Referees/Officials

[BringBackSwales]

That was probably the most corrupt refereeing display I've ever seen.

Ric you should send this to Pep's people so he can see how long it's been like this, and that Riley is at the centre of it. And anyone saying Tyler isn't a biased scum lover just needs to listen to his comments; he started with rooney can be "a bit of a rascal" in the tackle! Disgusting

 

[SilverFox2]

How soon before video ref is a PL norm ?
I think that once the Russian Internationals have been seen in the UK there will be plenty of pressure for it to be used.

 

[SilverFox2]

Ric you should send this to Pep's people so he can see how long it's been like this, and that Riley is at the centre of it. And anyone saying Tyler isn't a biased scum lover just needs to listen to his comments; he started with rooney can be "a bit of a rascal" in the tackle! Disgusting

Perhaps they already are aware of it and have been waiting to see if he does anything with it.
The meeting with Pep is again useful evidence of his inability to do his job.

I´m sure City have a large dossier on many individuals and Clubs after the fiasco re FFP and Uefa.
Hopefully the piece in the Mirror is just the tip of the iceburg regarding the exposure of those with power within football. We as a Club break the rules and we are punished so is it possible that the same rule should apply to others ?

 

[mancunial]

Ahhhh winning the league the Utd way.

Riley should have been suspended and investigated after that game, the biggest t--t ever to brown nose his way to the top, he is everything that is wrong in our game in England

 

[mancunial]

Ric you should send this to Pep's people so he can see how long it's been like this, and that Riley is at the centre of it. And anyone saying Tyler isn't a biased scum lover just needs to listen to his comments; he started with rooney can be "a bit of a rascal" in the tackle! Disgusting

Some of that commentary still sticks in my throat, Tyler the biggest rag apologist on this planet, that whole game stank from start to finish even though I cannot stand arsenal it was the worst case of corruption since the added on added on time at Trafford

 

[Big Swifty]

There were some dodgy decisions yesterday too, all seeming to favour the big clubs. Lovren's unpunished foul on the Boro player clean through, Chelsea getting a free kick form which they equalised despite it being a non-foul, Spurs getting at least one, maybe two, offside goals.
Probably wouldn't have changed things, but it's odd how it happens - or is it?

 

[MadchesterCity]

<2015 -16 SEASON>

After much frustration at referee decisions (of which City appear to always be at the negative end of) and the result of having spare time on my hands due to a deserved ban for venting my frustration in a non positive manner, I decided to have a look at the question on everyone's minds; Are we getting a raw deal from the referees?

So I thought perhaps we should approach this question from a subjective standpoint and look at what is factually correct and not fall in line with the media and believe one of the following party lines:

• These decisions even themselves out over a season
• Each team is on the end of poor decisions - just accept it!
• Manchester City have so much money that the referees shouldn't be able to influence the result.
• The players aren't performing, it's their fault not the referees!
• It's just paranoia, take off your blue tinted specs!

I have been so incredibly frustrated this season and have left the Etihad and other away grounds with my blood boiling, incredibly frustrated and feeling cheated. It would appear that after being on the receiving end of some unbelievable decisions it would be beneficial to look at the stats and facts surrounding referees decisions for and against Manchester City this season and understand some of the raw statistics.

Table 1: Premier League 2015/2016 Tackles, Fouls and Cards

What can we interpret from this table and how do we define if these statistics show referee anomalies or poor aptitude or attitude from Manchester City players??

