Reply received from FA, not as detailed as I would like!!!
Dear Paul,Thank you for contacting the Football Association. Whilst understanding your frustration as a football fan, every supporter will have an opinion on the game’s major talking points and we’re always interested to hear them. The Football Association receives frequent correspondence on individual refereeing decisions across all levels of football as well as on the performance of referees in general. It is important to understand that without a referee there is no game and as a result the long-term health of football relies on recruiting, retaining and developing referees. Whilst 100% consistency is impossible when human judgment is introduced into a situation, referees get the overwhelmingly majority of decisions right. In fact they are arguably the most consistent people in the game making split-second decisions that will be analysed repeatedly by slow motion cameras and panels of football experts.The FA only act retrospectively in off the ball 'not seen' scenarios, where the referee would have been unable to see a particular incident. Where an official has seen a coming together of players, regardless of the outcome, no retrospective action can be taken in accordance with FIFA guidance. If the referee in his report, confirms that had he seen an incident, he would have sent the player off, retrospective action can then be taken.
There is a system in place for monitoring the performance of referees and referee's assistants. This involves referees assessors and reports from club managers. All assessors come from a footballing background and the majority are fully qualified referees themselves. The performances of referees over a season are then taken into consideration when the leagues appoint their referees for the following season.
The Select Group officiates in the Premier League and is the responsibility of Mike Riley, General Manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). Premier League refereeing enquiries should be addressed to Mike Riley, The Premier League, 30 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8PL or via
info@premierleague.com.
We do appreciate all of the feedback we receive from supporters. This feedback is collated and used to build a picture of public opinion and is subsequently fed back internally within the organisation. Please rest assured your comments will form part of this feedback process. Best wishes,John Stanley | Customer RelationsThe Football Association
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Sent: 24 January 2012 14:04
Clarification on how fixtures are officiatedFANNumber: 56554231Email:
As a fan for over 30 years of my club and football in general, I have to report that I am becoming more and more disillusioned with how the sport is being officiated, so much so that it is seriously tarnishing my enjoyment and questioning my long term commitment to the game. I would very much appreciate if the FA could explain how fixtures are officiated and what incidents require retrospective actions to be taken. Is the fixture solely under the charge of the appointed official at the time of the match, or do the FA now follow media agendas and steered by opinions of non FA appointed official?
Three recent Manchester City matches have, for me, brought to a head the inconsistencies within the game.
Match One Manchester City v Liverpool (PL Fixture) the appointed referee was, in my opinion biased towards Liverpool throughout the game. This was so marked that spectators in my stand were speculating on how much of a bribe he had taken. Most borderline decisions were given in Liverpool's favour, yellow cards were given to City players on first offences. Liverpool players were however dealt with by a 'quiet word' and then involving the club captain. This, in my opinion, showed a blatant agenda by the referee in his officiation of this fixture.
Match Two Manchester City v Manchester United (FAC Fixture), the sending off of Mr Vincent Kompany for what was deemed a dangerous lunging tackle. The tackle was actually one footed and the second foot came in to control the ball once it had been won. Most 'pundits' and observers thought that it was a fair tackle and were shocked to see it punished with a red card. I was willing to give the referee the benefit of the doubt in his issuing of the card (under pressure from Mr Wayne Rooney) as he only has one chance to see the tackle and in full speed. I was however shocked (but not surprised) that the FA Disciplinary Committee upheld the decision on review, despite the wide consensus being that it was a good and fair tackle.
Match Three Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspurs (PL Fixture) the retrospective punishment of Mr Mario Balotelli is of concern to me. How did this come about? Do the FA review every second of every game on a Monday morning and inform referees of missed decisions? Or do they only act on media induced hysteria brought about by slow motion replays? I understand that Mr Balotelli and Mr Joleon Lescott were both investigated for incidents in this fixture. Can you please explain why, only these two incidents were investigated? I do not understand how the tackle from Mr Scott Parker on Mr Micah Richards was not re-looked at. This was a two footed lunging challenge, as we have learnt from the above Kompany tackle (by the match referee and upheld by the FA Disciplinary Committee) it does not matter if the ball was 'won' lunging tackles are dangerous and Mr Parker should have been dismissed from the field of play. In the last moments of the match Mr Balotelli was fouled within the penalty area and correctly awarded a penalty kick. However in my view the tackle from Mr Ledley King was also a lunging two footed scissor style tackle that was dangerous and could have resulted in broken limbs, no caution was issued by the referee for this tackle.
I look forward to receiving your explanation of my above points and not your standard 'thank you for your interest' reply.
