against the big clubs. Had Scholes rightly been sent off and Utd hadn’t won the title that year then the media and Sir red face wouldn’t have blamed Scholes they would have blamed the ref so in my opinion he bottled it. It never got a mention though.

Its one that i thought of off the top of my head Egg, there are plenty of others if I had the time or the inclination & I’m sure that if you asked our opponents down the years they could name many more too – but we remember far more when we’re sinned against than we do when we’re the sinners

With the Rooney incident against McCarthy – he should have walked. Absolutely no question but it was obvious at the time that Clattenburg didn’t see the elbow but saw coming together & awarded a free kick.
Now the FA regulations state that if, as a team of officials, you’ve seen the incident & dealt with it at the time then they can’t retrospectively go in & change the punishment because you might have missed something.
Fast forward a few years & that is exactly why McManaman got off scott free for his challenge on the Newcastle player.

I’m not sure what relevance there is to the fact the Rooney challenge was on United’s home ground, coz McManaman’s was on Latics home ground.

I also remember the Scholes incident & you’re right he should have gone for a second yellow. If I remember rightly Latics should also have had a penalty before that when Ferdinand handballed it (pretty much identically to the one Southampton got away with at Anfield last night). Now I’m not saying that the ref didn’t bottle the decision but we see it game after game when a player on a yellow commits another foul that a ref could issue a second caution for but they don’t & give em a talking to & another chance.
You’re also wrong in saying that the incident never got a mention – it did. It was all over the media for a couple of days & I remember driving into work on the Monday with talksport on & it was all they spoke about for the entire 50 minutes I was in the car – including getting a former top flight ref in to discuss what might have been the ref’s though process when not giving the 2nd caution.

Also, from the amount of whinging the big club managers & fans do after a game – ask them if they think they get all the decisions

I’m not saying that ref’s don’t get swayed by the atmosphere – if you’re wavering on a decision in a 74,000 crowd & 1000 Latics fans appeal subconsciously you are going to be less swayed by that than if 73,000 scream & shout just at the point where you’re wondering whether it was a foul. That’s human nature.

Actually going back to the Valencia sending off at Anfield when Latics were 2-1 up. There is no doubt that the ref got swayed by the moaning of Gerrard about Valencia encroaching. he’d been doing it before but didn’t move until the ball was kicked at the free kick & the ref was too focused on the wall to notice it had already been taken. Anyway even Benitez admitted that it shouldn’t have been a caution but he then went on to make a valid point – the second caution for him several minutes later should probably have been a straight red as he went in with both his feet off the floor.

Finally (Thank f00k) I should also say that I’m not saying ref’s don’t have stinkers. They do. Plenty of them but that’s all they are – they’re not deliberately favouring one team over the other. That ref in the afore mentioned game at Anfield had a stinker

Do you believe we would have got the penalty we got at OT if the score was 0-0 or we were 1 behind?? I don’t.

Aah – I’m getting my controversial incidents mixed up!!

Conor Sammon wasn’t sent off because Ryan Giggs ran 40 yards. He was sent off because Phil Dowd thought he’d done somet that he hadn’t & the FA rescinded the card

We agree that people & refs make mistakes, the issue that I have is that you seem to insinuate that the big clubs get more because the referees deliberately give them preferential treatment. They don’t

Yes – It was nailed on[/quote]

We will certainly have to agree to disagree because so were 3 against Arsenal, 1 against Utd (Rio handball) and 1 in the cup final that led to THAT goal – maybe 75/25 that one.

Of course refs make mistakes but I do think a 50/50 involving a big club and a little club will only ever go one way.[/quote]

I’m only talking from experience to be honest. I know that I ref at a far lower level but I get accused of favouring one team over the other on an almost game by game basis & one of the favourite reasons is coz “the powers that be don’t want us in this league” or “they want them to win everything coz they’re the glory boys” but I’ve never met a ref (including some I run the line for who officiate in the football league) yet who could give a stuff which team wins.

If you’re talking about the carling cup semi against Arsenal – why Dowd didn’t think that the 2 fouls on Roberts weren’t fouls I have no idea. The one on Chimbonda, I would have given it but I’m biased, I think most Arsenal fans would have disagreed with it.

The Ferdinand one I think was a penalty but some refs don’t give them types including last night’s in the Liverpool v Southampton game

The Cup Final one? Nah – it was as much McManaman putting his leg in on the defender as the defender initiating the contact with him