I thought Clatts did well and yeah, what a game! To me the biggest talking point was the non-issuance of 2nd yellow to Suarez for the horrendous dive he took just outside the PA(51st minute). If he wasn't on a yellow I don't think there's a question he gets booked there. However, I don't think Suarez dove on the non-call in the PA where Kompany holds him multiple times...he's simply embellishing the contact and frankly I don't blame him as some refs would've given it. The Sakho on Dzeko play in the 1st half was weird....Sakho definitely misses the ball and then Dzeko jumps over him but then tries to act like he can't and goes to ground...just odd all around. In the end City needed that ball from Aguero to Silva to be just a bit better or Silva's legs to be just a bit longer...I bet if Aguero had a little less rust on him it would've been better. I didn't see the Skrtel handling as I had to run with 4 mins left...video anyone?
See, I don't see it as a dive. There was boot to boot contact, which can hurt. Did Suarez embellish? You bet your sweet ass he did. He maybe the single hardest player to officiate, both give and take.
He had a few dives, if that one is right outside the PA and the one I'm thinking of I'm pretty sure there was zero contact from the replay. Both Clatts and Cann on the line would have had a bad angle on it so it doesn't surprise me there wasn't a second yellow; you want to be 100% on those and neither had a perfect angle to solidify the call. Suarez is the reason that competitions should be regularly reviewing simulation and laying harsh punishments to those who try to cheat their way through the game.
Man City fan... Other than the Suarez non second yellow (his first was def a yellow), I thought the game was well officiated. Like Erocker said, if Suarez isn't already on a yellow, he gets booked there. Other than that, I thought Clatts did an outstanding job. I thought there was a penalty shout for City but Suarez could have won a penalty as well.
I hate to be the guy complaining about stoppage time, but they announced 5. Then, there was a red card and a substitution that went about :45 and the game ended at about 95:30.
At least sometimes, yes. Assuming the time on screen was right today, I'm with KCBus a bit on this. Once the red and sub happened, I thought we were going to 96 for sure. That said, I was surprised he conjured up 5 minutes to start. So while 5:30 might not have been technically correct, I think that, all in all, it was just. Also, at least on the British MOTD, they seem to have wanted 3 penalty calls from Clattenburg. The Skrtel handling I mentioned, plus a challenge on each end. I think the challenges were both about 85% penalties, but I'm fine with them not given (and they cancel out). I think the handling was definitely a penalty but so very hard to spot. Anyway, the more I think about today's game--and it was a great game--the more I think that Howard Webb might not be given the benefit of the doubt that Clattenburg seemed to today. I know, it's just speculation on my part, but for some reason I think we'd be hearing about how he missed 3 blatant penalties and not about how he managed a cracking game. Speaking of... Webb did call a penalty this weekend and then overturned it. Surprised that hasn't come up!
I'm not sure how the time on the TV graphic can really be wrong. It's just a clock counting up that doesn't stop. Unless it was started late, it should be fairly accurate. And if a player leaves in a timely matter, I'm not adding time for a sending off, just like I don't add time for a caution.
Depends on when the referee actually starts his watch. But, it really isn't off by much. I didn't see the Webb reversal yet. Might have to double back and look at it. Are the assignments out anywhere for the mid week matches this week?
Oh... not all that hard. The percentages favor you! If he's horizontal you caution him for simulation. You'll be right 95% of the time.
Yes, they were part of the assignments for the weekend. Friend at Arsenal Marriner at Everton Atkinson at Manchester City
Liverpool fan . . . (only just caught a replay now) That dive should've been a card, but I can understand why it wasn't (with my ref hat on, not my Liverpool hat). Neither Clatts nor Cann would've had a clear angle. Re: penalties - Zabaleta was oh so close to conceding one, but he somehow rescued himself. At the other end - not sure if it was Sakho or Skrtel - but one of them cleaned out a MC player without getting the ball in middle of the second half, that was a lucky escape. And Skrtel's handball ... well if it was given there should be no complaints, absolutely no footballing reason to have your arm up there (as opposed to the rugby that Skrtel tends to play when defending corners). That said, with six people all trying to get something, anything, on that ball then it becomes an extremely hard call. Overall, another very good performance from Clatts.
