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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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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Hull City Vs Chelsea | Did Deco handle the ball in the penalty area?

Description of incident: With the score still at nil-nil, Deco & Altidore challenged for the bouncing ball just inside the Chelsea area. It squirmed between them and at times both players had arms out-stretched. There were loud shouts for handball against Deco but Clattenburg allowed play to continue.

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: 2/5

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

Players Involved: Deco (Chelsea) & Craig Fagan (Hull City)

Summary: Although Deco did have out-stretched arms during the challenge, replays showed that the only time the ball hit his hand or arm was when it was withdrawn in at his chest. Correct decision, no penalty.

Full match highlights from

Hull City v Chelsea
by eldoronaldo

Cheers,
WB

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Hull City Vs Wolverhampton | Altidore fouled by Zubar for penalty

Description of incident: Altidore was shielding the ball from Zubar inside the Wolves penalty area and the two players came together. Altidore tumbled and the referee gave a penalty to Hull.

Date of Game: Saturday 30th January 2010

Home Team: Hull City | Away Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Referee: Mike Dean | Linesman: Peter Kirkup & Michael Murphy

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

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

Players Involved: Jozy Altidore (Hull City) & Ronald Zubar (Wolves)

Summary: I've seen a lot of these types of challenges result in the ref waving play on as it's not your "conventional" foul. By that I mean that it was a really clumsy challenge by Zubar as he basically bundled his way through Altidore and although he didn't actually stretch out a leg to bring the striker down, it was the right decision to award the penalty.

View full match highlights

Cheers,
WB

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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.

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Tottenham Vs Hull City | First Whistle Blower clean sheet

Date of Game: Saturday 16th January 2010

Home Team: Tottenham | Away Team: Hull City

Referee: Martin Atkinson | Linesman: Peter Kirkup & Phil Sharp

Summary: For the first time since I started this blog I have encountered a game where, from the highlights I've seen, there were no game-changing, debatable refereeing decisions. Therefore, I'll class this as a 'clean sheet' for the ref. Clean sheets all round then.

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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