Mark Clattenburg The Man in The Middle

Those of you who read my regular blog for the boys at PitchTalk will know only to well I am a big fan of Mark Clattenburg and the way he referees. I have watched his career unfold and he has just got better and better, the amount of mistakes he makes in a season can possibly be counted on one hand. This season his performances have been top quality and more importantly it has been on a regular basis. He was the official in charge of the recent Chelsea v Spurs game, when it has to be mentioned that the players were a disgrace on the night. He managed to get through that game by keeping a lid on things exploding as best he could. The amount of cards he showed that night were required and in my opinion all were well warranted. So at the end of what can only be described as an excellent season for the official he was awarded the FA Cup Final and then to put the cherry on the cake was the awarding of the Champions League Final to Mark. It was a huge vote of confidence in Mark by the FA and UEFA to give him both these games, it also showed, not only is he the best official in the UK but also Europe, something I have been saying all season in my blogs for the boys at Pitch Talk. So how did Mark get on over the two games ? If you read on I will pick out some issues that came to my attention in both matches, games that actually went to extra time and put a lot of pressure on all concerned.

The amount of people that watch the FA Cup Final around the world is unbelievable. Millions from across the planet tune into the showpiece for the FA. This can put pressure on all concerned and the referee has a huge part to play, just one mistake and the trophy can be decided. If I am to be totally honest, this years Cup Final was a poor game. It was a stop start type of game and had no real pattern. All the same it had to be refereed and overall I thought Mark did quite well, although in the post match analysis he did come in for some stick. Unfair stick in my opinion, the official had two big calls in the game and I know Crystal Palace manager thought he got them both wrong. His comments could not be further from the truth, Mark got both calls correct. A lot of people including Pardew thought the official should have allowed an advantage to Conor Wichkham after he was brought down by Chris Smalling. I thought in this instance Mark was correct to blow as it was early enough in the game and it was a great time to put his authority on the game and caution Smalling. If you look at it again, it is not even 100% that the Palace player would have scored as the United players had stopped after hearing the whistle. As I said earlier I was happy Mark blew for the free kick, playing advantage is not always the best thing to do and in this case the correct call was made. The other big shout in the game was also not given in the Eagles favour, something that might have made them think it was not to be their day. The incident I am looking at, is the moment when Zaha made a brilliant probing run into United,s box. A lot of the pundits thought it was a penalty, but in my opinion the referee got it correct. Wayne Rooney made no contact with the ball but also did not foul Zaha, it was a brilliant piece of defending by the England captain as he used his body to shield out a shot coming in from the Palace player. Overall Mark did very well in the Final in what as I mentioned earlier was a poor game. Disappointing game or not, it was decided by a wonder strike from Lingard which I don't think ten goalkeepers would have saved.

Having done an extremely good job at Wembley, Mark,s next challenge was the biggest of his career as he took control of the Champions League final in Milan. Not just any Final, but an all Spanish affair between Real and Atletico Madrid. This one would be tough to control as both sides were known to have a bit of a nasty streak within their squads. Atletico,s manager Simeone can be a nightmare on the line and two other problems were Pepe and Ramos. These two guys in my opinion are possibly the two biggest cheats in the modern game. In the final, the minute Mark blew for free kicks they were in his face looking for players to be cautioned and this is just not acceptable. After approximately twenty minutes Mark had enough and laid into the both of them and told them to shut it or he would take serious action. It worked perfectly for him and this made his game. Real,s goal was probably offside but it was so close to call, it actually took about three replays for me to see it clearly. Officials do not have the luxury of TV replays as we know so we will let the assistant off with that one on this occasion. The only issue I can say I was unhappy with Mark,s performance was his failure to send off Pepe for a challenge that caught Gabi on the thigh over the knee. If a red had been produced no one would have batted an eyelid. One thing that will stay with me forever from this game is the moment Mark made a disgusting stare at Pepe as he was rolling around the pitch after been caught accidentally by a an arm. Mark just stood over him looked down and I can only imagine he was saying to himself, get up you fool your making a show of yourself. A lesser experienced referee might have got caught out by Pepe,s antics, but not Mark  Clattenburg the best referee in Europe at the moment.

