The Ref Stop

City v Liverpool

M

Matthew

RefChat Addict
Well, what a fantastic game of football. Absolutely devastated with the result, but the title race definitely is not over.

Now on to Mark Clattenburg, who I am absolutely livid with. I can accept losing, I can even accept two stonewall penalties not being given, it happens. But as referees we have a responsibility to enforce the laws of the game, something which he failed to do. Suarez, already on a yellow card, dived and should have been given a second yellow. He was looking right at it, as was Darren Cann on the line. Why was he not sent off? As I said, there were two penalties not given, that shouldn't happen, but it does and I can just about accept it.

I will always give referees the benefit of the doubt, it's a massively difficult job as we all know, but today he failed in his most basic duty and he should be ashamed.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm absolutely furious.

Edit: This sounds like I'm blaming the ref for us losing. I'm not, we conceded three soft goals, but nothing angers me more than refs not doing their jobs correctly.
 
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The Ref Stop
Supermonkey said:
You have to say, clatts had a very good game today. Got all the big calls, ignored penalty claims on both sides, sensible and efficient. He missed the skertl arm, but then didn't we all before the replay!

Best performing ref in the premier league at the moment?
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Same game? :D
 
A case here I think of both being true rather than one or the other. He was 99% excellent and I thought a really awesome display. But, at the same time, I think he bottled the Suarez dive incident. Can we say if there were five minutes to go and/or Suarez wasn't on a yellow he would pretty much certainly have booked him?

So, yes, for me a case of the ref not applying the Law but thinking to himself, sh1t, there's a lot of this game to go, he's their star player, I can't send him off for a dive.

I'd like to think I'd have got the card out in that situation. Refereed the incident rather than been swayed by the bigger picture. But then, that's easy to say from here.

Who knows? Maybe he wasn't a hundred percent sure that he dived. Just ninety-five. ;)

As for the Skrtel handball - if half a dozen Man City players don't see it then difficult to think Clattenburg should have. One o' them things.

And more important than all of that: why can't Vincent Kompany kick a ball? ;)

Loved Gerrard's emotions after the game. And love how people are always convinced the title's going this way or that based on one result, or one kick of the ball. But hard to imagine Liverpool not dropping points between now and the end of the season. Surely something unpredictable will happen. Who predicted Chelsea losing at Palace and Villa?
 
The joys of passion in football eh? Entangled as snakes in a basket.

Bias is a wonderful thing!!!
 
Are you trying to insinuate that Mark Clattenburg ruined the game? The referee was decent for once, no dispute about Henderson's sending off, yes he could've given Suarez a second yellow but he was probably thinking to himself the first yellow he should've let go in the first place, as is commonplace in these types of games.

And as for the Skrtel handball, nobody saw it, and lets be fair, Skrtel was not looking at the ball at any stage, his arm is up to help him gain height, the ball has hit his arm, not the other way around.

I sense bitterness.
 
Evan said:
And as for the Skrtel handball, nobody saw it, and lets be fair, Skrtel was not looking at the ball at any stage, his arm is up to help him gain height, the ball has hit his arm, not the other way around.
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Lol I support Liverpool mate, there is no defending skrtels handball! :)

As for the bitterness comment, it feels nice to be on the happy/good side of the salty tears of bitterness!!!! Been far too long! Alls fair in love and football
 
Supermonkey said:
Entangled as Snakes in a Basket.
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Sounds like a good title for a movie. Imagine Samuel L. Jackson walking along with what he thinks is a basket of bread rolls. Then he gets a call: he's actually carrying a basket full of deadly snakes and if he doesn't continue walking at at least 3.8 miles per hour they'll "go off" (whatever that means).
 
But back on the subject of Clattenburg...how did he only give an extra thirty seconds of added time given there was a red card, a substitution, and a bit of time wasting too? I was looking forward to at least another ninety seconds. :-)
 
Evan said:
Are you trying to insinuate that Mark Clattenburg ruined the game? The referee was decent for once, no dispute about Henderson's sending off, yes he could've given Suarez a second yellow but he was probably thinking to himself the first yellow he should've let go in the first place, as is commonplace in these types of games.

And as for the Skrtel handball, nobody saw it, and lets be fair, Skrtel was not looking at the ball at any stage, his arm is up to help him gain height, the ball has hit his arm, not the other way around.

I sense bitterness.
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Don't put words in my mouth, at no point did I say that he'd ruined the game. I said that that he'd failed to do his job properly in not sending Suarez off. It was a fantastic game of football between two fantastic teams. Do you honestly think that it wasn't hand ball? :hmmm:

The emotions in this thread sum up perfectly why we all love football. How dare anybody say that I'm biased, it's just that every decision that goes against City is wrong :rolleyes:
 
I thought Clattenburg was excellent. He made one mistake in my opinion, not to send Suarez off, but that aside his decision making was outstanding and match control exemplary.

Out of interest @Matthew , were you a Manchester City supporter in 2007?
 
Southend-ref said:
I thought Clattenburg was excellent. He made one mistake in my opinion, not to send Suarez off, but that aside his decision making was outstanding and match control exemplary.

Out of interest @Matthew , were you a Manchester City supporter in 2007?
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Ah, that old chestnut! :D My first game was in the 00/01 season when we beat Rotherham 2-1 at Maine Road, I was 8 years old at the time and I've had a season ticket since we moved to the Etihad in 2003.
 
Matthew said:
Do you honestly think that it wasn't hand ball?
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For an offence to have been committed, a handball has to be deliberate. I don't think it was deliberate. His arm was up to give him leverage, and the ball hit his arm, not the other way round.
 
I also think Clatternburg was great today, I thought he may well have sent Suarez off for a second yellow but I think he was probably right not to. They only tend to book for simulation if it's in the penalty box IMO. A weaker ref and that game may have been different as he was strong throughout, that's why he's the best in the country at the moment for me.
 
frank_ref said:
I think Evan was referring to the OP. Who I don't think was bitter at all. Just to set y'all straight. ;)
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I know, just wanted to rub it in a little that the salty bitterness tears were coming from man city fans :D
 
Actually MOTD2 showed there WAS some contact involved in the Suarez "dive", so looks like the good old ref might actually have been correct there!

Don't support either team btw!
 
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