Chippy_boy
Well-Known Member
So Ibrahimovic has a 3 match suspension, Mings awaits his verdict and all seems to be coming out as it should. Or does it? Only if we ignore the obvious truth that this whole storm was the result of yet another absolutely scandalous display by yet another of this country's "top" referees. He didn't see a stamp, he didn't see an elbow, he didn't see "Zlats" hurl Mings to the ground. Why did he talk to Zlats" and "Roo" for so long? What were they talking about? He didn't speak at all to the only player to be sent off! In fact, of the period of the match which has made the PL an object of derision throughout the world he saw absolutely nothing apart from a push by Surnam which earned B'mouth's captain a second yellow. This was because this referee had given him a yellow earlier for a perfectly fair tackle on Shaw, in fact one identical to one Shaw had not been penalised for earlier on Surnam! This referee also gave a penalty against B'mouth when Pogba had headed the ball from very close range against the defender's arm. The only important decision this referee got right was the award of a penalty to B'mouth. In 90 minutes of mind boggling incompetence he did enough to show that one of the first charges brought by the FA should have been against him. It should have been followed by an announcement that he will never referee in the PL again.
These refereeing displays are becoming increasingly frequent, as we, in particular, know too well. The FA turns a deaf ear to claims that referees are told what they should see and what they should not, but it is increasingly obvious that ref's will have exercised a major influence on the final league table of the season, if not THE major influence. The integrity of the PL is at stake.
What an excellent post.
I'd disagree with only one thing: the integrity of the PL is not at stake, it's already long been lost. It really has. I am convinced there is widespread corruption throughout our sport, from draws being fixed, refs on bungs, players throwing matches (just look at Liverpool's defending against Leicester after the Asian - as in betting syndicate - owners had just sacked Ranieri and needed a result), half the media being at best biased, the other half worse than biased, the rules being fixed (FFP and now changes to CL prize money).
The FBI (or CIA or whoever it was) need to come in and bust the whole of the PL/FA wide open, just like they've done at FIFA... since our own police are too inept to do it.