Tottenham Vs Aston Villa | Defoe penalty appeal turned down

Description of incident: Defoe controlled the ball just inside the Villa area and Petrov came in from the side to challenge. Defoe went crashing to the floor and the ref, clearly struggling to see the incident clearly, waved play on despite the loud appeals.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Tottenham | Away Team: Aston Villa

Referee: Chris Foy | Linesman: Phil Sharp & Martin Yerby

Decision Type: Penalty | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 2/5

Affect on Result: Arguably denied Tottenham a vital victory | Winner: Aston Villa | Loser: Tottenham

Players Involved: Martin Petrov (Aston Villa) & Jemain Defoe (Tottenham)

Summary: The referee was bending and stretching to see the incident around a crowd of players. He clearly failed as this was a blatant penalty; Petrov took Defoe's leg away. If he saw it, he would have come to the same conclusion. Either way, wrong decision, the penalty should have been given.

Cheers,
WB

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Burnley Vs West Ham | Cole goal ruled offside

Description of incident: A cross was delivered into the Burnley area from the right wing, missing both Parker & Cole. At the back post, Tomkins got a boot to the ball and Cole stabbed the returning ball into the empty net - only for the ref to disallow it for offside.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Burnley | Away Team: West Ham

Referee: Howard Webb | Linesman: Dave Bryan & Bob Pollock

Decision Type: Offside | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 1/5

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

Players Involved: Carlton Cole & Scott Parker (West Ham)

Summary: When the ball was originally crossed in, Parker was offside and he did make a failed attempt to reach the ball. When Tomkins returned the ball into the six yard box, both Cole & Parker were a long way offside. Easy decision, they got it right, no goal.



Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Manchester City | Clean sheet for referee

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Hull City | Away Team: Manchester City

Referee: Phil Dowd | Linesman: Nigel Bannister & Stephen Artis

Summary: In an incident packed match, there were no major refereeing decisions on the game's defining moments, so a clean sheet for Mr Dowd.



Think I've missed something? Drop me an email or tweet me or post a comment below and open up the debate to a wider audience.

Cheers,
WB

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Manchester United Vs Porstmouth | Rooney penalty shout

Description of incident: With the score still at nil-nil, Rooney swiveled with the ball inside the Portsmouth area. The turn blocked off Piquionne's approach and Rooney went tumbling over the ball when Frenchman reached him. The ref waved play on despite Rooney's appeal.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Manchester United | Away Team: Portsmouth

Referee: Lee Mason | Linesman: Jake Collin & Paul Thompson

Decision Type: Penalty | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 4/5

Affect on Result: None | Winner: Portsmouth | Loser: Manchester United

Players Involved: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) & Frederic Piquionne (Porstmouth)

Summary: It was a wonderful turn by Rooney, confusing everyone around him. At first glance it looked as though Piquionne had maybe applied the brakes too late and giving a penalty would have been harsh however, video replays clearly show that he pushed the United striker in the back. The ref got this one wrong, although it had no affect on the result, it should have been a penalty.



Cheers,
WB

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Liverpool Vs Everton | Pienaar receives red card for second yellow

Description of incident: After escaping a red card earlier in the game, Pienaar eventually received his marching orders deep into injury time. He challenged for a header with Gerrard; Gerrard won the ball and ended up on the floor, clutching his head. The ref showed a second yellow, then red to Pienaar.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Liverpool | Away Team: Everton

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: David Richardson & Darren Cann

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

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Liverpool | Loser: Everton

Players Involved: Steven Pienaar (Everton) & Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Summary: It was a challenge borne out of frustration as he was clearly late and video replays show he was also looking at the player, not the ball. This still doesn't explain to me why Gerrard went down holding his barnet, as Pienaar did not come anywhere near his head with any part of his body. Regardless, it was a stupid challenge and Pienaar has no one to blame for his red card other than himself. Right decision, second yellow & red card.

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Cheers,
WB

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Liverpool Vs Everton | Kyrgiakos receives red card

Description of incident: Fellaini was in control of the ball in the middle of the pitch but it was skipping tantalizingly away from him. Enough to tempt a challenge from Kyrgiakos. He was clearly on the ground, so it could not be classed as a high challenge, but it did appear two-footed. Fellaini also prepared for the contact and both players ended up in agonising heaps. As Kyrgiakos was just about to get back on his feet, the ref brandished a red card.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Liverpool | Away Team: Everton

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: David Richardson & Darren Cann

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

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Everton | Loser: Liverpool

Players Involved: Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Liverpool) & Marouane Fellaini (Everton)

Summary: The ball was racing away from Fellaini, so Kyrgiakos was entitled to attempt to win the ball. However, he clearly went in with both feet which is an illegal challenge deserving of a red card under the current laws. In his defence, video replays suggest that Fellaini also went in two-footed, he certainly came down dangerously on Kyrgiakos' shin - which the defender complained about after receiving his red. It was a strange one because I cannot ever recall seeing red cards given to two players for one tackle on each other - but maybe there was a case for it here. I've gone for right decision overall though, only one red card warranted.

