I would say that the quarterfinal refs are not the top 4. I think that Bobby Madley is better than Dean, and Madley had an excellent showing during the Bournemouth-West Ham game today. Dean is usually inconsistent and usually doesn't call as many fouls as he needs to, sometimes letting his game get out of hand.
Just noticed that Liverpool's home side technical area is drawn about five yards closer to halfway than the away side's. Is that normal? And legal?
Allow me to introduce you to Taunton Town of the Southern League Div 1 South & West: http://www.tigerroar.co.uk/images/grounds/tauntontown.jpg Yes, that's the home bench in line with the top of the box. As far as can tell, it's pretty common for benches to be different distances from half. There are definitely no rules against it in any of the competitions I referee.
Should be a fun post-game interview with Mourinho... Oliver gives a 2YC, to MU's Hererra, and it appears the second was UB for being the latest of a bunch of different players persistently fouling Hazard. The TV folks say it was clear that Oliver warned Smalling, MU's captain, right before that happened...take that as you may. Could have been a YC on its own, but I would have been surprised.
The 2YC was correct and well-deserved. But it took too long for Oliver to recognize and deal with MU's obvious game plan, which was to disrupt and foul Chelsea players, especially Hazard. He probably should have issued cautions earlier in the game which might have put a stop to it earlier. In any event he made it quite clear to the captain that he had had enough of the persistent fouling. Herrera was just an idiot, and probably was thinking that since he already had a YC, he would not get a 2nd for a foul (usually they expect it on the third) especially in the first half of a FA Cup quarterfinal. So kudos to Oliver for the courage to send Herrera off, because now he will get the blame from everyone for causing MU to lose, but by better, more preventative proactive refereeing, he might have prevented it. PH
Have no issues with that second caution, MU were targeting Hazard and the referee warned them about it so... Don't think the first one Herrera got was even a foul though so that makes the red a bit harsh. What will get Oliver in trouble with media/fans is the fact that there were a lot of fouls in the second half that also deserved cautions (and possibly a red for Valencia) where Oliver chose not to use his cards and that will make the red card look worse than it is. Also will be interesting to see if there is anything retrospective done about what looked like a stamp by Rojo.
A question. Is the targetting of the player and cautioning for "a foul on a player who has been repeatedly foul" (as per our Advice to the Referees) something that is written as such in Europe as well? I wasn't quite able to find thatanywhere, so was curious, or would that just fall under showing lack of respect for the game?
Oh, the first one was a foul and a card. It was meant to hit him hard. United didn't have any weapons and with the replays eliminated at this point in the competition they had no bus to park and wait for their players to get healthy or off suspension.
The red part might be true, I just have a hard time seeing that someone that standing still with both feet planted is doing something wrong when he gets run into.
He planted himself there deliberately with the intent to block the run, knowing Hazard had no chance or time to avoid him. Very cynical professional play. Taken with everything else that MU were doing, it was all part of the same game plan. Oh, and I agree with part of your previous post that Oliver could have and certainly should have issued additional cards. PH
Another week...another set of appointments: ENGLAND Premier League (MD 29) 18.03.17 13:30 CET West Bromwich Albion - Arsenal Referee: Neil Swarbrick Assistant Referees: Scott Ledger, Constantine Hatzidakis Fourth Official: Kevin Friend 18.03.17 16:00 CET Crystal Palace - Watford Referee: Martin Atkinson Assistant Referees: Jake Collin, Gary Beswick Fourth Official: Keith Stroud 18.03.17 16:00 CET Everton - Hull City Referee: Paul Tierney Assistant Referees: Harry Lennard, Mike McDonough Fourth Official: Craig Pawson 18.03.17 16:00 CET Stoke City - Chelsea Referee: Anthony Taylor Assistant Referees: Adam Nunn, Richard West Fourth Official: Lee Probert 18.03.17 16:00 CET Sunderland - Burnley Referee: Robert Madley Assistant Referees: Peter Kirkup, Marc Perry Fourth Official: Mike Jones 18.03.17 16:00 CET West Ham - Leicester City Referee: Roger East Assistant Referees: Darren Cann, Mark Scholes Fourth Official: Andre Marriner 18.03.17 18:30 CET AFC Bournemouth - Swansea City Referee: Mike Dean Assistant Referees: Simon Long, Ian Hussin Fourth Official: Graham Scott 19.03.17 13:00 CET Middlesbrough - Manchester United Referee: Jonathan Moss Assistant Referees: Simon Bennett, Edward Smart Fourth Official: Robert Madley 19.03.17 15:15 CET Tottenham Hotspur - Southampton Referee: Andre Marriner Assistant Referees: Simon Beck, Andy Garratt Fourth Official: Kevin Friend 19.03.17 17:30 CET Manchester City - Liverpool Referee: Michael Oliver Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt, Stephen Child Fourth Official: Craig Pawson I am thinking Michael Oliver is the new clear No. 1.
Quite right, too. Really enjoy watching him referee. His head is on a constant swivel, and accordingly he seems to anticipate very well. On a related note, I suspect Clattenburg's impending departure has been well-received by the select group. I saw one of the top referees (not Oliver) speak a few months ago, and he dismissively referred to MC as "Mr Tattoo man" throughout the evening. He also mentioned a small group of referees he is close with/meets up for training with, which seemed to include most of the top names, but not MC.
I've heard elsewhere that there isn't much love lost for Clattenburg among his colleagues. I think this reinforces the bind the FA might find itself in if they are essentially held hostage over "their" World Cup spot for 2018. Going to be fascinating to see how this unfolds.
Apparently they do respect his refereeing abilities but not his human qualities. It was the same with Graham Poll but for different reasons. Poll would always run down his colleagues with criticism but it seems Clattenburg is just not very sociable and friendly. Similar issues are found among FIFA referees in several countries, including the USA! It is just that these people are not as well publicized as the EPL referees. It is a very competitive business, and as such will attract a certain type of individual to it, not unlike some other areas of life. PH
Did anyone see red card in the Everton v. Hull game? I'm not so much concerned with the red card offense as I am with the actual card. It was a circular red card that looked like a drink coaster.
Quite the opposite. The circular red card has existed for a long time in England. The purpose being that the distinct shape allows a referee to confirm the color of the card without looking at at. It's mostly gone out of style, and I don't like it personally, but a few top referees still use them.
For all you young guys, who think there was no soccer before 1990 or 1996, this is a left over from the days before color TV or even color photos in newspapers of games was widespread. The YC was oblong, the red card was round so that you could tell the difference. I suppose also some think that there might be some observers or players who have a color blindness issue. I must admit that I haven't seen it used for a long time though. PH
And even stranger that it was used by the one of newer members of Select List, Paul Tierney. Tough red too. Looked to be a yellow with the first leg thru the ball, but the trail leg went right into the standing leg of the Everton player. That's when I thought it became red. The challenge was a tad out of control. I'm going with color blindness.