Proposed law changes for next season
Some good many years ago, in an article in the Football Referee magazine, I outlined how I judged whether a tackle was fair or a foul. To my surprise and may I say to my great delight, that law was …
Category: From the middle
Questions over two yellow cards and no red
Last week I mentioned that I am often approached with questions on the Laws of the Game. Fortunately, I usually have an answer but a phone call a few weeks ago from David Downs, the Reading FC historian, who Reading Post readers will know …
What are the benefits of offside in football?
One of the consequences of having my photograph included with this column for the last twelve years, is that people keep coming up to me to talk about football, particularly the Laws of the Game. ‘Do you mind,’ they usually …
Assistant referees are the to assist not insist
The last thing I want readers to think is that this column is leading a one-man anti Ferguson campaign. It’s just that Sir Alex’s latest verbal behaviour needs some clarification. The fact that Manchester United didn’t beat Tottenham two Sundays ago, …
Just being offside is not distracting an opponent
It is not often that I return in this column to something that I wrote about just a fortnight before. However, I would like to go back to the incident which led me to write about Sir Alex Ferguson’s rant …
Just being offside is not distracting an opponent Read more »
Whatever the replay shows the referee’s still wrong
Some years ago, after I had made a decision during a game, one of the players said to me, ‘It’s a good job this is not televised ref, otherwise you would find out that you made a mistake there’. ‘On …
Whatever the replay shows the referee’s still wrong Read more »
How does Sir Alex get away with being completely wrong?
The most repeated football television incident over the holiday was almost certainly that of Sir Alex Ferguson remonstrating with the referee, the fourth official and the assistant referee over what he thought was an incorrectly allowed goal against Manchester United. …
How does Sir Alex get away with being completely wrong? Read more »
Head high boots can endanger safety
One player that Royals fans might have been surprised to have seen turning out for West Ham last weekend, was Carlton Cole following his sending off for serious foul play in the previous game against Everton. Thereby of course hangs …
Serious injury can be a difficult judgement
Refereeing is all about making decisions. In an average match a referees make in the region of five hundred decisions. Sometimes, thankfully very rarely, those decisions might be a matter of life and death. Few football fans will need reminding …
Not fair that referees face psychological warfare
Tony Pullis is the outspoken, straight talking manager of Stoke City in the Premier League and recently he has had plenty to say about referees. Stoke’s players have picked up more cautions than any other team in the league so …
Not fair that referees face psychological warfare Read more »