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Cheers,
WB

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Liverpool Vs Everton | Pienaar high challenge on Mascherano receives yellow

Description of incident: Pienaar came in with a high challenge on Mascherano, connecting about knee high on the Argentine, leading with his studs. The ref gave a free kick to Liverpool and booked Steven Pienaar despite loud calls for a red card.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Liverpool | Away Team: Everton

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: David Richardson & Darren Cann

Decision Type: Red card | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 3/5

Affect on Result: It would have put Everton down to ten men prior to Liverpool losing a man, so it's impossible to tell how different the game would have been had Pienaar received a red | Winner: Everton | Loser: Liverpool

Players Involved: Steven Pienaar (Everton) & Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)

Summary: Pienaar's challenge was awful. I don't like seeing players sent off but, under the current guidelines, it had to be a straight red. Jamie Redknapp, commenting for Sky Sports, said he was amazed that it didn't result in a broken leg for Mascherano, which I think summarises what type of challenge it was. The ref bottled this one, maybe because it was the first major incident in the game, but he definitely got it wrong, it should have been red not yellow.



Cheers,
WB

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Fulham Vs Portsmouth | Zamora offside for Greening goal

Description of incident: Portsmouth made a complete mess of clearing the ball and it arrived at the feet of Duff unmarked on the right hand side of the area. He placed a right footed cross along the edge of the six yard box which Zamora failed to make any contact with. The ball then deflected to Greening who planted it into the empty net. There were suspicions of Zamora being offside but the ref and linesman never hinted at any such decision.

Date of Game: Wednesday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Fulham | Away Team: Portsmouth

Referee: Anthony Taylor | Linesman: Mick McDonough & Phil Sharp

Decision Type: Offside | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 2/5

Affect on Result: It allowed the only goal of the game, so you can't really get more 'game defining' than that | Winner: Fulham | Loser: Portsmouth

Players Involved: Bobby Zamora, Damian Duff & Jonathan Greening (Fulham)

Summary: When Duff played the ball in, Zamora was clearly offside by at least a yard. His entire body was the wrong side of the defender, it was an easy one to spot. The officials may have allowed the goal to stand as they classed Zamora as "not interfering with play". Well, quite simply he was, he had to be. He attempted to get on the end of the cross taking one defender out of the game, the 'keeper also adjusted, preparing for his shot. This contributed to creating the relatively open net that Greening tapped the ball into. Whatever the thoughts of the officials, they got this one wrong. Badly wrong as far as Portsmouth are concerned. The goal should have been disallowed for offside.

Cheers,
WB

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Fulham Vs Portsmouth | O'Hara penalty claim

Description of incident: O'Hara was attempting to control a bouncing ball just inside the Fulham penalty area. Danny Murphy came in with a fairly high, out-stretched leg and O'Hara went tumbling. The ref was unimpressed and allowed play to continue.

Date of Game: Wednesday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Fulham | Away Team: Portsmouth

Referee: Anthony Taylor | Linesman: Mick McDonough & Phil Sharp

Decision Type: Penalty | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 1/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Fulham | Loser: Portsmouth

Players Involved: Jamie O'Hara (Porstmouth) & Danny Murphy (Fulham)

Summary: Although Murphy's challenge was relatively high, he was attempting to control a bouncing ball. O'Hara went crashing down all of his own accord. I don't think it was a dive but there wasn't any contact between the two players so no penalty was the right decision by the referee.

Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Chelsea | Mark Clattenburg Special Mention

I have a feeling that this special mention for Mark Clattenburg's performance in this game will do nothing to endear me to the Hull City fans. And I can understand their frustration; there were a number of decisions for Hull that he either failed to see & or inexplicably gave in Chelsea's favour.

These decisions however, were all minor, mainly taking place in the middle of the pitch. There is a valid argument that the number of these minor decisions going against you will culminate in having an affect on the outcome of the game. But this would be impossible to measure so I can only monitor those incidents that are key & clearly game defining decisions - and Mark Clattenburg got all of those right.

