Porstmouth Vs West Ham | Boateng elbow on Tomkins

Description of incident: In the build up to Portsmouth's equaliser, Boateng beat James Tomkins to the ball but in the process sent Tomkins to the ground clutching his head. The ref waved play on and allowed Portsmouth to score.

Date of Game: Tuesday 26th January 2010

Home Team: Portsmouth | Away Team: West Ham

Referee: Andre Marriner | Linesman: Darren Cann & Mike Mullarkey

Decision Type: Free kick | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 5/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Porstmouth | Loser: West Ham

Players Involved: Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth) & James Tomkins (West Ham)

Summary: Zola was incensed that the free kick was not given for an elbow by Boateng on Tomkins. Unfortunately, I've only seen one camera angle of it and it wasn't that great. Based on the evidence I've seen, this was not a foul, Boateng only had eyes for the ball. The ref got it right.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Bolton Vs Burnley | Elliot escapes red card for foul on Cohen

Description of incident: Tamir Cohen was challenged by Elliot as he passed the ball on. Cohen fell in a manor that suggested he was immediately hurt but the ref, who was right on the spot, waved play on. Which was lucky for Elliot, as he was already on a yellow card.

Date of Game: Tuesday 26th January 2010

Home Team: Bolton Wanderers | Away Team: Burnley

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: Dave Bryan & Jeremy Simpson

Decision Type: Red card | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 2/5

Affect on Result: None | Winner: Burnley | Loser: Bolton Wanderers

Players Involved: Tamir Cohen (Bolton)& Wade Elliot (Burnley)

Summary: I thought this was another relatively easy decision. It was an absolutely atrocious challenge by Elliot which, in my eyes warranted a red card all of its own, but was certainly worthy of the second yellow it would have brought him. It was studs first, knee high. The more I think about it, the more confused I am that the ref got this wrong. It should have been a red card.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Bolton Vs Burnley | Lee shot crossed the line

Description of incident: The ball looped into the Burnley penalty area, arriving at the feet of the unmarked Lee. His shot cannoned off the bottom of the bar and bounced down & out of the goal. The ref judged that the ball had crossed the line and gave a goal to Bolton.

Date of Game: Tuesday 26th January 2010

Home Team: Bolton Wanderers | Away Team: Burnley

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: Dave Bryan & Jeremy Simpson

Decision Type: Goal line | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 2/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Bolton Wanderers | Loser: Burnley

Players Involved: Chung-Yong Lee (Bolton)

Summary: The ball was hit at some pace but it bounced way over the line, so this was a relatively easy decision for the ref. And he got it right.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Wolverhampton Vs Liverpool | No major refereeing incidents

Date of Game: Tuesday 26th January 2010

Home Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers | Away Team: Liverpool

Referee: Peter Walton | Linesman: Rob Lewis & Phil Sharp

Summary: From the highlights I've seen, there was very little incident of any description in this game. The third and final 'clean sheet' of the night.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Tottenham Vs Fulham | No major refereeing incidents

Date of Game: Tuesday 26th January 2010

Home Team: Tottenham | Away Team: Fulham

Referee: Mike Dean | Linesman: Simon Beck & Stephen Child

Summary: The second 'clean sheet' of the night. Meaning from the highlights I've seen, there were no game-changing, debatable refereeing decisions.

If you were at the game or have seen extended highlights and think I've missed something, drop me an email or tweet me and I'll do my best to track down a clip of the incident and update the site. Alternatively, post a comment below and open up the debate to a wider audience.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Blackburn Rovers Vs Wigan Athletic | Caldwell foul on Chimbonda for goal

Description of incident: As Wigan swung a corner into the Blackburn penalty area, both Chimbonda and Caldwell ran towards the near post. The ball bounced towards them as they challenged each other. Caldwell won, the ball was headed into the net and the ref gave the goal.

Date of Game: Wednesday 27th January 2010

Home Team: Blackburn Rovers | Away Team: Wigan Athletic

Referee: Lee Mason | Linesman: Andy Madley & Richard West

Decision Type: Free kick | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 3/5

Affect on Result: None, Blackburn won eventually | Winner: Wigan Athletic | Loser: Blackburn Rovers

Players Involved: Gary Caldwell (Wigan) & Pascal Chimbonda (Blackburn)

Summary: For me, Caldwell was all over the back of Chimbonda. Too be honest, I do question Chimbonda's desire to win that header however, Caldwell had to smother him in order to reach the low bouncing ball. The ref got it wrong, the goal shouldn't have stood.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Everton Vs Sunderland | Cahill goal ruled onside

Description of incident: Fellaini picked the ball up on the left hand side of the Sunderland penalty area. Moving the ball onto his right foot, he curled a cross in towards goal which Cahill flicked on into the far corner of the net. There wasn't much protest and the goal was ruled onside.

