Clearly, this isn't blatant corruption, this isn't backhanders and games actually being 'fixed' in the sense that the outcome is pre-ordained for the rags before the ball is kicked, I think anyone who believes that is misguided. Plus, for that to go uncovered for 20 years I would think nigh on impossible.
That said anyone who can't see the blatantly obvious bias when it is in their face are the ones in denial. Clearly, as someone stated earlier, those in positions of power at the Premier League equate the success of the biggest club in the Premiership with the success of the Premier League. As long as that is the case they will continue to get favoured. Those on the payroll of the FA and Premier League are under no illusions what is 'required' in order to retain their status and job - whether that be as a referee or a pundit. It doesn't need to be explicit or written down, it is surreptitious and done by cause and effect, poor decisions against the rags get punished and demotions result, conversely what are viewed as good refereeing performances that help the rags are rewarded. Howard Webb anybody ? World cup referee and now MBE - 4 penalties in 6 games for the rags.
It’s interesting that those who seem to wish to deny any bias will quote our 'luck' against Blackpool and Chelsea's incorrect 'goal' against the rags in some way of justification but that's about the sum total of what they can come up with. No one is denying that at some point in some game in a season you are going to have a decision go in your favour that turns out to be wrong. That is because referees in the 'normal' course of their duties get decisions wrong. Perhaps the ref in the Chelsea game believed that the decision was correct and to deny the 'goal' would have been too blatant a case of bias? The sending off of Rafael (bear in mind this was their first of the season and with only 15 mins left ffs) is a case in point, the furore that followed and over the top criticism will make any ref think twice about making that kind of decision in the future. Fair enough, the second booking was harsh but you could see why it was seen as a booking as at first hand it looked like a professional foul and he was lucky not to have been sent off for the first challenge anyway.
Compare that with the litany of major game changing decisions that go in the rags favour season in season out. Off the top of my head just this season
Rat boy against West Brom - blatant sending off
Rat boy against Stoke - blatant sending off
2 sendings off vs Wigan
Nani hand ball 'goal' against Spurs when everybody could see it should be a free kick to spurs
Blatant penalty at 2-0 versus Blackpool
Brum, Sunderland and Blackburn all concede within 5 mins at OT managed by Bruce, McCleish and Allardyce – enough said !To my mind its only those games when the rags are struggling that they seem to get a helping hand, if the rags are on top anyway then there is no need for the ref to try and swing things in their favour. Don’t think I haven’t questioned my own paranoia, season after season I’ve put it down to my blue tinted specs – the spurs ‘goal’ that went over the line, the six minutes of injury time against us, Mascherano sending off, the Lille quick free kick that Giggs took when the goalie wasn’t ready – its always the rags that seem to have these ‘ridiculous’ decisions go in their favour then the media spend the whole evening justifying it.
The above games I’ve mentioned where the refs decisions have had a direct impact could mean the rags 11 points worse offthan they are and back in the chasing pack. That wouldn't be so bad if the above decisions were offset by poor decisions against them - the only one I can think of is Brum, again continually used as some kind of proof that it’s all fair and above board. Maybe at the time the ref saw no way he could disallow it and to have done so would have caused too much of a storm. These are the sort of things that refs have to contend with.
Lets not forget the Fergie Sycophants identified above who will roll over and play dead for Fergie at OT like Bruce, Allardyce, McCleish, Pulis and to a certain extent Martinez all Fergie lap dogs who all just let their teams be steamrollered at OT. They don’t do the same at home because they have a stadium full of home fans to please.However, there’s also the more subtle things that people don’t notice, that don’t make the headlines and are easily forgotten - booking specific players who then have to watch themselves the whole game for fear of a sending off, fouls given when they shouldn’t be, free-kicks given in dangerous positions, shirt pulling in the penalty box going unpunished, its all very subtle but can help to swing a result in the rags favour - I see it time and again.
Of course, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to deny that in many games the rags are good enough to win games without any 'interference' from the ref but in all of the above games when the rags are struggling (ok they were beating Spurs but the game was finely balanced) they always get the helping hand they need whether that be disallowed goals, slight offside goals given, opposition player sent off, dodgy penalties, overly generous additional minutes (who could forget the infamous 6 minutes!) I've witnessed them all over the years. Such is the fine line between success and failure it is these half a dozen or so games a season that change the season in the rags favour.
The other thing you will notice is the timing of games to suit the rags, Fergie was able to rest a quarter of his team before the game against Blackpool and the game was on the Tuesday, why not the Wednesday, giving Blackpool an extra day to recover ? Is it any surprise that Blackpool looked dead on their feet and all the goals came in the last 15 minutes ? I’ve also noticed the same thing against Birmingham and Stoke. Weekend game followed by playing a smaller team with a smaller squad on the Tuesday giving them less time to recover against a rotated and refreshed rags team.
The league may not be fixed but there is no doubt in my mind that the rags are favoured and the number of decisions that seem to go in their favour cannot be pure coincidence it will be generally recognised by referees that favouring the rags gets rewarded and not doing so results in punishment, demotion and possible loss of earnings. If that was your job and livelihood what do you think you would do ?
