One other thing from England today that should be a problem. And, in fact, is a problem for referees outside England who follow the Laws. Both the Newcastle and Arsenal pens were 100% misconduct. Yellow cards for handling. They have to be given. Yet both—AFTER VAR—resulted in no card. Just a blatant disregard for the Laws. Settling for “the pen is enough.” So then someone like Dickerson gives a 2CT on a pen for handling a shot on goal in MLS and people will be irate. “That’s not a card in the EPL!” It’s harder and harder to defend EPL refereeing. Taylor and Oliver can manage big games. I’m not sure there’s anything else virtuous to say about the state of officiating in the league at the moment.
Obviously the Arsenal one was a clear shot on goal so SPA YC is needed but I would like clarification for the Newcastle clip. What specifically makes this a 100% caution? It isn't on a shot directly at goal (it was going outside the goal area towards the touch line) but clearly it was deliberately done to prevent that cross from being headed by the attacker inside the box. So does the SPA YC downgrade to no card for an awarded PK in the penalty area not apply to deliberate handling SPA? Or are you considering that handball just outright to be a shot on goal and therefore needs a YC just for that? Also I wonder what makes these referees just blatantly disregard the LOTG. I guess I can understand the subjective decisions that people complain about but I don't get this part.
Maybe it does not count as "modern era" because it was too long ago Also this memorable one from Germany in 2012 (start from 3:10), Wolfgang Stark in the middle.
Yet another example of the stupidity of players. Brentford player Canos scored a goal at 78 mins, that was essentially meaningless for Brentford who were not involved in a battle for Euro places or relegation. He celebrates as though they had won something important by removing his shirt and gets a YC. Two minutes later he fouls an opponent and gets the 2nd YC. So he gets sent off in the last game of the season in which nothing was at stake for his team. Despite previous shows of leniency, Tierney had no problem sending him off. But it is only a Brentford substitute, not the England captain! PH
This is the legal/textual answer, yes. The relevant language in the Laws is "commits any other offence which interferes with or stops a promising attack, except when a referee awards a penalty kick for an offence which was an attempt to play the ball." The above bullet follows the "handles the ball to interfere..." bullet, which has no exception for the awarding of a penalty kick. If you think about it, this is exactly why a shot on goal is instructed to be a yellow card. After all, if we were downgrading DOGSO/tactical cards for handling in the penalty area, shots on goal would be downgraded, right? They are, as a point of fact, SPA cards. The "shot on goal = yellow' isn't in the Laws, it's just some short-hand instruction that's been developed from the actual text of the Law. But yellow cards for handling in the penalty area are not limited to shots on goal. And this would be the common sense answer. It's the most blatant of deliberate handballs, executed to prevent an attacker from heading a shot on goal. It just feels like it screams yellow card. It's much more literally "misconduct," by the dictionary definition of the word, than, say, a punishable (but not deliberate) handball that stops or deflects a shot on goal. The fact that the Laws call for it and do not allow a carve out is an added bonus. English referees still are not--and do not seem to want to be--comfortable with VAR. And I think the "minimum interference, maximum benefit" mantra has wrongly creeped into the issuing of misconduct. I wouldn't be surprised if some referees in the EPL genuinely don't believe they are allowed to (or at least encouraged to) issue yellow cards via VAR. I mean... have we seen it happen yet? I'm probably forgetting something, but have we seen a yellow given with a VAR penalty? Or a yellow given instead of red when VC or SFP has been recommended but not agreed with? Or a yellow for simulation when a penalty was overturned? Those things all happen with relative frequency in other leagues. But I can't immediately remember any of those three things happening in the EPL. There's probably been a DOGSO-yellow penalty via VAR that I can't immediately recall but there's probably also been some clear ones not given, too.
Would be really nice to see football do away with the YC for removing your shirt after scoring a goal. Utterly pointless and idiotic.
So....any idea who is going to get the biggest match in English football....i.e. the Championship playoff final? Will it be a Championship referee, or an EPL ref?
Always, I think. (EDIT: looks like 2000 is the dividing line and was the last time it wasn't an EPL referee; prior to that, it looks like it was always a top-performing Championship referee; and since, always an EPL regular) I was about to offer a guess. Likely concurring with your choice of Tierney. Then I googled. And an announcement has been made. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/spo...y-off-final-against-nottingham-forest-3705374 I simply do not understand.
There is a practical element--it has the number used as identification. And it was put in because it was perceived as a problem at the time, though I don't recall the details. But is it the rule that is idiotic or the players who know they are going to get cautioned and choose to do it anyway? It's a calculated act with a known consequence. There's plenty of ways to celebrate without that.
Rational me says Moss got it over Dean and Atkinson because he never had the FIFA status and UEFA matches they had, so this is his parting gift. Cynical me says this was part of the deal for him to be a PGMOL admin.
Moss is a bizarre choice, indeed. It’s almost as though the PGMOL is trolling us! Those of us of a certain age who came to English football around 50 years ago will be supporting Forest. Star Soccer with Mario Machado!
I wonder if one of them—Taylor, specifically—has Italy v Argentina on Wednesday. Only other point is that some individuals might be conflicted out by geography. And over the years the match has been spread around. Long way of saying it doesn’t have to be one of those two (though if it can be Oliver, it should be Oliver). But it shouldn’t be Moss.
I think I understand the implication but I don’t know the facts. So are you raising the question or making a pretty firm suggestion?
I am surprised that Notts Forest didn't object to this appointment given that Huddersfield is just down the road from Leeds. PH
You said you didn't understand. Maybe this could help. Check it out. Nobody believes it was a merit-based appointment, do they? We all know he has been near the bottom of the rankings for many years. PH
Well, unfortunately I’d say he’s been ranked in the 5-8 range pretty consistently for the past year or two. His assignments aren’t bad. Better or as good as Dean and Atkinson this year. On par with Attwell and Kavanagh. If it’s not one of the top two and Pawson just had the FA Cup and Tierney had the match somewhat recently… it’s not like there’s an obvious name that would make us happy.
It’s pretty amazing that Oliver has never done the Championship playoff final. He did a 2nd leg semi in 2013 when he was 27 or something like that. To think he’s never had what’s the most financially important match in world club soccer is pretty interesting.
I think we might have a new leader in the clubhouse with regard to video review. I am watching Tampa v Florida Stanley Cup playoff. And they took 8 1/2 minutes to overturn a good goal call on the ice. The overturn “appeared” to be correct. Then, a couple minutes later, they spent a shorter amount of time wiping out another goal via review for a hand pass. The strange thing about the second challenge is that the cause of the overturn (a hand pass on a face off) is actually a 2-minute penalty, but they can’t award the penalty on review! EPL sending well wishes to the NHL!
The FA Cup final is obviously a big event and it has a huge amount of history. Part of that history is generally giving a different ref a chance to do the final. You could argue the Championship playoff final should be treated closer to City/Liverpool than the FA Cup final.
Without question. The Premier League money makes that game incredibly important. It deserves a Champions League level officiating team.