It is hard to believe at this point of the season that referees are still getting the big decisions wrong. As I sat down for my feast of football over the weekend I knew there would be mistakes, but exactly where would these mistakes happen and who would be the referees involved. As sure as night follows day, we have had so much controversy this season in the Barclays Premier League and also in fact in the lower leagues as well at times. Two big games this weekend were Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur and the big clash at Upton Park between West Ham and Manchester City. The two men in charge of both games were Craig Pawson and in my opinion one of the top two officials in the country Martin Atkinson. To be brutally honest I was surprised that Martin made an error in the Palace game, but it just goes to show that everyone is having a tough time of it this season.
Most of you who read my regular column for the boys at Pitch Talk, will know I rate Martin Atkinson as one of the top two officials in the country. I have seen Martin referee on many occasion and have pointed out his excellent performances on a regular basis. He had a tricky London derby to take charge over of at Selhurst Park where the hosts welcomed an inform Tottenham side. Martin was his usual excellent self and in my opinion was calling all the big decisions correct. I was so disappointed when he missed an elbow from Crystal Palace player Conor Wickham into the face of Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen. It was in my opinion a cowardly act by Wickham and Martin should not have missed it. We are told as referees to be extra vigilante on set pieces in and around the penalty area, as this is where the mayhem often happens. Martin was clearly not tuned in to the possibility of any issue happening and this is how he obviously missed it. I will be amazed if the FA do not take action against the Palace player over the next couple of days and I feel a ban could be on the way. I can imagine what will be going through Martin Atkinson,s head over the next couple of days as he deals with the fallout from his error, but as I said earlier, in my opinion Martin is one of the top two officials in the country and he will return to his excellent best next week.
Craig Pawson was the man in charge of the Saturday evening kick off at Upton Park between West Ham and Manchester City, which turned out to be a super match. Now as you know Craig has featured in my column for the boys at Pitch Talk before this season and his decision not to send off City’s defender Demechilis was the big talking point of the game. In my opinion the City defender should have been sent off for a challenge on West Ham,s Antonio. A lot of the so called pundits on TV, pointed out over the weekend that in fact his challenge had stopped a clear goal scoring opportunity. In my opinion I actually thought he should have sent off Demechilis for a bad foul on his opponent. He was out of control, off the ground and clearly was out to stop his man, he made no attempt whatsoever to play the ball and his only intention was to bring down the attacker. Referee Pawson deemed it a yellow card but the only outcome should have been red. Craig is new to the FIFA Referees list and he needs to make a better impact than what a few of his performances have done this season. I wonder will his bosses give him a weekend off this week, but I doubt it, as they do not seem to be adapting that policy as the season goes on.
Like a marathon race we are coming into the vital part of the performance now, and over the next couple of weeks titles will be decided. The way this season has been going for the officials I really do hope, that some official somewhere is not going to make a mistake and it will decide who the winners will be. So as I sign off this week I hope I am not writing about your club been in the middle of a refereeing controversy. Until next week, enjoy your football and may all the luck in the world go with your club. " See Ya "
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