Both the domestic and european seasons have now come to an end we can look forward to the start of the 2016 European Championships. Mark Clattenburg has had a fabulous season and gets all the plaudits from me for a job well done. I was not the only one that thought Mark was top of the crop after the Champions League Final, his boss Mr.Collina waited in the tunnel to congratulate the official on his performance. The Italian even went as far as to say that it was the best refereeing performance he had seen in a long time. So as we all sit down to watch the upcoming Championship I will be interested to see who will get the final. Do not rule Mark as I am sure he will be in the shake up at the end and it will be well deserved. The next few weeks are going to be very interesting and as usual I will give my opinions to the guys at Pitch Talk. Best of luck to everyone who has teams taking part and let us all hope a refereeing blunder does not send your side out the exit door. Until next week CIAO !

Play Off Trouble

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

A Season of Shocks

The 2015-16 football season has given us everything and so much more. We have witnessed the sensational campaign that saw Leicester City crowned Barclays Premier League champions. We have seen the downfall of the once self acclaimed special one, Jose Mourinhos exit from Chelsea was swift after he had huge problems trying to get his side rolling again this season, we even heard rumours of him losing the dressing room. But one thing that has not surprised all of the fans that read my regular column for the boys at Pitch Talk, has been the amount of refereeing controversies that have been made during the season. Last weekend was no different with again referees been thrown into the spotlight. Well I say referees but in truth this week I want to discuss an issue involving Mike Jones and Mesut Ozil and how I feel Michael Oliver had an horrific game whilst officiating at Old Trafford for the Manchester United v Leicester City game. Read on below and I will give my opinion on the issues that stood out for me this week.

Once upon a time there use to be a respect campaign running throughout the game, it is something that in my opinion has been stuck in a bin somewhere and forgotten about. Respect has to be earned and in most cases is. But what I witnessed at the Emirates on Saturday night was disgusting as Mesut Ozil showed referee Mike Jones no respect at all, in fact in my opinion his behaviour towards the official was nothing more than disgraceful. As Mike Jones deemed a high challenge by the Arsenal player deserved a yellow card, what was to happen next was unacceptable. As the referee tried to show Mesut a yellow card the player just kept walking away, no matter how many times the referee blew the whistle to get his attention so as to bring him back for the card. The whole incident became farcical when Mike Jones had to run after the player to actually show him the card. In my opinion the referee failed himself and his colleagues by having to go after the player. Once Ozil did not comeback he was showing dissent and should have received a second yellow for his antics.

It is the only way to deal with this sort of nonsense by players. If issues like these are not addressed, we will have all sorts of mayhem. One surprising aspect on all of this for me was the fact that it got very little mention from the media. I feel Mike Jones needed to be a lot stronger and should have dealt with the dissent shown by Ozil by producing the second yellow. As I said from the outset on this issue, the respect campaign is in the bin.

Following on from Saturday's shenanigans, we all sat down and watched the so called Super Sunday. Old Trafford was the venue and Leicester were the visitors. For such a high profile game, the powers to be appointed Michael Oliver to take charge and I have to admit I thought it was a good appointment. Well how wrong could I have been, Michael had an awful game. He missed an incident that involved Huth and Fellaini which the FA have now stepped in to deal with. Referees should always know the players who can give them trouble and never take your eye off them. If Michael had have been focussed in on the incident he should have two red cards. Another player who got away with murder was Wayne Rooney, he should have seen a second yellow for a pull back on a Leicester player on the edge of the United box. It was a clear pulling down of a player and Rooney was a very very lucky boy as he was already on a yellow from a previous incident. I do not care what anyone says to me about another issue in the game as I feel the referee made a mess of Leicester,s equaliser. Huth was clearly holding down Smalling when the ball was delivered into the box and the referee should have awarded a free kick out. I am going through a list here that is growing by the minute. Leicester should have been awarded a penalty when Mihraz was taken down by United defender Rojo, these are incidents that you would think a FIFA referee would be all over. Unfortunately on the day Michael left his good performance in the dressing room. I will put the final incident in now and it it is unbelievable that Manchester United were not awarded a penalty when Danny Drinkwater took down Depay in the box. Although it was a good yellow card the referee failed to back it up by giving the penalty. The performance by Michael overall was very very poor and I would like to think that he sat down on Sunday night and reflected on a job badly done. The reason the FIFA men get the big games is because they are expected to put them away without controversy, in this case it simply did not happen.

