A&H

Derby Penalty

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The goal is to get the call right. While the optics didn’t look good, Pawson and crew got the call related to the non-penalty kick right. They are a team.
I think it’s quite disrespectful to assistant referees. The clue is in the name and they worked together to come to the correct conclusion
 
He comes through and clips him from behind on the shin before getting the ball. I think it’s soft and impossible to call in real time but I don’t think giving a penalty here is wrong
 
The only real criticism I would have is why haven't they sorted it on the comms before making any kind of signal. Pawson took a bit of time before signalling, he should have been saying "I'm going penalty" to give Smart a chance to stop him.

I don't actually think the penalty was wrong as such, one of those where the attacker comes from behind the defender who then goes to play the ball without even knowing he is there. Definitely on the soft side, but not as soft as the free kick given against the attacker who doesn't really do anything at all wrong.

Would have been interesting to see what VAR made of it had they been using it. I suspect they would have stuck with the original decision and gone penalty.
 
He comes through and clips him from behind on the shin before getting the ball. I think it’s soft and impossible to call in real time but I don’t think giving a penalty here is wrong
Tbh I’m not even sure there’s any contact on
The only real criticism I would have is why haven't they sorted it on the comms before making any kind of signal. Pawson took a bit of time before signalling, he should have been saying "I'm going penalty" to give Smart a chance to stop him.

I don't actually think the penalty was wrong as such, one of those where the attacker comes from behind the defender who then goes to play the ball without even knowing he is there. Definitely on the soft side, but not as soft as the free kick given against the attacker who doesn't really do anything at all wrong.

Would have been interesting to see what VAR made of it had they been using it. I suspect they would have stuck with the original decision and gone penalty.
I‘m not sure there’s a foul in there at all. I think it should’ve been a corner. You’re right about the comms. Maybe they thought it would’ve been messier to turn a defensive free kick into a penalty rather than the other way round? I’m still not sure if it’s a foul or not. He definitely clips the ball but there might be very slight contact on the player but I can’t 100% tell. In real time, I thought it was stonewall
 
As AR, I'm not calling my ref over after a penalty to say "I don't think that's a penalty", I'm only doing it if I can say "I'm 100% sure you've got that wrong". I've watched the clip 4 or 5 times and I still don't see how you can be 100% sure about anything that's going on there.

I'm not sure it's a penalty, but once it's given I really don't see the justification for the AR getting involved and convincing him to change the decision.

Also, side-note about Pawson's approach to conducting that discussion. I'm usually a fan of his laid-back style, but I really think a bit more discipline and authority would have helped him here. I didn't like the slow walk over to the AR, I think his life would have been a lot easier if he'd at least attempted to send the players away, and I really wasn't a big fan of him just leaving the AR alone with the 3 or 4 Derby players who were clearly unhappy with the AR's involvement. You've got a responsibility to look after your AR's, and leaving them surrounded by 3 or 4 angry players is completely neglecting that responsibility.
 
In the Sunderland game, anyone see the moment Sky broadcast the words 'you baldy cu^t' hurled at the AR from Maguire. A lapse moment by the Sky Studio, not reacting quick enough to fade that out before broadcast (assuming there's a slight delay in the production process to allow them to do so). AR just sucked it up, game management at stake... makes me ashamed to be an official and inclined to steer my kids away from the game
Ironically, within a minute or so, the camera was back on the same player as he got MOTM. That's football
 
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As AR, I'm not calling my ref over after a penalty to say "I don't think that's a penalty", I'm only doing it if I can say "I'm 100% sure you've got that wrong". I've watched the clip 4 or 5 times and I still don't see how you can be 100% sure about anything that's going on there.

I'm not sure it's a penalty, but once it's given I really don't see the justification for the AR getting involved and convincing him to change the decision.

Also, side-note about Pawson's approach to conducting that discussion. I'm usually a fan of his laid-back style, but I really think a bit more discipline and authority would have helped him here. I didn't like the slow walk over to the AR, I think his life would have been a lot easier if he'd at least attempted to send the players away, and I really wasn't a big fan of him just leaving the AR alone with the 3 or 4 Derby players who were clearly unhappy with the AR's involvement. You've got a responsibility to look after your AR's, and leaving them surrounded by 3 or 4 angry players is completely neglecting that responsibility.
I think Keogh was lucky to not get a yellow after that episode for his way he was in the face of the referee, then tussling with the Leeds captain who was trying to keep him away and then having a go at the AR. I think he might’ve been on a yellow which was maybe why he didn’t get one for that?
 
I think it’s quite disrespectful to assistant referees. The clue is in the name and they worked together to come to the correct conclusion
I suspect your earlier praise for the fortitude of MrP wouldn’t have been quite so humble if the roles were reversed @alexv
 
I don't ever see Pawson doing this given he's pretty laid-back, but I once saw a MLS referee use the spray to draw a line about 5 yards away from the assistant referee when he was having a conference. The message was clear - "If you come across this line, it will be misconduct."

A novel use of the "magic spray", but one I'd definitely consider if I was ever in a situation like this and had a spray can.
 
I suspect your earlier praise for the fortitude of MrP wouldn’t have been quite so humble if the roles were reversed @alexv
To be fair, I praised the officials when we had a penalty wrongly disallowed against Derby when the ref gave a pen but the assistant flagged incorrectly for offside
 
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