I did omit a couple of other decisions as I did not feel they were controversial enough - but even these decisions the ref got right. Both were potential red cards; one for Terry, a potential second yellow for a stretched slide tackle, and one for Drogba, for a clash with McShane which resulted in the latter leaving the game with a bleeding brow.

Terry actually reached the ball, it was a fabulous tackle. Drogba & McShane clashed heads and then Drogba took a petualant swipe at fresh air which was worthy of the yellow card it received.

With the benefit of video replays, I think there is little debate over any of the key decisions made by Clattenburg in this game and, for this reason, I feel he deserves this special mention. It was a really stormy match and at times he did make some strange decisions but got it right when it really mattered.

Related reviews: Deco handball | Fagan blocking Cech | Lampard penalty appeal | Drogba free kick

Full match highlights from

Hull City v Chelsea
by eldoronaldo

Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Chelsea | Drogba goal given despite protests

Description of incident: Chelsea were given a free kick on the edge of the Hull City penalty area. During the lining up of the wall & free kick, the Hull players were clearly communicating with Mark Clattenburg. Stephen Hunt approached him to discuss something and, shortly after he retreated, the ref blew his whistle; Drogba duly dispatched the ball into the bottom corner. There were strong complaints from Hull, involving Myhill running outside his box to speak to the ref. It later transpired that the Hull players had believed it may have been an indirect free kick, which they were trying to ascertain from Clattenburg prior to the kick being taken. Their complaint was that this message hadn't reached Myhill by the time the kick was taken. It was all too late and the goal had been given.

Date of Game: Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Home Team: Hull City | Away Team: Chelsea

Referee: Mark Clattenburg | Linesman: Darren Cann & Scott Ledger

Decision Type: Free kick | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 1/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Chelsea | Loser: Hull City

Players Involved: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) Boaz Myhill & Stephen Hunt (Hull City)

Summary: The complaint from Hull's players is absolutely ridiculous. If it had have been an indirect free kick, the referee would have had his arm raised. He didn't therefore it is a direct free kick. This is basic football; they have every right to clarify this verbally with the referee but he does not have to wait until they have passed this news around every member of the team before allowing the kick to be taken. Phil Brown got it right when asked about this post match when he said regardless of anything else, their defending was awful and this is what allowed the goal. Right decision, goal given.

Full match highlights from

Hull City v Chelsea
by eldoronaldo

Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Chelsea | Lampard penalty appeal

Description of incident: In a flowing Chelsea attack, Anelka danced through to the edge of the area where a Hull defender stretched out a leg which the Frenchman collided with. The ball rolled through to Lampard inside the area as two Hull players came in to challenge. Lampard tumbled but the ref had (only just) blown for a foul on Anelka.

Date of Game: Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Home Team: Hull City | Away Team: Chelsea

Referee: Mark Clattenburg | Linesman: Darren Cann & Scott Ledger

Decision Type: Penalty | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 3/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Hull City | Loser: Chelsea

Players Involved: Nicolas Anelka & Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Summary: On first viewing, this looked like a really decent claim for a penalty because of the way that Lampard fell. However, with the benefit of video replay, it can be seen that Lampard has already tumbled and lost control of the ball before any Hull player touched him. And even then, it would have been tough to have classed the collision as worthy of a penalty. Right decision, free kick on the edge but no penalty.

Full match highlights from

Hull City v Chelsea
by eldoronaldo

Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Chelsea | Fagan blocking Cech from corners

Description of incident: Fagan's job from Hull's corners was to make it difficult for the 'keeper to claim the cross. As this particular corner was swung into the box, Fagan was jostling with a Chelsea defender inside the six yard box, right in front of Cech. This meant he stayed on his line and Mouyokolo rose to head the ball over Cech's reach and into the net. The ref allowed the goal to stand.

Date of Game: Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Home Team: Hull City | Away Team: Chelsea

Referee: Mark Clattenburg | Linesman: Darren Cann & Scott Ledger

Decision Type: Free kick | Verdict: | Decision Difficulty: 2/5

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Hull City | Loser: Chelsea

Players Involved: Craig Fagan, Steven Mouyokolo (Hull City) & Petr Cech (Chelsea)

Summary: Fagan's challenge from corners had already been drawn to the referee's attention earlier in the game, so he should have had an eye on him this time. Fagan actually does nothing other than spread himself and hold his position; it just happens to be the area in which Cech needs to run to claim the ball. The Chelsea defender does his best to move Fagan legally but does not succeed. There are no offenses during this passage so it was the right decision, goal given.

Full match highlights from

Hull City v Chelsea
by eldoronaldo

Cheers,
WB

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