[Statesideowl]

Just watched the highlights and as others have said the yellow card FF received for diving was soft to say the least!! The contact was clear, the player moved across him to cause that contact and FF hardly made any meal of it!! I also wondered when I watched it that he may have been booked for asking for a yellow card to be shown to their player, which is technically a yellow card offence. The handball booking I had no issue with.

I don't mind refs making mistakes and to be fair to the ref the camera angle for the first booking is a much clearer angle that what the ref had to see the contact, but this is where he should be getting information from the 4th official and linesman who had a better angle like the camera did. I want to see a ref come out after a game and talk about the decisions that he made and justify them, which 99% of the time they can easily do, but I also want them to be able to say that with the benefit of hindsight and replays his decision was not the correct one. There is no shame in getting a decision wrong in the heat of the game and especially with the modern day pace of the game, but the refs are kept quiet and everything is kept behind closed doors. Our players and managers are far from perfect, they make mistakes every game, and we should not expect perfection from the ref either but we should expect honesty and accountability.

I agree, this is partly what I'm getting at. They can do anything with impunity and should be just as likely to receive a fine or a ban from the FA where rules are breached or shown any indiscretions as the players and managers are. They never have to be second guessed by the new technologies we have. They're indignant about their decisions.


With all due respect MS. you can't say for certain there are no dishonest refs in the English game. How could you know?
With regards to the governance I couldn't agree more, cronyism and the boys club has always been part of it. An Oligarchy if you will.
This certainly has to change, as you say it can only lead to one eventual outcome.

And if this Ref had already booked FF 3 times for what he believed was simulation, then he applied that cognitive bias to this situation, predetermining FF's guilt.
Again, this is what I'm getting at...