• MCFC have made only 343 successful tackles and lost 624 tackles, this is the worst in the Premier League
• Only WBA and NOR have complete less successful tackles than MCFC
• MCFC with 624 tackles lost is the highest in the league, we have lost 158 tackles more than Swansea and over 100 more tackles than Arsenal.
• MCFC tackles ratio is 0.54 (20th) compared to 0.85 LIV (1st), 0.84 TOT (2nd) and 0.79 LEI (3rd)
• This perhaps comes as no shock due to the work-rate we have seen from Liverpool, Spurs and Leicester this season - I hope we have identified this as an area to address in the Capital One Cup Final.
• MCFC receive a card every 5.9 tackles (15th) compared to Chelsea 7.5 (1st), Arsenal 7.5 (2nd), ManU 7.1 (4th) and Leicester 6.9 (5th) - so what does this mean; MCFC receive a booking for every 6th tackle, Chelsea and Arsenal appear to be treated more leniently by referees and receive a booking after 7th/8th tackle. This may be coincidental so I'm not jumping to any conclusions here.
• Looking at these figures as raw data it would appear that MCFC have a major issue and are not competitive enough in the tackling department, is this driven by tackling technique, player mentality or bias applied by the referees?
• We have received the 15 more yellow cards than Arsenal this season
• Our foul ration is average (we were ranked worst in Europe for this statistic last season) - see table 3; i'm not sure how we achieved neutralization of this factor but would appear we are receiving more balanced refereeing decisions on fouls overall - could this be due to MCFC being awarded more fouls due to the severity of the decisions the referees have made this season - paper over the cracks!?

Table 2: Premier League 2012/2013 – 2015/2014 Present – Ref Rank


Chart shows simplistic (not opponent/match specific) breakdown of referee / pts obtained over past 4 seasons.
MCFC results are ranked against Referees and the referees at the top of the chart are the referees we have had least success whilst we are playing against/ when they are officiating.
From a count of 21 matches this season; Mark Clattenberg has officiated against Manchester City 4 times.
From those games City have accrued 4 points out of a possible 12 and have been on the receiving end of 5 major decisions which I will detail in Table 4.

These major decisions looked like this and were clearly not mistakes but choices!

We lack of protection and rough treatment Aguero has received this season has been another huge cause for concern among most, the general consensus being that he gets less protection than most other strikers.
He is continually fouled from behind and is consistently on the receiving end of horror tackles like the ones from Dann and Wanyama this season.

Table 3: Fouls For against ratio from 2014/2015 season


As mentioned above this concern would now appear obsolete but is something skewing the statistics?

OK if there is something more sinister then we must investigate this; best place to start would be to review the major decisions for and against City this season. My analysis is detailed below and findings show a 9 point swing due to referee decisions which can be defined as major game changing decisions.

Table 4: Major Decision Review

Interesting the same names continue to appear when you review these major decisions; Mark Clattenburg, Robert Madley, Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor

<2016 -17 SEASON>

Analysis required of this season which has been worse than last, same referees seem to be the same names Robert Madley, Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor

 

[TBooksbluearmy]

Tell me something I didn't know. It has been like this most of the season for us. With the same referees if we commit a foul it is give, however if our opponents do a similar 1 it's not given so where is the justice in that. perhaps we should adopt what they do in Italy, if a ref makes to many wrong decisions that are obvious that he ahs given/not given the right decision they are demoted for a period of time. So if we adopted that maybe we would improve the decisions of both all the officials in the game.

PGMOL should also make it official that after every game the officials have also to attend every press conference to explain any decisions that they have got completely wrong. Maybe that would give them something to think about, and maybe result in them getting more decisions right.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

<2015 -16 SEASON>

After much frustration at referee decisions (of which City appear to always be at the negative end of) and the result of having spare time on my hands due to a deserved ban for venting my frustration in a non positive manner, I decided to have a look at the question on everyone's minds; Are we getting a raw deal from the referees?

So I thought perhaps we should approach this question from a subjective standpoint and look at what is factually correct and not fall in line with the media and believe one of the following party lines:

• These decisions even themselves out over a season
• Each team is on the end of poor decisions - just accept it!
• Manchester City have so much money that the referees shouldn't be able to influence the result.
• The players aren't performing, it's their fault not the referees!
• It's just paranoia, take off your blue tinted specs!

I have been so incredibly frustrated this season and have left the Etihad and other away grounds with my blood boiling, incredibly frustrated and feeling cheated. It would appear that after being on the receiving end of some unbelievable decisions it would be beneficial to look at the stats and facts surrounding referees decisions for and against Manchester City this season and understand some of the raw statistics.

