The appetite for commentary on the farce in Paris still seems strong, and I thought Arsene Wenger had a very wise take on the entire situation today. Wenger is, obviously, a French supporter and very close with Henry. In fairness to the Irish fans, the world football community, and for the sake of Henry, he called for the game to be replayed.

Click to continue reading...

Another day, another dive. With a stilted Liverpool trailing a frisky Birmingham City at Anfield late, David N'Gog (pronounced like "own goal") sensationally split two defenders while charging in from the left. N'Gog then almost blew past Lee Carsley, but Carsley slid towards him, grazing the ball while managing to avoid any contact.

Click to continue reading...

It's been awhile since I've done a round-up of links, but as we wait for the MLS Playoffs to start, this is a good time to do some reading:
World Cup in the U.S. could mean $5-Billion Windfall - L.A. Times
Roma's Captain Totti Undergoes Knee Surgery - USA Today
Forget Fergie, A Real refereeing crisis is looming - Graham Poll - The Daily Mail
Rangers and Celtic's barbaric Old Firm bigotry is last thing we need down here: Martin Samuel - The Daily Mail
In Italy the Ultras give the orders - La Gazzetta dello Sport
Bodies of murdered soccer players returned to Colombia - Colombia News
French League Boss defends late decision to call off game despite violence - Canadian Press
Swine Flu strikes Bolton - AFP
Fenerbahce preserves home dominance in derby classic - Today's Zaman
Palermo salvages SuperClasico draw - ESPN Click to continue reading...

The Daily Mail seems to have moved on from shaming divers and cheaters in football to something more fire and brimstone.

I wonder if this wonderful rag had much to say about Max Mosley. I don't remember Jan Moir writing an article about " a life shadowed by dark appetites or fractured by private vice.

Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has again passed up the opportunity to criticise Mike Jones, the referee who failed to rule out Sunderland's winning goal against the Merseyside club on Saturday. Darren Bent's shot found the net via a deflection off a beach ball that had been thrown onto the pitch. Click to continue reading...

Did Graham Poll blow the call? Yeah, sure. I suppose it could be also be argued that Darren Bent struck the ball flush, that it's path was not diverted by the beach ball and that Pepe Reina should have kept his eyes on the more important ball. But the question of far more importance is why would any fan, let alone one at his own team's end, bat a beach ball onto the pitch?

Click to continue reading...

Mike Jones wasn't the only ref to have a bad week.Graham Poll (gleefully?) points out that a collection of game officials had a controversial merry go round kind of experience at the Chelsea - Aston Villa game.These have been named as being Steve Bennett,Paul Rejer,Kevin Friend and Nigel Marriott.

Click to continue reading...

Mike Jones, the referee who incorrectly awarded Darren Bent's goal for Sunderland against Liverpool FC on Saturday, will not officiate in the Premier League this weekend.
Bent's shot struck a beach ball thrown from the visiting section at the Stadium of Light and deflected past Liverpool FC goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Click to continue reading...

In this new series, I'll be looking back at some of Liverpool's FC's most demoralizing football moments - incidents and games that left fans in a state of shock for weeks – and sometimes months – afterwards. I'll start off with an infamous game from January 1999 that sent Gerard Houllier's team into freefall and arguably ended the club's season: The soul-destroying FA Cup 4th round defeat to Manchester United. Click to continue reading...

Has Fergie finally run out of elastic?
Has the end of the time when no-one dare utter a word against him finally come?
It's probably too early to say yet but it is interesting that there is increasing momentum in statements made publicly by former referee Graham Poll.
It started back in January with Rafa's rant. Click to continue reading...

Never one to shy away from the controversial here's Graham Poll on the business of the Owen scoring his goal six minutes into a four minute extra time period.
He says one of the rules that refs have to remember at Old Trafford is that "play continues until Man U win!"

Click to continue reading...

Platini's masterplan to eliminate referee associated problems has been inaugurated.The Europa League kicked with two extra match officials, one behind each goal.
They are termed "additional assistant referees" - the short form of which is AARs - which is kind of difficult to say without giving offence.