So there we go, another weekend over and one which had its share of controversy. We have not got to many games left to watch now and it will be empty weekends ahead for those of us who love the beautiful game. But as we look a little further down the road, we have the 2016 European Championships coming up. It will be a tournament I shall be keeping a close eye on for the boys at Pitch Talk and if the referees get it wrong I will tell you how, first. Mind you this tournament will involve the top referees from around Europe and I expect very few problems. Until next week, enjoy your football and I do hope I am not talking about a bad decision involving your team over the coming seven days, until then guys CIAO.

Am I Mystic Meg?

For those of you who read my regular blogs for the guys at Pitch Talk, you will know that I have been saying it all season that the referees will have a big say in who and who does not win the league. Over the past few months the men in the middle have been making mistake after mistake with their decision making. It is something that should not be happening as the refereeing standards should be so much better than what we have witnessed. There are only a few games to go now in most leagues around the world and errors are still been made. What is more worrying for me is the fact that these bad decisions are not just in one league or even one country, but right across all leagues throughout the world. Maybe it is the fact that the games from around the world are readily available to watch no matter where you are on this planet. It is a system now that highlights all the problems involving getting a decision correct. Refereeing has always been a hard job to do but with the coverage the games get now it has nearly become the impossible job. Having written all that, this week my microscope falls on two officials who had a tough weekend as they blew the whistle. Jon Moss and Craig Thompson came in for a lot of stick over the weekend after their performances on the field in Leicester and Glasgow. Let me unravel a few issues below that happened to the guys.

Leicester City have been the sensation of the decade this season. Every neutral and so called pundit want them to win the league and any referee who makes any sort of an error whilst officiating the Foxes will be hammered. Jon Moss was the man in the middle for their latest clash which last weekend was against another team having a super season, West Ham United. Jon had three huge calls in the game and got two of them spot on, unfortunately the one he got wrong could have a huge impact on the final outcome of this seasons Barclays Premier League. The Jamie Vardy sending off was in my opinion 100% correct, in fact it was downright cheating. The regular readers of my articles for the boys at Pitch Talk will remember I have highlighted Vardy’s antics before. This time he has been caught out and hopefully the book will be thrown at him, his reaction to his sending off was outrageous. Let us be honest Jamie, you were caught out now take your punishment. If you look at the West Ham penalty it is very easy to see why the referee gave it.  Before the corner had been taken the referee had reason to pull out a few players and warned them about holding. It obviously fell on deaf ears and it was a good and brave decision to give the away team a spot kick. So having got two good decisions under his belt the referee went and blew it in the final moments of the game. All he had to do was see out the game and the plaudits would have come his way. Instead he decides to give a penalty for a challenge by Andy Carroll. In my opinion it was just a coming together of players and never a penalty. In the big scheme of things if referees are going to blow for incidents like this every week, we may just turn off our televisions. So Jon in my opinion has now left his mark on this seasons Barclays Premier League with such a huge call. Mind you it is just another black mark against the officials who have screwed up.

