Portland Bill

The two minutes highlights on MOTD wouldn’t have given us much money!

Quite possibly, but as the challenge was on his blind side, and the ball went off in the direction of the defenders challenge, could he have been 100% certain ?

Not at all, I’m just pointing out the other view. If you knew it was 100% a penalty from where you were in the ground, without watching a replay from behind the goal, then perhaps you should take up refereeing, as your far better than any referee I know!. I will say it again, no referee could be 100% certain that was a penalty from looking at that incident from behind the play, ( re ref being in a shit position, Usain Bolt wouldn’t have got there to see it) and if you are not certain you cannot give it. If you want referees to guess then so be it. As for me being over protective towards referees, I don’t think so, I would just like others to understand the game from an officials point of view. A lot of football fans who watch games don’t even know the laws of the game, let alone ever refereed a game. But are very quick at finding fault with them. Imagine if someone posted all the faults, and perceived mistakes from every player in a game!!. They make far far more than any official.

90% of people in attendance were City fans, so obviously ‘thought’ it was a penalty. I couldn’t have called it until I saw the camera view from behind the goal. The halfway line high up camera view wasn’t conclusive, and a referee at ground level 30 yards behind could never have been sure. Let’s be realistic, if that was a QPR player going down in the box, 90% of the crowd would have said it wasn’t a penalty!.

I’m just pointing out that the referee doesn’t get the ‘behind the goal cameras view’ you have seen. I’m not getting into whether he was a good or bad ref, just pointing out that referees get one view of incidents, not the 4-5 the various cameras give you.

Well, you and him clearly don’t understand the ‘laws’ of the game, because Towler’s is a yellow card by law!.

Towler’s challenge was a genuine attempt to get the ball. Under the laws of the game a yellow card and penalty is 100 % the correct call by the referee.

The behind the goal view, so in other words the view the referee didn’t get!.

Still is.

Whilst having his shirt held on too! A clear penalty.

Probably not a good time to make this point ( after last night ). But, what you have said in defence of a player, is exactly the scenario for the referee in every decision they have to make.

He knew 100% he had been booked, because he walked straight off the pitch without looking back when he committed the stupid foul on the halfway line!.

The marks the referee gets are culminated ( if that’s the right word?) over a season. If he gets constantly low marks then he will more than likely get demoted. As he is an ex pro footballer I don’t know if he got fast tracked through the leagues, as this is what football fans have been telling us they want, ie, ex players. I think the reaction he has got from City fans may just prove the point that it doesn’t matter at all if you have played the game at a good level, because refereeing is 100% the opposite from playing the game, and don’t I know it!!. Most referees who get to the top level will have been doing it for 30 years, ex pro footballers will never get to do the hard early years. That’s where the top officials learn.

The only reason he stopped the game for the alleged injury, ‘was’ because the ball was out of play. Unfortunately that’s become the norm, and us as City fans would have been incensed if it was one of our players and the ref hadn’t stopped the game. Yes, it was gamesmanship, but every team does it!.

It will depend on the assessor, the assessor may well agree with the decisions the referee made. The sending off was correct, QPR’s penalty was correct, all the yellow cards were correct. Scott going down in the penalty area is a contentious one, but with one view the referee was probably correct. Lots of fouls could have gone either way, but he gave what he saw. He will get slaughtered for not booking Charlie Austin, because that is a major mistake, which is not acceptable. But saying this, I wouldn’t like to second guess an assessor, because they are a law to themselves!!.