At the Reading v Huddersfield game last week there was a mystery stoppage that bewildered players and spectators alike. Late in the second half, Reading were in possession just outside the Huddersfield penalty area when the referee blew his whistle …
A fan of this column in Australia emailed me after my article on retrospective punishment. ‘Isn’t it true,’ he wrote, ‘that football is lagging behind in the use of technology? In cricket they can detect the slightest touch of the …
One of the difficult decisions a referee faces, is when two players from opposite sides tackle simultaneously for the same ball, particularly if one of the players becomes injured. Was it just a collision or was there a foul and …
Earlier this season a fourteen year old girl referee, Emily Dyke, posted an appeal on grassroots Facebook. She said that she had been abused by parents when refereeing matches for 8 and 9 year olds. ‘I find it difficult to …
The retrospective three match ban of Chelsea’s Diego Costa was probably no surprise to anyone. The television replays so clearly showed his mauling of Arsenal’s Laurent Koscieiny, which was committed out of the referee’s view. It has however highlighted the …
One of my sons, who lives in Norwich, tells me that supporters of the Canaries still blame the referee for denying an equalising goal during their first match back in the Premier league against Crystal Palace. Cameron Jerome brilliantly executed …
Against Swansea, Jose Mourinho’s shocked many with his blatant anger towards Chelsea’s club doctor, Eva Carneivo and club physio, John Fern, for treating Eden Hazard on the field of play. He knew Hazard would have to go off after treatment, …
The start of the football season is not the same without a controversy or two and this year was no different. Bournemouth in their first away game in the Premier League lost after having a goal controversially disallowed for offside. …
Many will agree the 2014-15 season was not a complete success for referees in the top flight. Their detractors include some surprising ones. All the usual suspects of course, Jose Mourinho with his regular discredited conspiracy theory. TV pundits whom for …
Like thirty thousand others from our area, I went along to Wembley Stadium for Reading’s historic semi-final of the FA Cup against Arsenal. I was asked after the game what I thought about all the shouts for handball, but high …