We have waited quite a while for an Old Firm Derby and finally we got one last week in the Scottish Cup semifinal. For such a huge game, who better to referee it than arguably the best official in Scotland, Craig Thompson? It was always going to be a tough game for Craig and I cannot believe how he made a mess of it by the simple awarding of a throw in. When a referee and his team get together they need to be in tune with each other all the time. The more experienced guys learn this over the years. So when referee Thompson over ruled his assistant on the simplest of decisions like awarding a throw in, I knew we were in for problems. It not only showed me that Craig had no trust in his assistant Alan Mulvanny but was quite prepared to leave him out to dry. The incident led to a second Rangers goal and effectively knocked Celtic out of the cup. I know that Rangers only went two one up after the goal but who was to say that they could have got a second once, Celtic got their,s. As we all know now Rangers went on to win the tie and progress to the final and good luck to them. But in my opinion it was an awful decision and for the life of me I cannot understand what came into Craig,s head. One explanation been thrown out by a lot of my refereeing colleagues around the world this week is possibly he was fatigued. I cannot agree with that opinion at all, in fact if this was the case he should have totally left the decision to his assistant. The knock on effect has left Celtic with no possibility of a double and today manager Ronny Deila has decided to step down at the end of the season a decision I am not sure he would have taken if his Celtic team had done the double. The fallout from a bad decision by Craig Thompson has led to more than just not appearing in a cup final, but far further than that. It was a poor decision by a referee who after all is a FIFA man, in my eyes this is not acceptable.

So there you go, another very bad weekend for refereeing decisions. I am scratching my brain to remember when I did not have a weekend were nothing has gone wrong. Having said all that, we have a few exciting weekends ahead and I expect the top referees to be getting things correct. So until my next blog for the boys at Pitch Talk enjoy your football and I do hope your team does not fall the victim of a bad decision. CIAO 

The Heat Is On

We have entered the month of April and this is were things really heat up, in the chase for trophies and the valuable points to avoid relegation. It is at this time of the season that refereeing decisions come under the spotlight with great scrutiny. If the officials get it wrong at this stage of the season it can be curtains for some clubs. The managers are only looking for excuses to point the finger at a bad refereeing decision. How many times have we heard coaches complain about a missed hand ball a missed tackle by a referee or even the referee missing a clear cut red card. It has been going on for more years than I care to remember. These managers are just looking for someone to point a finger at as it all goes wrong. I always find it funny when managers blame referees for a dodgy decision that may have cost his team the points, well I think these guys should concentrate more on their own tactical judgement than a profession of which they know nothing about, refereeing. So whilst watching my feast of football on TV last weekend what caught my eye, yes you have guessed it a manager moaning and funnily enough a player not moaning enough as to get his team a penalty. Read on below and let us unravel the issues as I saw them. One of my observations will make you chuckle, as a manager points a finger at the wrong person.

As all the readers of my blog for the boys at Pitch Talk will know, I am a big Leeds United fan. I have had the full list of ups and downs following this great club. It is a club with passionate fans and over the years passionate players. I sat down on Saturday lunchtime to watch my beloved club take on Burnley at Turf Moor. What I witnessed was a disappointing performance that lacked the passion from Leeds to go and get a result. It was the performance from a team that had decided it was time for the holidays. This was never so evident as when United had a clear penalty not given by referee Lee Mason, it was not so much that the referee did not give it, but it was more the fact that when Antenucci was pushed by Burnley defender Mee, not one Leeds player even appealed for the spot kick. It was an attitude of lay down and die by the away club. At the time of the incident I was unsure myself as to whether or not it was a spot kick, but a good friend of mine from Galway Gerry McDermott sent me the footage on Saturday evening and I was completely convinced it was indeed a penalty. Now you all know me and I do not agree with players surrounding referees and harassing them into making decisions but I could not believe that no one looked for the foul. The TV pundits tend to call this sort of challenge by a defender as just easing out his opponent. Nonsense it is a clear foul and on Saturday my club suffered from a bad decision by referee Lee Mason, an official who has a wealth of premier league experience. Mind you he was let off by no appeal from a Leeds team lacking any passion to want to have it awarded.