Table 1: Premier League 2015/2016 Tackles, Fouls and Cards

What can we interpret from this table and how do we define if these statistics show referee anomalies or poor aptitude or attitude from Manchester City players??

• MCFC have made only 343 successful tackles and lost 624 tackles, this is the worst in the Premier League
• Only WBA and NOR have complete less successful tackles than MCFC
• MCFC with 624 tackles lost is the highest in the league, we have lost 158 tackles more than Swansea and over 100 more tackles than Arsenal.
• MCFC tackles ratio is 0.54 (20th) compared to 0.85 LIV (1st), 0.84 TOT (2nd) and 0.79 LEI (3rd)
• This perhaps comes as no shock due to the work-rate we have seen from Liverpool, Spurs and Leicester this season - I hope we have identified this as an area to address in the Capital One Cup Final.
• MCFC receive a card every 5.9 tackles (15th) compared to Chelsea 7.5 (1st), Arsenal 7.5 (2nd), ManU 7.1 (4th) and Leicester 6.9 (5th) - so what does this mean; MCFC receive a booking for every 6th tackle, Chelsea and Arsenal appear to be treated more leniently by referees and receive a booking after 7th/8th tackle. This may be coincidental so I'm not jumping to any conclusions here.
• Looking at these figures as raw data it would appear that MCFC have a major issue and are not competitive enough in the tackling department, is this driven by tackling technique, player mentality or bias applied by the referees?
• We have received the 15 more yellow cards than Arsenal this season
• Our foul ration is average (we were ranked worst in Europe for this statistic last season) - see table 3; i'm not sure how we achieved neutralization of this factor but would appear we are receiving more balanced refereeing decisions on fouls overall - could this be due to MCFC being awarded more fouls due to the severity of the decisions the referees have made this season - paper over the cracks!?

Table 2: Premier League 2012/2013 – 2015/2014 Present – Ref Rank


Chart shows simplistic (not opponent/match specific) breakdown of referee / pts obtained over past 4 seasons.
MCFC results are ranked against Referees and the referees at the top of the chart are the referees we have had least success whilst we are playing against/ when they are officiating.
From a count of 21 matches this season; Mark Clattenberg has officiated against Manchester City 4 times.
From those games City have accrued 4 points out of a possible 12 and have been on the receiving end of 5 major decisions which I will detail in Table 4.

These major decisions looked like this and were clearly not mistakes but choices!

We lack of protection and rough treatment Aguero has received this season has been another huge cause for concern among most, the general consensus being that he gets less protection than most other strikers.
He is continually fouled from behind and is consistently on the receiving end of horror tackles like the ones from Dann and Wanyama this season.

Table 3: Fouls For against ratio from 2014/2015 season


As mentioned above this concern would now appear obsolete but is something skewing the statistics?

OK if there is something more sinister then we must investigate this; best place to start would be to review the major decisions for and against City this season. My analysis is detailed below and findings show a 9 point swing due to referee decisions which can be defined as major game changing decisions.

Table 4: Major Decision Review

Interesting the same names continue to appear when you review these major decisions; Mark Clattenburg, Robert Madley, Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor

<2016 -17 SEASON>

Analysis required of this season which has been worse than last, same referees seem to be the same names Robert Madley, Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor

Great post, and well researched.

 

[richardtheref]

As a referee who was once in the promotion system there is still something I have never fully understood regarding PL refs. Up until the PL there is every chance you can either promoted or demoted depending on performances. Why does that not apply in the top flight? If you are in the bottom 3 following assessments and club marks you should be relegated and the top 3 from the football league promoted. It works at every level up to that point. When I was in the Vanarama league I was in the bottom band until the last few games & managed to get into the middle band luckily (mainly due to others ballsing up). The next year I finished in the middle band but had to quit because of injury.

Also a referee can only ref the FA Cup final once in his/her career. Why does the top official not get the final every year irrespective of the fact he has reffed it the last 5 years. Works at every level up to PL & in theory would be an incentive.

