The Ref Stop

Martin Atkinson

Will Davison

New Member
Level 7 Referee
Not sure if this is the right section or not, but does anyone know why Martin Atkinson has been demoted to league 2 cheltenham vs Northampton this weekend?? I haven't seen him for a couple of weeks??
 
The Ref Stop
Not sure if this is the right section or not, but does anyone know why Martin Atkinson has been demoted to league 2 cheltenham vs Northampton this weekend?? I haven't seen him for a couple of weeks??
Northampton seem to have had a lot of SG officials lately, not sure why.

I also think Atko was injured for a while!
 
DanCohen17 said:
Northampton seem to have had a lot of SG officials lately

I seem to remember Mike Dean there a couple of weeks ago
 
He's not perfect though, 4 years ago in 2009 (I think) he was coined by a Cardiff City supporter which could have an effect on his decisions.
 
So what are you saying Aled; he will be biased? Or that he should be penalised and not be considered for Cardiff games because some low-life threw a coin at him? Sorry if I'm missing your point, but I don't understand where you're coming from!

I'm sure he will do a sterling (and fair) job as always and that any mistakes made, identified by watching two hundred different angles of slow motion replays, with the benefit of hindsight, will have been made honestly.
 
Ok, I didn't make that clear. As you said I'm sure he'll be perfectly good as he always is but if he gives a big call (e.g. red card) against Cardiff there's going to be all sorts going on in the stands as everyone will think he's being biased against Cardiff, I hope it's a quiet match cause the last thing needed are idiot fans trying to run on the pitch or coins being lobbed from the stand (again)
 
He's not perfect though, 4 years ago in 2009 (I think) he was coined by a Cardiff City supporter which could have an effect on his decisions.

Totally disagree with you Aled. Mike's a professional and I'm sure he won't let something that one idiot did FOUR YEARS AGO influence his decisions. As others have said, I think he's the perfect ref for that particular game!
 
still not sure what point you're trying to make Aled, sorry. If he gives a red card they'll be all sorts going on in the stand? We cant govern the game based on idiotic fans who usually don't know the laws, leave their brain, common sense and judgement at the turnstiles to blindly cheer for their team, and may or may not break the law and act like thugs. Who cares what these people think? I'm genuinely puzzled by the angle you've taken.
 
I think I can see where Aled is coming from.

It's not just about being impartial, it's also about appearing to be impartial, and given the past in this fixture there is the potential to open the ref up to accusations of bias should anything happen. However correctly he acts, that will always underly the sentiment from observers especially partisan fans. This situation doesn't help the general feelings towards officials, their impartiality or the profession as a whole and the potential damage done to good reputations could be huge.

Just look at the crap Clattenberg had to go through because of one silly accusation that was nothing.

I think that was Aled's original point, and have been in similar situations myself.

How you get around the problem of the best referee available not being the best referee for a particular game I don't know... :-)
 
I think someone like Webb/Clattenberg would have been more appropriate or a Welsh Prem referee like Lee Evans.
 
Why would they put a Welsh Prem Referee on an English Premier league game? Admittedly Lee is a FIFA ref but the standards are massively different. Welsh premier league is about the some as blue square south or north at best.
 
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