Comments on: Ferguson and players attack referee Atkinson

By: Faithless Ferguson sounds a familiar tone (Updates with ban) - Posted In English Premier League | Soccer News Info - Soccer News Info

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:29:53 +0000

[...] You might think Alex Ferguson would have realised, after half a century in the professional game, that the view from the manager’s dug-out is rarely objective or entirely accurate. [...]

By: GH

GH — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:51:12 +0000

Sometimes decisions go our way, sometimes not. Fortunately, it is rare that bad decisions actually decide games. Unfortunately, yesterday was one of those poor occasions. The decisions of the linesman in the first half were atrocious. Rooney two feet onside and one on one with Cech – flagged offside; probably cost us a goal; Valencia wrestled to the ground by Terry, no penalty – and the linesman had a better view; once again, almost certainly cost us a goal. Had the decision making been accurate, we would more than likely have been 2-0 up at half time.

Pete – how you think the refereeing was consistent is beyond me. Here was a man who thought that a clean tackle (Fletcher, and if you say so, Ivanovic) is a foul, yet wrestling someone to the ground in the area (Terry at one end, Drogba at the other) is not an offence. In case your blue-tinted specs stop you from noticing this, Pete – the wrestling allowed Chelsea to score and stopped United from having a penalty. In the interests of balance, I would say that Drogba’s booking was ludicrous, though unlike other decisions this didn’t really influence the game.

On the other hand, I really feel that Ferguson has made an error of judgement after the Sunderland game, criticising Wiley’s fitness when his refereeing was not an issue. Since that point, he has got some reason to be unhappy at Liverpool (where were it not for poor refereeing we may have got ourselves an undeserved point) and ample reason to be angry yesterday.

But, thanks to Sir Alex’s rant, do you think any of the referees will listen? Or even care? The general standard of refereeing (not forgetting the linesmen as well) is dreadful in the Premier League, but Ferguson has unfortunately put himself in the position where he is not best qualified to bring this issue to the public’s attention.

By: Wazza2003

Wazza2003 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:41:27 +0000

@pete

Consitently wrong? I didn’t see anything wrong with Fletcher’s tackle. If that’s a foul then you’ll agree that Terry fouled Valencia in the first half? Or perhaps football is now a non-contact sport, unless you’re Chelsea.

By: pete borota

pete borota — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:29:15 +0000

Guys,

If you look at Atkinson’s decision for the Fletcher foul it was consistent with the foul he game against Ivanovic on Giggs in the first half.

Both players won the ball but their challenging foot rolled over the top of the ball. It resulted in Ivanovic making contact with Giggs, but Cole pull his foot back reading the situation.

The ref was consistent in his decision making.

By: David Finnegan

David Finnegan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:17:39 +0000

Remember last season the penalty Chelsea were awarded , Carrick hardly moved his arm and was adjudged to have handled the ball. Lampard throws his hand above his head, no free kick!
Are we suffering a referee back lash? Carragher should have been sent off, Fletch should have had a pen against CSKA, Then there is the litinay of decisions that went against us at Chelsea. Or are we grasping at those decisions because we are no longer scoring freely?
Over the last few years Ronnie would pop up with a goal and all refereeing decisions would be forgotten.

Now we are talking more about the Ref because the goals aren’t there.
WE should have beat chelsea by a good 3 goal margin yesterday, then Chelsea’s goal would not have mattered, instead we are talking about being hard done by.

Maybe, just maybe we should be asking why we seem to have lost the ability to put teams away??