 

[blueinsa]

As a referee who was once in the promotion system there is still something I have never fully understood regarding PL refs. Up until the PL there is every chance you can either promoted or demoted depending on performances. Why does that not apply in the top flight? If you are in the bottom 3 following assessments and club marks you should be relegated and the top 3 from the football league promoted. It works at every level up to that point. When I was in the Vanarama league I was in the bottom band until the last few games & managed to get into the middle band luckily (mainly due to others ballsing up). The next year I finished in the middle band but had to quit because of injury.

Also a referee can only ref the FA Cup final once in his/her career. Why does the top official not get the final every year irrespective of the fact he has reffed it the last 5 years. Works at every level up to PL & in theory would be an incentive.

Maybe the current cozy cartel suits them, the PL and a few clubs just fine so why change it?

Sorry mate but at PL level i have zero respect for any of them because they seemingly answer to no one and dont give 2 shits about their mistakes that now happen every single game if you can call them mistakes.

PiGMOL is not fit for purpose!

 

[richardtheref]

Maybe the current cozy cartel suits them, the PL and a few clubs just fine so why change it?

Sorry mate but at PL level i have zero respect for any of them because they seemingly answer to no one and dont give 2 shits about their mistakes that now happen every single game if you can call them mistakes.

PiGMOL is not fit for purpose!

No need to be sorry my friend. Always defended them until this season. Just too much has happened.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

No need to be sorry my friend. Always defended them until this season. Just too much has happened.

Too much indeed, and I highly suspect not all mistakes.

As a referee, (and I am in no means questioning your integrity) you must be aware that there are subtle way to manage a game in favour of a particular team?

Things that often go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things like not playing advantage when a team has a clear advantage which may lead to a goal scoring opportunity, or unfairly applying the law of foul play, marginal offside's, penalties, etc.

I think referee's in the PL are getting more devious at hiding it too. How many times have you seen a referee almost deliberately move into a position where their view appears impeded, then not give a clear foul/pen (or ask the lino for clarification)? I could name names here, but I think we all know who (more than one of them this season).

 

[prestonibbo_mcfc]

Surely they know they'll have to up their game, next season.




We'll be better.

 

[117 M34]

Written by mullock so will be basically written by city and pep

I posted on this thread a couple of weeks ago that this was coming. It has come directly from pep

 

[silvasankle]

This has been pretty much the worst display of refereeing I have ever seen since I started going to Maine Road in '55! When you see throughout the match referees abiding by the written Laws of the Game and then departing from them in the most horrendous fashion one can only think Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Soft pens awarded to various teams, occasionally with no contact whatsoever and our players booked for being clattered, floored or cleaned out! Next season will be interesting because I am gonna compile a database of the fouls that Sterling is refused.

Please compile the all the fouls we're not given to our players

 

[Bluekiwi]

In a Pep press conference he was asked to comment on the retrospective ban for simulation - his reply "Are the refs going to be retrospectively reviewed?"

 

[blueinsa]

In a Pep press conference he was asked to comment on the retrospective ban for simulation - his reply "Are the refs going to be retrospectively reviewed?"

He has their cards well and truly marked.

Well said gaffer.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Please compile the all the fouls we're not given to our players

I'm just gonna limit myself to Sterling at The Etihad! I'd run out of paper if I did everybody! I might add an appendix for all the home pens we don't get!

 

[Bluechipblue]

It was interesting see Michael Oliver give Everton a penalty on Sunday against Arsenal at the Emirates. The ball dropped onto Rob Holdings hand. Penalty given almost instantaneously. Wind back a few weeks to our game, and an almost identical situation where Monreal sticks an arm out in a more unnatural position. Result, no penalty. It really has been a frustrating season where decisions are correctly given for most teams, and not given when your name is Manchester City.
I have always said, if you think the game is bent, why bother watching. After this season, following on from last, I'm beginning to question why I do. Sad state of affairs.