Yes, you're right, it's 8 vs 1 Despite your snippy comment, I don't think it is too much of a stretch to say that 8-1 seems a bit one-sided, but I'm sure you won't see that. I have tried to state only the facts, based on the statistics I was able to find. I still think the Riley record is such that he should be looked into, that's all. His record in all matches shows a huge divergence in results for teams that have consistently been in the same general part of the table, and it has clearly been to ManU's benefit. I would think a fair-minded person like yourself would want it cleared up.
Have you even considered the fact that you might be wrong, and that it was not a foul? As far as I am concerned it was not a foul, regardless of where the ball ended up. Perhaps I am biased, but you have to understand that the referee is there to make choices. Alot of people are saying that he did not call a foul because he did not want to give Rio a red, perhaps he did not call a foul because there was none. He tried to let the players play as much as possible at first and then started handing out cards and such. As for him not disciplining United players, he carded Phil Neville rather harshly for what was simply a latish tackle with no malice involved. We got 2 yellows in less than 3 mins at one point.
But why blame just Riley then? The Liverpool penalty was the first successful converted penalty against United at Old Trafford in league play since Ruel Fox for Norwich 10 years ago. What about the other referees?
you biased? Hah! You're at least as biased as I am, and I'm pretty biased although I may be biased in saying that.
MtK, do you believe it was not a foul? I've heard very few posters that I respect say they didn't think it was a foul and that at least a free-kick should have been awarded. I don't know about if Riley didn't make the call because he thought he should give a red or not (if he did, he is the wrong person to have in that position), but I definitely think it was a foul. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seemed to me that the card on Phil Neville was more of a "you've done several things that add up" rather than a card for that one event. It also seems he (Riley) was trying to regain control of the game at that point and may have been looking for an opportunity that Neville just happened to blunder into.
Feel free to look for yourself. http://premiersoccerstats.com/Refs.cfm I don't think anyone is as skewed and biased as Riley. I also haven't liked him since the Euro 2004 championships and think he is unfit. That is my bias. It doesn't grow out of a single match, I just think he is a poor referee and should not be calling games in what is probably the fastest league in the world. Even if he had called a good game yesterday, he is just not up to it, IMHO.
Fair enough and decent arguement. The Sun should coem to the States, it would whipe out the Enquirer. For the 49 games unbeaten, the games I saw(live/replay/Arsenal Plus), I did not notice many if any. Then again you can argue that some of the scorelines, a call would not have mattered. The way I see it, if Rooney's pk had not been called OR Toures had been called, it would have effected the out come in a completely different manner, most likely a draw IMO. If the season is decided by one game at the end of the season, this is the one I am pointing at.
No, the referee is there to enforce the laws of the game. Now I can see how referees can be unsighted and can have different opinions on whether a particular challenge is deemed a foul, but once he has deemed it a foul he has to implement the laws accordingly. If that means sending someone off, he should do it.
On that specific point... I think you'll find that's quite a well known thing in the laws of the game. I believe it's called 'persistent infringement' and will result in a booking.
Fine. The whole lot of them are lousy and intimidated by OT and SAF. Riley is just the worst of a bad lot.
Thanks for slandering me as a complete jerk! Who are you again, and do you consider it a good idea to insult dozens of people you don't know? Where do you get the chutzpah to say you hate this team and it's supporters in one post, then whine that no one respected your imput in another? Although you might not agree, I put nothing in my definition of All-American that includes self-righteousness, prejudice, and ignorance about Fair Play awards. If you are going to persist with such behavior, please don't feel free to post around here, and do consider changing your handle.
No it is NOT a moot point. You really need to read the Laws of the Game. There is nothing in the laws that state a ref may waive off a penalty because the offensive player would not have gotten to the ball. Does the ref take this into consideration when making a call? Yes, they surely do at times but technically that is incorrect. You...just like Johno are absolutely wrong on that. Ask down in the ref's forum or cite the rule for me that says otherwise.
This is idiotic. I was sitting with a bunch of Manc supporters who cringed when Rio forearmed Ljungberg in the back and thought he was lucky no foul was called. You can continue to think it wasn't but you're in a small minority and I no longer have any respect for your opinions.
