A&H

Middlesbrough v Blackburn

QuaverRef

I used to be indecisive but now i'm not so sure
Level 4 Referee
I’ll refrain from saying too much as I’m a Boro fan but for me this is about as dangerous as it gets, and not even a foul. Really really poor decision, even if the ref hasn’t seen the contact surely we could all draw conclusions from a centre back having his studs 6ft in the air and the opponent next to him then having blood coming from his eye socket. Between the ref and the AR, they simply have to get this right

 
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Howler. The lack of urgency from the referee worries me also.
 
Howler. The lack of urgency from the referee worries me also.
Agreed. Fry had blood all down his face from his eye and the ref acts as if it’s a hamstring injury. I’m not one to just slate referees but that entire process is an incredibly worrying insight to his credentials to player safety
 
I was watching it live, and the commentary team weren’t sure at first glance and wanted a replay to confirm.

I think because it happened so quickly is why it was missed. Also, there was a Blackburn player outside the penalty area who may have moved across the referee’s line of sight.

Not defending as, has been said it’s a stick on penalty, but trying to understand why.
 
Agree that it seems like the ref ends up with a player in front of him right at the KMI moment
Agreed. Fry had blood all down his face from his eye and the ref acts as if it’s a hamstring injury. I’m not one to just slate referees but that entire process is an incredibly worrying insight to his credentials to player safety

No question the ref misses it- obscured by another player, you can't be suggesting that the referee should sanction the outcome of a challenge that they didn't see.
 
Agree that it seems like the ref ends up with a player in front of him right at the KMI moment


No question the ref misses it- obscured by another player, you can't be suggesting that the referee should sanction the outcome of a challenge that they didn't see.
Between the referee, AR and 4th, somebody has to be able to see a 6ft 5 defender lifting his foot 6ft in the air ending with an opposing player with a face covered in place. That to me, is inexcusable.

as referees we’ve all missed split second moments such as handballs or tackles because somebody has run across our line of sight but this moment isn’t a split second situation. Even if you’ve missed the contact, you’d see the before and after otherwise you need to question the positioning.
 
Poor poor decision, surely the ref has too see some of it if he has given a goal kick. Maybe he was talking to the AR but surely the AR should help him out here especially when you see blood coming from the players face.

I agree it's a red card but this reminds me of the incident in the Newcastle Brighton game where Bissouma tried to a do a flick and missed the ball and hit Lewis in the face with his studs yet Kevin Friend despite having a clear view was only going to give a yellow card before VAR intervened, how VAR may of saved the referee in this incident if they had it in the Championship.
 
As a Boro fan also (but equally while trying to be neutral and wearing my refereeing hat) I'm struggling to see how this wasn't both a penalty and a red card.IMG_20210125_161612.jpg
 
Seen that before at QPR game - QPR player rearranged face of oppo, ref gives a corner, oppo player jumps up and treats the referee to a face covered in blood.

One of those 'oh no' moments we all experience every now and again.
 
Feels like one of those scenario were, you must arrive at the correct decision, no matter how bad or shoddy it looks from a process perspective...

Well- sure, that's why they use comms - so the 4th, and ARs can contribute to the right decision. you don't get to invent a decision out of what none of you has seen though. Would be fascinating to hear the chatter on this incident.
 
Well- sure, that's why they use comms - so the 4th, and ARs can contribute to the right decision. you don't get to invent a decision out of what none of you has seen though. Would be fascinating to hear the chatter on this incident.
Invent, or apply common sense? 🤷‍♂️
Agreed. Would love to hear those comms too... I can't comprehend the idea that between 4 pairs of professionally trained eyes, not one of them has witnessed this.
Could his assistants have been trying to help, but the ref wouldn't be told otherwise?
 
I would've missed it as a television spectator
When I think about the UEFA colour coded scale of 1 to 10 when judging the severity of a challenge, perhaps VAR could've worked on the same sort of principle. Subjectively, to only interfere for missed incidents that would rate a 10 like this one. When an incident gets missed that all referees would universally agree upon. They could brand the concept, clear & obvious, or something catchy like that 🤨
 
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Between the referee, AR and 4th, somebody has to be able to see a 6ft 5 defender lifting his foot 6ft in the air ending with an opposing player with a face covered in place. That to me, is inexcusable.

as referees we’ve all missed split second moments such as handballs or tackles because somebody has run across our line of sight but this moment isn’t a split second situation. Even if you’ve missed the contact, you’d see the before and after otherwise you need to question the positioning.

An excellent example of how all four officials need to work together to make sure a play like this is sanctioned. Yes, the referee might have been screened. But you have four officials. While the crew should have eyes on as much of the field as possible, SOMEONE has to be able to see this and start talking with the referee. If the trail AR is watching behind the play in the defensive half, the fourth should then have this in line of sight and be able to provide some assistance.

My pregame always includes something to give my crew confidence that they need to be comfortable informing me of a major missed incident like this. Yes, I'll be upset I missed it, but I'd MUCH rather have the crew get the call right and make the argument, "The center blew it, but his crew bailed him out" instead of "How in the world did the WHOLE CREW miss that one???"
 
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Well- sure, that's why they use comms - so the 4th, and ARs can contribute to the right decision. you don't get to invent a decision out of what none of you has seen though. Would be fascinating to hear the chatter on this incident.
I take your point, but by the same token, if they didn't see the kick to the face then you could argue they also couldn't have seen who the ball came off last (since Fry heading the ball and Branthwaite's foot being planted into Fry's face happened at the same moment) - yet they gave a goal kick. So even if we accept that they don't get to "invent a decision," they've essentially done that in the end anyway, by deciding to give a goal kick rather than a corner.
 
I take your point, but by the same token, if they didn't see the kick to the face then you could argue they also couldn't have seen who the ball came off last (since Fry heading the ball and Branthwaite's foot being planted into Fry's face happened at the same moment) - yet they gave a goal kick. So even if we accept that they don't get to "invent a decision," they've essentially done that in the end anyway, by deciding to give a goal kick rather than a corner.
Completely agree with this Peter.
 
I take your point, but by the same token, if they didn't see the kick to the face then you could argue they also couldn't have seen who the ball came off last (since Fry heading the ball and Branthwaite's foot being planted into Fry's face happened at the same moment) - yet they gave a goal kick. So even if we accept that they don't get to "invent a decision," they've essentially done that in the end anyway, by deciding to give a goal kick rather than a corner.
Yes and no. If they don't have a foul, the only choices are GK and CK--they have to pick one of the two. And I think most of us still default to a GK if we really don't know. I think giving one of the two that you must choose from is a different kettle of fish than giving a PK and send off for something you don't see. (Though I am also surprised that none of the four saw enough to put together a call--but a bloody face doesn't necessarily prove there was foot contact, as a player could get a bloody nose from the ball, too. Just imagine if they had deduced it "must have" been a kick to the face, gave the PK and RC, and the video showed it was actually just a ball to the face. I'm not a fan of VR, but this is the kind of play it is truly meant for.)
 
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