Anyone see the West Ham-Arsenal game? There was an incident in the penalty box where Sagna made contact with Jarvis, causing Jarvis to stumble, yet he kept his feet and tracked down the ball (which had gone towards the sideline). Most people agree that if Jarvis had simply gone down, a penalty would have been awarded. Yet he stayed on his feet, and no penalty. There was really no advantage either, because the ball was going away from goal, towards the sideline (he was running parallel to the top of the 18 yard box). Here is an article: http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1...e-wenger-grateful-matt-jarvis-go-down?cc=5901 I'll try and find a video. Video: Skip to 0:40 for incident.
Sorry if it's been posted already, but has the assignment for next weekend's Chelsea/Liverpool match been posted yet? With Man City dropping 2 points today, this match could very well decide the title, as either of the teams winning out gives them the title. Looking forward to this as a neutral!
Direct link: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/referees/appointments/ No appointment up yet for LIV-CHE. For this weekend, Dowd has City, Marriner Liverpool and Dean Chelsea. I'd bet that either Webb or Atkinson gets LIV-CHE (about a 80/20 split likely that Webb gets it).
Newcastle-Swansea. Heard that Chris Foy got hit in the face and had to be replaced by the 4th Official. Anyone have any information on this?
Ball ricocheted off a Newcastle defender straight into Chris' face. He wasn't even close to the play, just a fluke. He seemed alright for the next 30min but eventually came off and Anthony Taylor came on. Taylor's first decision was to caution Dan Gosling.
I like Dean--even more than Clattenburg (I think it's tight for #1, but my personal favorite is Dean). But today was a tough day for the big decisions. He missed the blatant elbow and red card by Ramires. I'm not convinced--at all--on the penalty, where Altidore essentially went out of his way to step on/near the player who tackled him, prompting the contact. That is the incident that led to the send off above. And, though there wasn't a terrible amount of debate on the incident, there was a near carbon copy of the infamous Nani UCL foul from last year, which received no sanction other than a simple foul. It serves as a reminder that there are, indeed, different standards between EPL and UEFA... it would have been a red in any European game. Just to beat my personal dead horse on this... if Howard Webb missed two game criticals today (like Dean did) or three in the Liverpool game last week (like Clattenburg did), we'd never be hearing the end of it. The more this season goes on, the more convinced I am that the attention on individual decisions by Webb is exponentially higher than even the other top referees in England have to endure.
More important question is why the assistant reacted that way in the first place.... Altidore goes down in the penalty area after stealing the ball. The AR immediately waves his flag to signal PK and Dean quickly points to the spot. The first replay shown does not definitively show contact made by the diving Chelsea defender as it appears that Jozy is already losing his footing while he's trying to cut back. The second video shown on NBC right after the penalty kick has a better angle which shows there was contact by the defender on Jozy's left leg, but still not enough for me to say it was a definitive PK. I cannot find any online video of the better angle replay, but here is the one which has a closer shot (and an advertisement banner which obstructs the view- begins at 01:41): http://www.ibtimes.com/video-chelse...-borini-penalty-gives-liverpool-vital-1573896 4th official Phillip Dowd calls over Dean and all hell breaks loose, causing the assistant to "pretend" to go after Dean. As an aside, funny to listen to one of the announcers saying he's not sure if the coach was tossed or simply told to step away for a few minutes (forgot his exact wording).
After seeing it from various angles I think what happened is that the defender slides in front of Altidore, making no contact with the ball. Altidore is in the midst of trying to cut back from the endline, but his plant foot trods right on top of the defender's extended leg. Altidore's plant leg is now on top of the defender's still sliding leg, and he loses his balance and topples over. Penalty?
Altidore actually comes down on the defender's other leg (the one that's tucked under his body as he slides). Doesn't really make much of a difference. I don't think Altidore looks for the contact - as you say, he was planting his foot to turn away from the goal line. Obviously the defender doesn't deliberately bring him down - he was just trying to block the cross, presumably. I'm completely fine with the penalty decision, but could live with a play on as well. EDIT: having looked at it some more (I realize how ridiculous this is, as the referees had one look, in real time, and from a worse angle than the .gif above), I'm more convinced by the decision. Azpilicueta needs to be in control of his sliding body here. He takes the risk by going down, and ends up tripping Altidore as a result.