chelsea penalty

Got to wonder if these kind of refs are bent. Being at The Valley yesterday it was so ridiculous, it really seemed like it

Never a penalty, ref was swayed by the cult of Mourinho.

If you watch it again ramires feet are off the floor as he hits the defender, so he was clearly jumping into him to try and con the ref which he succeeded in.

Ramires is a terrific player, but he's a cheat unfortunately. In one game last season (I can't remember which match) his simulation for a penalty was the most sophisticated I've ever seen. Mourinho is no better of course. He knows Ramires dived.

Its great that both Alex Ferguson and David Moyes have publically stated that Ashley Young cheats. More of that kind of integrity from Managers would help, but the real answer is to review incidents like this and to suspend the guilty players for, say, 3-5 matches. Mind you, that's been obvious for years and there's still no sign of it happening.

FIFA still don't seem to understand that retrospective punishments based on video evidence (or even the use of video evidence during matches) would help referees not undermine them.

Steve Clarke is wrong to blame Andre Marriner. The job of referees is hard enough as it is without having to worry about whether somebody has simulated. Every time the referee is blamed in a situation like this it absolves the cheats of responsibility.

Maintained his record of never being beaten at home didn't it?

Can't remember who it was think it was Holloway who said this, but anyone who brings a player down in a goalscoring position gets red carded, so anyone who simulates to create a goalscoring opportunity (penalty) should themselves be sent off, something that could maybe be imposed after the game too.

It should not be a part of the game. I come to watch football, not acting.

Algarveaddick said:

Saga Lout said:

As if life isn't easy enough for the big teams, they get refs who give them soft pens when they're at home.

Lampard's little tumble outside the area in the last game of 2005 springs to mind...

Or Gordon Durie going down yards outside the box and rolling in at the Battle of the Bridge.

Mind you, Humphrey would've been off for doing that now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^nothing new .. Liverpool and Manchester United in days gone by never conceded and were always seemingly granted dubious looking penalties .. referees DEFINITELY are swayed by a) home crowds b) vociferous players c) clubs 'at the top'

JessieAddick said:

Algarveaddick said:

Saga Lout said:

As if life isn't easy enough for the big teams, they get refs who give them soft pens when they're at home.

Lampard's little tumble outside the area in the last game of 2005 springs to mind...

Yes I also remember that one! The game was live on TV and I was hoping for a top ten finish.Felt absolutely robbed in the end.

I agree that referees have a tough job to do.But in a situation which is not black-and-white,decisions ALWAYS go against the smaller clubs.

Remember this one as well cos I was fuming at the commentators who were ignoring the fact it was outside the box saying that "the day wasnt about Charlton" anyway and it felt like we were just there to make up the numbers...

FFS we could have finished top half and got more prize money had we bloody drawn!!

1StevieG said:

Typical comments from Mourinho saying it was a pen. Well we know it was a Penalty because the ref gave it. .

You can bet you bottom dollar he would have been raging like a bull if that "penalty" had been given against Chelsea.

Its why I don't bother with manager interview post game as you know they are just going to be full of excuses and biased comments.

Trouble is managers dare not suggest their own player dived for fear of getting a phone call from said players agent demanding a transfer...

Addickted said:

Compared with the penalty Stoke got in the last minute of injury time today - then this one was a dead cert!

True - how could the ref be certain that was a handball!

I'm bored of Mourinho.

His record speaks for itself, but personally, I was never a fan of his media style. However, at least when he first arrived he was fresh and new and entertaining (if you like that sort of thing).

Now he's back, he's no different and it's just got old. Same old bullshit excuses, pathetic posturing and pretentious soundbites. He's like a parody of himself and I just wish the press would wake up to it, stop laughing at his, ahem, "jokes" and, frankly, stop giving him a chewie every time he opens his mouth.

randy andy said:

People are blaming the ref, but it is really the system.

Referees are trained to act a certain way by the way the referee reviewing system works. It's a gross simplification, but referees are punished more severely for not awarding fouls or making bookings than they are for erroneously giving fouls and bookings, especially if there's any sort of tenuous argument in support
of the foul or booking.

A referee will always suffer being marked down far more for missing a potential foul than they ever will for giving a soft one.

Therefore the referees at the top of the game are the ones who have progressed up the leagues by getting good reviews and that means not missing fouls/bookings.

Hence you get referees trained by the FA to blow up if there's even the hint of a foul.

Until the system is changed it won't matter if individual refs are demoted, suspended or even fired, their replacements come from the same flawed system and will continue to make the same poor decisions.

Is it really the system that's at fault? Or is it the 22 bare-faced liars doing all they can to fool the poor human being doing his best to help them get through a fair, 90-minute game?

lordromford said:

I'm bored of Mourinho.

His record speaks for itself, but personally, I was never a fan of his media style. However, at least when he first arrived he was fresh and new and entertaining (if you like that sort of thing).

Now he's back, he's no different and it's just got old. Same old bullshit excuses, pathetic posturing and pretentious soundbites. He's like a parody of himself and I just wish the press would wake up to it, stop laughing at his, ahem, "jokes" and, frankly, stop giving him a chewie every time he opens his mouth.

The article where Henry Winter was talking about taking him a present of custard creams or something when he was managing abroad was one of the most pathetic bits of sports journalism I've ever seen. Quite the achievement in such a sea of sludge.