Click to continue reading...

Big Story

It's not quite what video replay advocates were hoping for, but Michel Platini is betting the experimental addition of two goal line officials during tonight's Europa League group stage opener will eventually silence critics and placate fans, managers, and players tired of diving players and dodgy goal mouth calls like the one made at Ashton Gate last month.

Click to continue reading...

The Guardian reckons Wayne Rooney should never become a saint.

A Kick In The Grass questions Ferguson's tactics.

Dirty Tackle gets inside Rooney's brain.

Graham Poll tells The Daily Mail about the referee experiment this weekend.

Free tickets for the derby and free £25 bet.

Click to continue reading...

Graham Poll has labelled Fernando Torres a diver after an alleged incident against Bolton last weekend. Is he right or wrong?
In his interview, Poll stated:
"There are question marks over the way that Liverpool's Fernando Torres went to ground after a tackle from Zat Knight when Liverpool were trailing 1-0 to Bolton. Click to continue reading...

" Manchester United star Wayne Rooney must not be labelled a diver - I remember him as a player who tried to keep on his feet."

Graham Poll was always a buffoon. The depths of his incompetence was plumbed with the Josip Simunic farce in the Croatia vs Australia match in the 2006 World Cup.

Click to continue reading...

Gerhard Kapl(at right): A fire and brimstone kind of chief

Time to dust off those videos and mete out retrospective punishment to those who deceive referees.

What, its not going to happen?

Only Eduardo gets to be the poster boy. Eighteen months ago he was the poster boy for tackles gone horribly wrong.

Click to continue reading...

Graham Poll on diving.

"It was on the eve of the start to the Barclays Premier League season, when Sir Alex Ferguson spoke with authority and insight. 'Players who cheat are killing the game, not the referees,' observed the manager of the champions."

Straight of the bat, Poll reveals his bias.

Click to continue reading...

Episode 124 of the EPL Talk Podcast features interviews with Chelsea's John Terry and Carlo Ancelotti after Chelsea's 2-0 victory against Club America in the final of the World Football Challenge in Arlington, Texas. Both Terry and Ancelotti discuss their reflections on the tournament itself.

Click to continue reading...

SPAOTP blogger Chris Oakley is the featured guest of the latest episode of the EPL Talk Podcast. Interviewed by Kartik Krishnaiyer, Oakley discusses several interesting and timely topics such as:

• Looking ahead to the final week of the Premier League season,
• How the relegation of two EPL clubs from the northeast will affect football in England,
• A discussion of the Dutch league and how Steve McClaren has become reborn at FC Twente,
• His thoughts on the Bundesliga race, and more.

Click to continue reading...

After all the fuss has died down

A special place is reserved for people like Tom Henning Ovrebo. Just like Anders Frisk, Graham Poll, Robert Mugabe, and Osama Bin Laden before him, Tom has achieved household name status and established himself on Interpol's top ten most wanted overnight.

The witch hunt began to take shape in the Sky Sports studio last Wednesday night.

Click to continue reading...

The Norwegians are not taking this too kindly.

Today, Drogba's apology was posted on the Chelsea website.

"I was very upset at what happened during the game, but having seen the pictures on TV I accept that I overreacted."

Good for him.

Ovrebo had to be smuggled out of England, switching hotels.

Click to continue reading...

Graham Poll was quick to speak about Howard Webb's decision to award a penalty to Manchester United when the club was 2-0 down against Tottenham Hotspur.

Of course Manchester United were fortunate to be awarded a penalty by Howard Webb - even at full speed it appeared clear that Heurelho Gomes played the ball away from Michael Carrick's feet.

Click to continue reading...

Manchester United beat Spurs 5-2 the weekend before last after going 2-0 down at home. United's opening game from a penalty, which Michael Carrick won as he burst in to the box. Carrick tried to round the goalkeeper, before Gomes hurtled out touching the ball momentarily before he took out Carrick.

Click to continue reading...

