A&H

Dundee v Rangers Off

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DJIC

Well-Known Member
Referee getting critiscm for late arrival at the ground, likely his normal 10.15am, 1 hour 3/4 before kick off. Presumably would be close by overnight, in a hotel or at home?

Clearly the local referee’s decision to call off the game earlier is not going to be accepted by Sky TV.

No expert but no sand applied to this relatively small area?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1769311398733951044
 
The Referee Store
We have no idea what the rest of the pitch looked like. For a televised game they will always leave it as late as possible before calling it off, unless there is absolutely zero chance of it becoming playable. The broadcasters put huge pressure on the referee to play it, so I strongly suspect the conditions are very bad.
 
There are plenty of pics online. Notwithstanding the limitations of judging images alone, It looks like a dubious decision on the face of it to me
But that does come from the standpoint of someone who thinks games are postponed all too easily these days

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The Rangers manager didn't think it was playable, he is just angry that they only started working on it this morning and they hadn't been told about any potential issue until they got to the ground.

“There, the ball was bouncing. But here, the ball was not bouncing. So clearly there is something wrong."

“Also, there were spots on the pitch where they put lots of sand and there was no stability for the players. It is really dangerous for injuries."
 
I've seen the televised pitch inspection. I couldn't care less about the ball bouncing flat. The issue being that there was a small percentage of the pitch which was 'very sloppy'. A couple of 12 foot by 12 foot patches which would've been a right mess. Strange, cos the rest of the pitch was like carpet
Alas we live in a world in which the Ref would get the blame for anything and everything, hence he had little choice
 
It’s only 90 minutes or so from Glasgow (where he lives) to Dundee so Don Robertson probably just came from home today. It was inspected at 9.15am as well by a local referee but I’m not really sure what the point/outcome of that was because everyone seemed to agree to leave it to the match ref at 10.15.
That’s the 4th time this season a game at Dens Park has been postponed because the pitch is waterlogged though so it seems to be an issue for them.
 
Subsequent reports suggest they could have had it playable for a 3pm KO but the lunchtime slot didn’t give them enough time to do the necessary work.
 
The thankless role of the referee. Damned if you do, damned if you don't in this situation.

If a player gets injured due to pitch conditions, no doubt the ref gets blamed.

If the pitch gets seriously cut up and is then unplayable for the next month, yep, that's the referee's fault as well.
 
DJIC said:
Talking of a patch of the pitch being unplayable, interesting method from Plymouth Parkway in solving the problem.

Great comment on X, if we win the toss should we bat or bowl?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1772675309503910358
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Hmm, not sure I'd be playing on that. The law implies that the pitch has to be of the same material, not half grass and half mud. Difficult to know without being on it, but I suspect someone running at full speed on grass then planting their foot on mud is going to have stability issues.
 
RustyRef said:
Hmm, not sure I'd be playing on that. The law implies that the pitch has to be of the same material, not half grass and half mud. Difficult to know without being on it, but I suspect someone running at full speed on grass then planting their foot on mud is going to have stability issues.
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Hands up. I was the referee for this game. It was inspected in the AM by a very senior referee.
It was perfectly playable. It was only the same as a bare patch like you get in the goal area, it just looks odd due to the shape.

2nd half driving rain and it was actually the best part of the pitch. This ground hadnt been played on since 30Th Jan and this is a drastic measure to get games played.

Bottom line was it was safe and ball bounced and rolled through without issue and good game of football was had. Reported to league obviously to say about it but also how it played.
 
JamesL said:
Hands up. I was the referee for this game. It was inspected in the AM by a very senior referee.
It was perfectly playable. It was only the same as a bare patch like you get in the goal area, it just looks odd due to the shape.

2nd half driving rain and it was actually the best part of the pitch. This ground hadnt been played on since 30Th Jan and this is a drastic measure to get games played.

Bottom line was it was safe and ball bounced and rolled through without issue and good game of football was had. Reported to league obviously to say about it but also how it played.
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Fair enough, probably one of those where it looks worse from a photo. Still not a good look though.
 
During the international break, Parkway played their other home game v Winchester City at Argyle. Nice little trip out for everyone.
 
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