Bolton Vs Fulham | Davies goal ruled out for push

Description of incident: Extremely late in the game, the ball was swung into the Fulham penalty area. Kevin Davies climbed above Hangeland to head what would surely have been the winning goal but the referee blew for a foul by Davies much to the shock of the Bolton players.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Bolton Wanderers | Away Team: Fulham

Referee: Mark Clattenburg | Linesman: Robert Madley & Jeremy Simpson

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

Affect on Result: Clearly denied Bolton victory | Winner: Fulham | Loser: Bolton Wanderers

Players Involved: Kevin Davies (Bolton) & Brede Hangeland (Fulham)

Summary: I struggled to see what the referee had blown for on first viewing. Video replays did show that Kevin Davies had a forearm in Hangeland's back however, I don't think the contact was enough to warrant a free kick. Roy Hodgson disagreed, but I expect he is only saying that as he is Fulham boss. If Davies' challenge is a foul then it's a sad day for football as it means strength is gradually being phased out of the modern game. Wrong decision for me, the goal should have stood.



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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Fulham Vs Aston Villa | Elm goal ruled offside

Description of incident: Gera chipped the ball into the Aston Villa penalty area which Elm latched onto and placed beyond the 'keeper. However, the ref blew for offside after the linesman raised his flag.

Date of Game: Saturday 30th January 2010

Home Team: Fulham | Away Team: Aston Villa

Referee: Lee Mason | Linesman: Simon Long & Ceri Richards

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

Affect on Result: N/A | Winner: Aston Villa | Loser: Fulham

Players Involved: David Elm (CLUB)

Summary: A relatively easy offside decision, Elm had strayed beyond the last defender and the officials combined to get this one right. Offside, no goal.

Full match highlights from

Fulham v Aston Villa
by liverdeliverz

Cheers,
WB

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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

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Blackburn Rovers Vs Fulham | Nevland penalty shout

Description of incident: Nevland and Samba were in a race for the ball as it bounced just inside the Blackburn penalty area. Nevland appeared to be reaching it first but he had done so by running across Samba's path and fell as though he had been pulled back. The ref was not impressed, no penalty given.

Date of Game: Sunday 17th January 2010

Home Team: Blackburn Rovers | Away Team: Fulham

Referee: Kevin Friend | Linesman: Andy Halliday & Jeremy Simpson

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

Affect on Result: If this & the offside had gone in Fulham's direction, they could have left with at least a point | Winner: Blackburn | Loser: Fulham

Players Involved: Christopher Samba (Blackburn) & Erik Nevland (Fulham)

Summary: This incident was similar to a number the penalty decisions seen in the Premiership this weekend; it was a soft challenge but if a player raises his arm across the chest of an opponent in his own penalty area, as Samba did here, he is asking for trouble. And if the player goes down, even if the touch is only minor, it has to be a penalty. The referee got this one wrong for me as well - no luck for Fulham today.

Cheers,
WB

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Blackburn Rovers Vs Fulham | Nelson goal ruled onside

Description of incident: McCarthy curled a free kick in from just inside the Fulham half, near the left touch line. Nelson escaped all markers to get a minor touch to flick the ball into the net. The protests for offside from Fulham were ignored and goal given.

Date of Game: Sunday 17th January 2010

Home Team: Blackburn Rovers | Away Team: Fulham

Referee: Kevin Friend | Linesman: Andy Halliday & Jeremy Simpson

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

Affect on Result: It settled the match as a contest | Winner: Blackburn | Loser: Fulham

Players Involved: Benni McCarthy & Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn)

Summary: It's an extremely tight call, again I needed a number of replays to decide that he probably was offside. But that still makes it a wrong decision, and if I was choosing to be a lot harsher on the officials I would say that technically it looks like Nelson wasn't ever in an onside position - even if the final call was tough.

Cheers,
WB

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Stoke City Vs Fulham | Sidibe Goal

Description of incident: In a flowing move, Stoke's Rory Delap charged into the area.  He had expected an earlier ball so had to put the breaks on.  Then the ball was swung into the box, Delap flicked it on for Sidibe to volley into the ground before nestling in the top corner of the net.

Date of Game: Tuesday 5th January 2010

Home Team: Stoke City | Away Team: Fulham

Referee: Mark Clattenburg | Linesman: Dave Bryan & Robert Madley

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

Affect on Result: May have cost Fulham a point | Winner: Stoke City | Loser: Fulham

Players Involved: Rory Delap & Mamady Sidibe (both Stoke City)

Summary: Having seen the replays, Delap was definitely offside.  It was such a close call that I wouldn't expect anyone to notice it with the naked eye.  The pundits on Sky Sports seemed to suggest that because it was such a close call that it meant it was onside.  Now I know the benefit of the doubt should side with the attackers and I would not blame the officials for the decision they made but that does not mean Delap was not offside - he was.

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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