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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Burnley Vs Chelsea | Joe Cole goal ruled offside

Description of incident: The ball came to Cole, via Malouda, on the edge of the six yard box completely unmarked. Cole flicked the ball into the net but the referee blew for offside. To Chelsea's credit, there was very little protest.

Date of Game: Saturday 30th January 2010

Home Team: Burnley | Away Team: Chelsea

Referee: Phil Dowd | Linesman: Andy Garratt & Trevor Massey

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

Affect on Result: None, Chelsea eventually won | Winner: Burnley | Loser: Chelsea

Players Involved: Joe Cole (Chelsea)

Summary: It was a tough call to make as Joe Cole was yards behind the last defender when the ball reached him, plus the Burnley defenders were all a distance from Cole increasing the difficulty of the judgement. But replays clearly show Cole was jut onside when Malouda touched the ball. Wrong decision, the goal should have stood.

View full match highlights

Cheers,
WB

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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

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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

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Manchester United Vs Burnley | Diouf goal ruled onside

Description of incident: Late in the game, Valencia launched a pass from deep inside his own half which Diouf ran onto to put away Man Utd's third goal. Diouf ruled onside.

Date of Game: Saturday 16th January 2010

Home Team: Manchester United | Away Team: Burnley

Referee: Lee Probert | Linesman: David Richardson & Robert Madley

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

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Manchester United | Loser: Burnley

Players Involved: Mame Diouf, Antonio Valencia (Man Utd) & Michael Duff (Burnley)

Summary: Another difficult offside decision that the referee got right. It was really tight, even with the benefit of video replays but Duff was just about playing Diouf onside.

Cheers,
WB

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Manifesto: Judging Premier League Referees' Descisions

I've decided to start reviewing the most critical decisions made by Premier League referees.  Those that have a direct affect on the outcome of the game; offside, free-kick, penalty, red card & goal line decisions.  Consider that an inclusive rather than exclusive list.

This is not spawned out of any particular dislike for referees or any perceived injustice against the team I support, I will be looking for the good as well the bad.  And it will extend, where necessary, to decision of the linesmen (or, officially, Assistant Referees - but that is the last time I will refer to them as such) and 4th officials.

Rather than looking to publicly lambaste referees on a weekly basis, my gut feeling is that I'll demonstrate what a difficult job they have, how often they actually get key decisions right and how, even with hindsight and slow motion video replays, it can still be difficult to come to a definitive conclusion.  Don't get me wrong, I am as big a critic as anyone else when I'm watching a game so I'll just as happy if my gut feeling turns out to be wrong.

The analysis will be restricted to Premier League games only, looking for any patterns that may emerge from the performance of referees.  This will become more apparent when reviewing the 2010/11 season in full however, I hope to provide some insights into the 2009/10 season even though I am kicking off in January 2009.

As a bit of a warm-up, I took a look at the FA Cup games that took place yesterday (Saturday 2nd).  And if this is anything to go by, my gut feelings will be proved right as we see a really good day for referees:

1. Reading vs Liverpool | David Richardson | Linesman | Not flagging Kuyt offside when he dummied Gerrard's shot for Liverpool's goal | Decision:
   
2. Nottingham Forest vs Birmingham City | Steve Bennett | Referee | Awarding a penalty to Forest for a foul on Anderson | Decision:
   
3. Middlesbrough vs Man City | Stuart Atwell | Referee | Not giving a penalty to Middlesbrough & booking O'Neil for diving:
1. No penalty | Decision:
2. Booking | Decision:
4. Everton vs Carlisle | John Flynn or Darren Drysdale (TBC) | Linesman | Flagging James Vaughn offside when he "scored" his second | Decision:
5. Everton vs Carlisle | Jon Moss | Referee | Awarding Everton a penalty for a foul on Agard | Decision:
6. MK Dons vs Burnley | Anthony Bates | Referee | Awarding Burnley a penalty for a foul on Fletcher | Decision:
7. MK Dons vs Burnley | Michael Murphy or Ian Smedley (TBC) | Linseman | Not flagging Fletcher offside when scoring Burnley's second | Decision:
8. MK Dons vs Burnley | Michael Murphy or Ian Smedley (TBC) | Linseman | Not flagging Morgan offside when he scored MK Dons' consolation goal | Decision:
9. Aston Villa vs Blackburn | Howard Webb | Referee | Awarding a penalty to Blackburn for a foul on Reid | Decision:
10. Aston Villa vs Blackburn | Howard Webb | Referee | Sending off Diouf for a (truly awful) foul | Decision:
11. Aston Villa vs Blackburn | Howard Webb | Referee | Awarding Aston Villa a penalty for a foul on Carew | Decision:
12. Tottenham vs Peterborough | Lee Mason | Referee | Awarding Tottenham a penalty for a foul on Rose | Decision:
13. Fulham vs Swindon Town | Anthony Taylor | Awarding Fulham a penalty for a foul on Johnson | Decision:
14. Blackpool vs Ipswich Town | Eddie Ilderton | Referee | Awarding Blackpool a penalty for foul on Omorod | Decision:
15. Blackpool vs Ipswich Town | Eddie Ilderton | Referee | Sending Evatt off for Blackpool | Decision:
16. Blackpool vs Ipswich Town | Eddie Ilderton | Referee | Sending Edwards off for Blackpool | Decision: (but it was a foul)
17. Preston NE vs Colchester Utd | Colin Webster | Referee | Awarding a penalty to Preston for a foul on Parkin | Decision:

So, onto the real thing - kicking off with mid-week analysis of any key decisions in Stoke vs Fulham on Tuesday and Arsenal vs Bolton on Wednesday.

And this will be, by a massive distance, my longest post ever.

Cheers,
WB

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