Stoke City Vs Blackburn | Samba red card for two yellows

Description of incident: Awaiting a Blackburn corner in the first half, Samba and Shawcross were jostling inside the area. The referee called them to one side and gave both players a yellow card. In the second half, Stoke were launching a counter attack and Samba pulled back a City player. The ref brandished Samba his second yellow and then red card.

Date of Game: Saturday 6th February 2010

Home Team: Stoke City | Away Team: Blackburn Rovers

Referee: Steve Bennett | Linesman: Andy Halliday & Mike Mullarkey

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

Affect on Result: None | Winner: Stoke City | Loser: Blackburn Rovers

Players Involved: Christopher Samba (Blackburn) & Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)

Summary: The incident for the first yellow was innocuous. Neither player deserved a yellow; you see worse than this in every single Premier League game and nothing gets said to the players. Having given Samba the first yellow, he had little choice in showing the red when the defender clearly pulled back a Stoke player who was breaking away for a promising attack. The ref got half the decision right, but unfortunately half doesn't count here. Wrong decision, Samba shouldn't have been in the position to receive a red card.



Cheers,
WB

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Liverpool Vs Bolton | Clean sheet

Date of Game: Saturday 30th January 2010

Home Team: Liverpool | Away Team: Bolton Wanderers

Referee: Steve Bennett | Linesman: Mick McDonough & Shaun Procter-Green

Summary: No major refereeing decisions, clean sheet to Mr Bennett.

Full match highlights from

Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers
by gonzobot110

Cheers,
WB

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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

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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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