Firstly, are you saying that Rio's first contact with Fred was with his forearm extended? I would not say that there was no forearm but I certainly felt that initially it was shoulder. Secondly... oh dear god! whatever am i to do? you no longer have respect for my opinions... sh!t sh!t sh!t sh!t sh!t. i am not here for brownie points, i am here to express my opinions... I take on any poster and every poster when I disagree with them. I try my best not to be insanely biased like many people on the boards but my views wont sit well with everyone... such is life. However, if me suggesting that perhaps you or another poster got the play wrong and the referee got it right is absolutely ludicrous in your opinion then i cant say that i really value what you say. Not period though, probably after the next 3 or 4 losses i may value your opinion (and that of many of the other arsenal posters) however - for right now, you guys forgot how to lose. You were rarely gracious in victory and as always pointing fingers in defeat but this streak brought out the worst set of complaining i've seen in some time. Our bad start this year and our humbling last year were good for the team... it helped the team and its supporters get grounded again and hopefully we can treat every team with the same respect and not with the contempt that other cocky teams do. oh.. ps. if you think for a second that i dont think Rio was lucky for a foul not to be called you are wrong... the fact is many refs would have not called it and many would have called it... it was close imo, but legal... i still am happy the call went in our favor and still like to drink warm milk and eat cookies, although Rio usually forgets his milk, he has other white stuff on his mind....
Oh, spare us all your moaning about Arsenal posters. You think we whine because we don't agree with you on many things that happen, with yesterday's match high on the list. You're every bit as biased as many on here who take the opposite view of what happened yesterday. You accuse us of being too locked in on our view of the events, but then you do the exact thing you find wrong with us about. What if in fact we are right and the referee is wrong? Isn't that within the realm of possibility? Yet you uncategorically rule that out and say the views of people who think that have no value. Pot, meet kettle.
I posted the majority of this on a "Big Soccer" referee thread after coming back from "Euro 2004" where I saw Mike Riley at Sweden v. Bulgaria. He turned a "4 card game" into an "8 card game", and I thought then (as I still do now, and even more so), "If that is the best that England can offer to a major championship, then God help the rest of them"! I think yesterday's game still bears me out. The shoulder of RF5 into the back of FL8, who was in "a goalscoring opportunity", had to be overlooked by him. Fancy sending off a M.U player so early in the game! He couldn't give a yellow as the circumstances wouldn't warrant it, so play the "blind monkey" card! The next incident with RvN10 and AC3, about 3 yards from the AR who didn't flag, plus about 20 yards from M.R. and again overlooked. Why? "Serious foul play" resulting in the issuing of a red card. Against a M.U. player at O.T.? "Heaven forbid"! (Again). For Mike Riley read, "HOMER" Simpson! A fool and a "HOMER"! Now AW has been asked by the F.A. to "explain his post match comments"! I bet he can't wait!!!! I wish I could be there with him!!
The ref chief defends Riley. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=314378&cc=5901 Not wanting to suppress a match is great and all, but call a foul a foul.
I did not say anyone should be here to earn brownie points. Your reading comprehension is obviously poor. What I said was that if you are so biased that you think that was not a foul by Rio then your opinions have no credibility. You can keep spouting them all you want but I'll give them about as much deference as I would Zani. As for being a gracious loser.....spare me your righteous indignation. I posted on the United boards two years ago when United caught us at the end to congratulate them for a fantastic unbeaten run. I also posted on the United board last year after they knocked us out of the FA Cup and congratulated them for a well deserved win. I also posted a congratulations on the Chelsea board last year when they knocked us out of the CL. Furthermore, point out where I've said that we lost yesterday solely because of the referee's decisions. Here...I'll save you time....you won't be able to because I haven't. I have simply been responding in threads about the referee. The only viewpoints I've offered on the match other than on Riley's poor refing was to agree with another poster's comments about how Edu looked good, Rio was solid, Vieira and Bergkamp looked poor and how we looked inefficient in the attack. At no point have I said that Riley was the only reason we lost. Again, work on your reading comprehension. Finally, again on the sore loser point....you're one to talk. Yes, you may have offered a congratulations last year but how many posts regarding our title last year do you have reminding about your position in the table just prior to Rio being suspended? How many posts do you have touting United knocking us out of the FA as a major accomplishment and evidence that we weren't really better than United last year? Motter, Prawn and others I have no problem with....but you're one of the last people who should be calling anyone a sore loser.
Thanks for posting this. It illustrates so much of what is wrong with the officiating. Thet=y are an in-bred old boys club that accepts no criticism and according to them, never makes mistakes.
yoss, who cares if MKMJ or any of the ManYoos think. What's pretty obvious to us is vehemently denied by them. They can never be wrong on anything (and to be fair we could be accused of the same at times). You saw their celebration after scoring the penalty and after the match. It was as if they'd won the CL, not a league match that still has them trailing by 8 points. Just confirms how pathetic their season has been up to this point. Not saying that they'll end up having a pathetic season, just that it's been so up until this point. And that's something both sets of supporters most likely agree on although after reading some of their posts today, I'm not entirely confident.