Dermot Gallagher's Analysis

[Kieran W]

http://www1.skysports.com/news/11095/9652243/

What do we all think of Gallagher's views. I agree with him on all the incidents however the Burnley corner I don't see how we can expect the referee to run 30 yards for every corner to check the placement of the ball. The assistant on the touchline has to help him out here although he is some distance away.

 

[Morten]

http://www1.skysports.com/news/11095/9652243/

What do we all think of Gallagher's views. I agree with him on all the incidents however the Burnley corner I don't see how we can expect the referee to run 30 yards for every corner to check the placement of the ball. The assistant on the touchline has to help him out here although he is some distance away.

I have only seen the picture in the article, but I don't think that picture is conclusive evidence that the ball is not touching the line. To be sure you have to see the ball from a bird eye view. The base of the ball is not touching the line, but that doesn't mean it is outside.

 

[SM]

What Morten said. The only way to be sure if the ball is in the arc is to stand over it and look down on it.

More important than the possible inch stolen - defending properly at corners! Unless someone can prove to me that 1 inch or so can destroy a teams carefully laid plans to defend a corner, then all this quibbling is all smoke and mirrors.

 

[Martiju]

Quite agree - yet another example of using the officials to disguise poor performance which, inevitably, the media buy into immediately. Saying that, I was pretty heartened for once by the MOTD swift dismissal of this one as even the vaguest of excuses.

 

[DaveMac]

Imagine, just imagine what would happen if at EVERY single corner the ref ran over, checked the balls position on every corner. Every pundit would be calling them a jobs worth and ruining the flow of the game. It's a no in situation. Plus as has already been mentioned that extra inch makes no difference in clearing the ball as a defending team.

 

[jofusref]

Imagine, just imagine what would happen if at EVERY single corner the ref ran over, checked the balls position on every corner. Every pundit would be calling them a jobs worth and ruining the flow of the game. It's a no in situation. Plus as has already been mentioned that extra inch makes no difference in clearing the ball as a defending team.

it agree but it might stop the teams cheating

 

[DaveMac]

it agree but it might stop the teams cheating

But there must be an element of picking your battles.mis it really worth making such a fuss over that as a ref. if your doing that then you really are going to be expected to enforce everything to such a particular level. Which would be unsustainable.

 

[jofusref]

But there must be an element of picking your battles.mis it really worth making such a fuss over that as a ref. if your doing that then you really are going to be expected to enforce everything to such a particular level. Which would be unsustainable.

dangeous territory when a referee purposly decides which of the 17 laws he is going to let the teams break, look at the problems the top refs choosing to ignore offinbus is causing

 

[haywain]

Must admit I've pretty much given up on players involved in the kick off being in their own half at kick offs and the ball going forward.....for starters

 

[haywain]

top refs choosing to ignore offinbus is causing

Or perhaps, when a player uses offinabus in a noisy stadium, the referee, who has become almost completely impervious to player language over the years, doesn't feel that anyone has been offended, insulted or abused, with the occasional exception when he/she feels that his/her or player/people sensitivities have been breached.

 

[McTavish]

dangeous territory when a referee purposly decides which of the 17 laws he is going to let the teams break, look at the problems the top refs choosing to ignore offinbus is causing

I don't think anyone has advocated letting teams break the law, if the ball is obviously not in the corner arc then everyone would make sure it was moved back. In the OP the ball may or may not be a few millimetres out of the arc and therefore any offence is trifling and not worth holding up the game for.

As DaveMac has pointed out, if you start applying the laws exactly as written things can become very tedious (getting throw-ins taken from exactly where the ball left the FOP for example) and potentially worse - imagine a team taking a quick free quick and scoring but you disallow the goal because the FK was taken 3 feet too far back...

 

[Brian Hamilton]

The truth of the matter is that you have to prioritise. If you're busy ensuring the throw in is taken to the correct position by a millimetre, are you going to be in position to observe the drop zone when the throw is taken? In the drop zone there is more chance of players clashing during the challenge for the ball and misconduct happening there, which will have greater impact on your match control than the thrower stealing a yard.