We all know as football fans that at this time of the season all the medals and trophies are won. It is also the time when the play off,s are played and the clubs who narrowly missed out on the automatic promotion get a second chance. These games can be very exciting and make for good viewing on TV. They can also have a lot of problems in them, as players know they need to win for to gain promotion. The play off games are refereed by the top performing guys of the season and the men who know how to handle pressure games. Over the weekend I sat down and watched with great interest as all the games kicked off. Sadly though even in the play offs I have to report on bad refereeing in my opinion. Two games that I focussed in on this week were the ones between Portsmouth and Plymouth and the championship play off between Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton, two games that left me with two huge talking points to write about for the boys at Pitch Talk one good one bad. Read on below and let the mystery unravel.
When I sat down to watch the 1st leg of the play off game between Portsmouth and Plymouth I have to be totally honest I did not know what to expect. What unfolded in front of my eyes was astonishing, one of the best games I have seen in a longtime. It had goals, great atmosphere and yes, controversy. The referee for the night was Mr. Oliver Langford and I can only presume that he is one of the better officials at lower levels than the Barclays Premier League. Well when the referee looked back on his performance overall he must have been disappointed in my opinion. The one explosive incident in the game was a clash between Jamille Matt of Plymouth and Pompey,s Michael Doyle. Matt could clearly been seen putting his head into Doyle and this action should have received a red card from the official. How he did not send off the Plymouth player is beyond belief. To make matters a lot worse was the reaction of the benches as Plymouth coach Paul Wooton and Portsmouth manager Paul Cook clashed, the inevitable then followed and Mr. Langford had to send both of them to the stand. I can not understand how the official missed the incident and to really put the tin hat on things, the Plymouth striker scored two goals. The incident that was missed, had a total knock on effect to the whole tie and in my opinion probably cost Portsmouth a place in the play off final. If the referee had not seen the clash it was down to one of the other officials to try and help him out, but ultimately it was Mr. Langford who made a bad call and the repercussions are been felt in Portsmouth now. It was bad refereeing in my opinion as it only takes a quick second to have a look back as players clear a ball and if there is any afters, a good referee will nail it so fast.
Let me move on now to have a look at the Championship play off first leg game between Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton which was played last Friday night. I was asked by a lot of the Pitch Talk family to have a look at the disallowed Wednesday goal and give my opinion. In fact a Pitch Talk family member Brad Hicks asked especially for my opinion on it. The match official appointed to this game was our old friend Andre Mariner, a referee who has fallen under the microscope earlier in the season. As we all know, Andre is a FIFA official and one of the elite referees in the UK. He is the type of official who I expected to get such a high profile game and overall I thought he had a super match on the night, he let the game flow and this helped to create a superb game. The one big talking point in the game was the awarding of a free kick for offside when Sheffield Wednesday,s Forestieri was judged to have been in an offside position before he went on to score. Now I want to make it clear from the start that in my opinion it was a brilliant decision by the officials. Both Andre and his assistant Darren Cann called it correct and if I am totally honest I reckon it was one of the best decisions this season. I know it caused all sorts of confusion but the communication between the two officials was excellent in getting the call correct. I have always promoted communication between match officials and this case it worked a treat. So well done to the officials, that is not something I have been able to say this season.
Before I go this week I just want to congratulate Mark Clattenburg on his appointments to the FA and Champions League Finals. As you all know, I think Mark is the best referee in the British Isles and he deserves these games as a reward for his season, do not rule him out for the European Championship final either. So there we have it, another football season has more or less come to a close, but do not worry I will be still doing my stuff for the boys at Pitch Talk as the finals get under way and I am sure there will be plenty to write about. So until next week enjoy your football and if you are lucky enough to have a team in a final, enjoy. CIAO
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