Date of Game: Wednesday 27th January 2010

Home Team: Everton | Away Team: Sunderland

Referee: Phil Dowd | Linesman: Mick McDonough & Scott Ledger

Decision Type: Offside | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 5/5

Affect on Result: Set Everton on their way but too difficult to say which way the game would have gone if this goal had not stood | Winner: Everton | Loser: Sunderland

Players Involved: Tim Cahill & Marouane Fellaini (Everton)

Summary: It was a really tough offside decision to make but from simply seeing one specific camera angle of the goal makes it clear that Cahill was definitely offside as the ball was lobbed towards him. I don't place much blame on the referee however it is arguably a decision you would expect your linesman to get right. Unfortunately between them they conspired to get this one wrong.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Aston Villa Vs Arsenal | Campbell foul on Dunne

Description of incident: This was a quite remarkable incident only for the fact that Richard Dunne went on a truly amazing, pitch length run with the ball. As he took on the last man Campbell, just outside the Arsenal penalty area, the players came together and both fell to the floor. The ref was right on the spot and judged no foul.

Date of Game: Wednesday 27th January 2010

Home Team: Aston Villa | Away Team: Arsenal

Referee: Lee Probert | Linesman: Andy Newbold & Gary Stott

Decision Type: Free kick | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 3/5

Affect on Result: It could have meant a red card for Campbell but it would have needed a great free kick to score what would have surely been the winner so late in the game | Winner: Arsenal | Loser: Aston Villa

Players Involved: Sol Campbell (Arsenal) & Richard Dunne (Aston Villa)

Summary: Dunne's run was spectacular and as he passed Campbell, the Arsenal defender placed an arm on his shoulder. This in itself would have been enough to class as a foul but Dunne stayed on his feet only for Campbell's legs to tangle with his and finally bring them both crashing to the floor. The ref got this one wrong, it should have been a free kick to Villa and potentially a red card for Campbell. Though personally I would have classed that as harsh. Mainly because I don't think Richard Dunne in that position could ever be classed as a "goal scoring opportunity" ;)

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Chelsea Vs Birmingham | No major refereeing incidents

Date of Game: Wednesday 27th January 2010

Home Team: Chelsea | Away Team: Birmingham City

Referee: Steve Bennett | Linesman: Martin Yerby & Stuart Burt

Summary: Only the second ever 'clean sheet'. Meaning from the highlights I've seen, there were no game-changing, debatable refereeing decisions.

If you were at the game or have seen extended highlights and think I've missed something, drop me an email or tweet me and I'll do my best to track down a clip of the incident and update the site. Alternatively, post a comment below and open up the debate to a wider audience.

Cheers,
WB

Share|

Share|

Manchester United Vs Hull City | Ref misses Ferdinand elbow on Fagan

Description of incident: As Hull were preparing to swing a cross in from the right wing, all eyes were on the ball. Tussling for space on the edge of the Man Utd area, Ferdinand & Fagan came together resulting in Fagan dropping to the ground. Although the ref was only yards away he saw nothing and gave nothing.

Date of Game: Saturday 23rd January 2010

Home Team: Manchester United | Away Team: Hull City

Referee: Steve Bennett | Linesman: Bob Pollock & Andy Garratt

Decision Type: Red card | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 5/5

Affect on Result: It would have reduced United to ten men with the score still at 1-0 but I'm not sure toothless Hull would have stopped the rampant Rooney even with an extra man | Winner: Man Utd | Loser: Hull

Players Involved: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) & Craig Fagan (Hull City)

Summary: Video replays clearly show that Rio Ferdinand threw an arm elbow first into Fagan's face. It was a disgraceful action by the Manchester United captain and deserved an instant red card. But the incident was only captured on one TV camera, which gives an idea of how 'off the ball' it really was. Ferdinand lost control & lashed out but the referee cannot be expected to see everything. Maybe the linesman should have seen something but even that I feel would be a harsh comment. Either way, it was a wrong decision - but hopefully Ferdinand will not escape punishment as his shocking behaviour has to warrant review by the Premier League. Let's hope the referee does not* reference it in his match report.

Cheers,
WB

*If Steve Bennett references the clash involving Ferdinand in his match report, the Premier League will be bound by their own rules to not review the video evidence. This is because they do not want to re-referee incidents - so if the ref does not consider an offense to have occurred, the Premier League back his decision.

Share|

Share|