Ref Review: The incorrect decisions from week 25

Mark Holmes
Mathieu Flamini: Should have been sent off, say Ref Review panel

Mathieu Flamini: Should have been sent off, say Ref Review panel

Leicester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Bournemouth suffered from bad refereeing decisions at the weekend, according to our Ref Review panel.

Refereeing decisions are regularly the source of debate among fans, pundits, players and managers so this season a five-strong TEAMtalk panel will be passing judgement on every red card (or avoidance of one), every penalty and any other major incident every weekend.

We’ll also keep a tally of the major decisions to go for and against each team in an attempt to settle the never-ending debate about whether certain clubs are favoured more than others by Premier League referees.

Week 25

Manchester City penalty appeal v Leicester City: Even after viewing several freeze-frames of the incident, nobody could say for certain whether Pablo Zabaleta was fouled by Christian Fuchs inside or outside of the area. The general consensus was that it was just outside but either way, there was no way the referee could give a penalty. Verdict: Correct decision

Manchester City goal v Leicester City: There was no such debate around Manchester City’s consolation goal on the day, however, with Sergio Aguero clearly offside when he headed in Bersant Celina’s cross. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Newcastle United disallowed goal v West Brom: Cheick Tiote could barely believe his luck to see his 25-yard strike ruled out – he suffered the exact same fate against Manchester City in 2014 – but Aleksandar Mitrovic clearly impeded the view of Ben Foster in the West Brom goal. Verdict: Correct decision

Everton penalty v Stoke City: It could be argued that Tom Cleverley slowed down to made sure he was fouled by Jack Butland, but what is certain is that the Stoke goalkeeper did not get the ball and took down the Everton midfielder. Verdict: Correct decision

Swansea City goal v Crystal Palace: Emmanuel Adebayor’s first major contribution as a Crystal Palace player was to concede a free-kick from which Gylfi Sigurdsson scored to put Swansea City ahead, but three out of five on our panel felt the referee had been too quick to blow his whistle. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Swansea City penalty appeal v Crystal Palace: Sometimes, these decisions even themselves out on the day, with Andre Ayew denied a penalty after being brought down by Pape Souare. The first foul took place outside of the area but, on the floor, Souare’s outstretched leg then took down Ayew inside the box. Four out of five on the panel felt a spot-kick should have been awarded. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Tottenham penalty appeal v Watford: Harry Kane had two penalty appeals in quick succession on Saturday, first when he was clipped from behind by Heurelho Gomes and then when he was held by Sebastian Prodl when attempting to score with his head. There was not enough contact made in the second incident to warrant a penalty, but all five of our panel felt Kane should have had a spot-kick when he took a thud into the back of his leg from Gomes. Verdict: Incorrect decision

West Ham penalty appeal v Southampton: A somewhat delayed reaction may have put the doubt into Mark Clattenburg’s mind, but Enner Valencia undoubtedly had his heels clipped by Maya Yoshida when chasing a ball inside the penalty area. There wasn’t total agreement, but three out of five on the panel felt a spot-kick should have been awarded. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Victor Wanyama red card v West Ham: This one really split the panel. All agreed that the tackle was not as bad as it looked, but Wanyama got nowhere near the ball, went over the top of it and could have hurt Dimitri Payet with his follow through. After much debate, a three-to-two majority decided Clattenburg was just about right to show the red card. Verdict: Correct decision

Sam Byram avoiding red card v Southampton There was much less debate regarding this decision, with everyone on the panel agreeing Byram was extremely fortune to avoid a straight red card for an over-the-ball stamp tackle on Ryan Bertrand. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Mathieu Flamini avoiding red card v Bournemouth: It wasn’t the ugliest of two-footed challenges you’ll ever see, but Flamini dived in with his studs showing and could easily have seriously injured Dan Gosling. The fact he won the ball counts for nothing. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Chelsea penalty appeal v Manchester United: These handball decisions continue to split opinion, but the fact that Daley Blind was so close to his own line when stopping John Terry’s goalbound shot convinced four out of five on the panel that referee Michael Oliver should have awarded a penalty. Verdict: Incorrect decision

 

For and Against

Team For Against Total For/Against
1. Man Utd Seven One +6
2. Liverpool Ten Five +5
= Man City Nine Four +5
4. Leicester Ten Six +4
5. Tottenham Six Three +3
= Sunderland Seven Four +3
7. Aston Villa Four Two +2
8. Arsenal Eight Seven +1
= Newcastle Five Four +1
10. Crystal Palace Three Three 0
= Watford Four Four 0
12. Everton One Two -1
= Southampton Six Seven -1
= Stoke Four Five -1
15. Norwich One Four -3
16. West Brom Five Nine -4
17. Chelsea Five Ten -5
= Swansea Four Nine -5
= West Ham Three Nine -6
19. Bournemouth Three Ten -7