Â

Is the pressure on the likes of Howard Webb unrealistic considering this is not a full-time job?

 The criticism directed at referees and their assistants these days is becoming more of a talking point than many games themselves. Howard Webb made an incorrect judgement and awarded Manchester United a penalty against Tottenham last week, a decision that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp clearly felt changed the game.

Click to continue reading...

Â

Â

This is not a post to moan about a referee getting a decision wrong. Â Rather, this particular incident got me wondering, "How is that supposed to work then?" Â Maybe you have the answer...

It's been reasonably well accepted that Arsenal's opener against Middlesbrough should have been flagged offside (video link).

Click to continue reading...

There's no let up in the hectic schedule for United in the pursuit of yet more glory, because just 48 hours after that 3-2 dramatic fight back against Aston Villa the champions of Europe face Porto and there's a score to settle following on from 2004. United have already paid back Jose Mourinho, Porto's former manager, when knocking out his current club Inter Milan in the Champions League round Click to continue reading...

A ref these days is hard to find We've all sung it, we've all sat there saying "I could do better" & "the reason we lost that game was because of the ref" I'll admit, I do it every week! Thinking back, Can anyone remember Pierluigi Collina? Or David Ellery? These were at one time the world's finest referees. Click to continue reading...

Hume deserves better protection Your Honour, it was always pretty soul destroying to see your team take a heavy loss and having to head in to school the following Monday to face the taunts of your peers. When it was England going out of a major tournament, however, the collective sense of loss was evident the moment you crossed the threshold into your first classroom. Click to continue reading...

Is it just me, or is the reputation of English refereeing at an all time low? There've been far too many high profile mistakes and controversies lately. Thinks like Graham Poll (pictured) giving three yellow cards to the same player at World Cup 2006, Mark Hasley's red card to John Terry being overturned by the [. Click to continue reading...

Referee
Matches Points Average Points
Mike Dean
1 5 5 Howard Webb
1 5 5 Chris Foy
1 5 5 Steve Bennett
1 5 5 Phil Dowd
1 5 5 Peter Walton
1 5 5 Andre Marriner
1 4 4 Martin Atkinson
1 4 4 Mike Riley
1 3 3 Alan Wiley
1 3 3 Keith Stroud
0 0 0 Mark Halsey
0 0 0 Uriah Rennie
0 0 0 Lee Probert
0 0 0 Lee Mason
0 0 0 Rob Styles
0 0 0 Steve Tanner
0 0 0 Mark Clattenburg
0 0 0
The comprehensive guide to the Premier League's Referees. Click to continue reading...

English referees tend to be in the spotlight in international tournaments for the wrong reasons - Graham Poll with his 3 yellow cards in Germany 06 and now Howard Webb with the penalty award that gave Austria a point and more crucially, effectively ended Poland's Euro 2008 campaign. In the aftermath of the draw, Poland [. Click to continue reading...

- Due to protest from Wigan manager Chris Hutchings, the referee for our match on Saturday has been switched from Steve Bennett to Mark Clattenburg. Hutchings' ground for protest was Bennett's sending off of Kilbane for apparently no reason whatsoever in the Lactics tie at Newcastle on the first of this month. Though he has yet to receive any punishment for what has been deemed an 'incorrect decision', it was thought best that Bennett not be in charge of this upcoming fixture. Click to continue reading...

This week's episode of the EPL Talk Podcast features an exclusive interview with former Premier League and England referee Graham Poll, author of a new autobiography entitled "Seeing Red."
In the lengthy interview, Poll answers a lot of questions about the proposed rule changes to the sport, his memories from that historic day at the Dell in 1996 between Southampton and Manchester United where Fergie had his side change strips at halftime and much more including his most memorable match he refereed. Click to continue reading...

Former International and England referee Graham Poll has revealed that officials at last year's World Cup were told to keep a close watch on the Three Lions' Peter Crouch. He claims that they went as far as watching England warm-up matches so they would know what to look for, emphasizing the way the lanky striker uses his arms. A biased against an English player in the World Cup in Germany? Click to continue reading...