One thing which is certain is that football and the managers involved in the game never fail to amaze me and last weekend was no exception. The excuses these guys spout out week after week are a total and utter joke now at this stage. Last Sunday, Louis Van Gaal took the excuse game to an all new level. His United side were absolutely blitzed by a brilliant Spurs team in my opinion. But it was off the field that all the drama developed before the game as Manchester United turned up late. The lateness was blamed on London traffic, lucky they did not play on Saturday or they may have never got to White Hart Lane, when United did turn up they were instructed to warm up and were given an amount of time to do so, this is where the plot thickens. The United management team were up in arms blaming the referee for disrupting there pre match routine by not allowing them more time to warm up. Again after a defeat a manager coming out to the media and complaining about refereeing decisions, although this time it was not the on field decisions that had got the manager annoyed. Well let me put Mr. Van Gaal straight on this, you screwed up, you as the manager should have made sure to be in the ground on time. If you are looking for someone to blame throw the book at the bus driver who failed to check the travelling time for your journey. Like your players on the pitch, he was responsible for a defeat that ultimately has now cost you any chance of getting that fourth champions league spot.

So there we have it once again, another weekend of roller coaster decisions going wrong. We are fast running out of games and I am sure we will see plenty more. We have to hope that one of these bad footballing decisions is not going to cost your team valuable points. Until next week enjoy your football and I do hope things can only get better. Ciao.

The Show Goes On

A lot has happened since my last blog for the boys at Pitch Talk. It has been an extraordinary couple of weeks on this little planet we call EARTH. We have had the terrorist attack in Belgium which cost an awful lot of people their life's. It is worrying that men, women and children can not go about their daily routine now, without the risk of what could happen anywhere. After such atrocities, it is vitally important that people show these so called terrorists that you will never succeed. Now your probably wondering why I am even discussing these people, but UEFA are apparently proposing to play some games in the Euro 2016 Finals behind closed doors, if a threat to a particular game is mentioned. This should not happen in my opinion as it is a defeatist attitude and it only let's the bad boys win. We also have had some cracking games at international level since my last blog and of course it goes without saying some awful refereeing decisions. Instead of my usual look at events in the Barclays Premier League, I have decided this week to spread my net a little wider, I am going to have a look at sensible refereeing in Dublin and a German referee who had a tough game in Barcelona.

When it comes to derby games in SSE Airtricity League, they arguably do not come much bigger than Shamrock Rovers v Saint Patricks Athletic. Last week the two met and the atmosphere was red hot in the Tallaght Stadium, the home of Rovers. In charge for the battle was Tomas Connolly who is an excellent referee in my opinion. His consistency is top drawer and puts in excellent displays on a weekly basis. In this game Tomas showed something I have not seen from a referee in a very long time. I can hear everyone laugh now at the thought that a referee showed common sense, but that is exactly what he did. Having awarded a penalty for the home side, Tomas was quick to realize he may have called it wrong, in fact he had called it wrong it was never a penalty, so instead of making a complete mess of things and allow his decision to stand, he communicated with his his assistant, yes communicated with his assistant, something you do not see in the Barclays Premier League. Tomas had landed himself in a spot of bother but by keeping himself in control, his assistant and himself got to the right answer to the question in the end. In my opinion this was a a brilliant piece of refereeing and a demonstration of how communication between the officials is so important.

It is not very often you can sit down and enjoy a game of football were everything falls into place. Well on Tuesday night that is exactly what happened when I tuned into the Barcelona v Atletico Madrid game in the Champions League, two of the top clubs in Europe. It was also a night were I got a chance to have a look at referee Felix Brych from Germany. I was not to be disappointed as both teams put on a cracker. Barcelona the attacking side of the game and Madrid with their defensive policy. In a Nou Camp stadium that was filled to the rafters I thought it was a brilliant match, add to that, the performance of a referee who was on top of his game and we had footballing excellence. Felix was so impressive in a white hot atmosphere. When the game was threatening to boil over after he sent off Torres, the German showed total control. A referee who keeps composed, whilst everyone around him is looking to cause problems is a top class official in my opinion. This referee let no one sway any of his decisions, this in fact is far more important than the actual decisions themselves. Because if you let the players get to you, all sorts of things can go wrong. He was not fooled by anyone and this helped the game develop into the showpiece it turned out to be. Let us all be honest about the main issue of the game, Torres deserved to be sent off no matter what anybody says. He was given two yellow cards for two stupid tackles. The boys at Pitch Talk will understand what I mean with that statement, as you would have to be totally stupid to get sent off for what Torres did. When the game finished I actually thought that this performance could put the German in with a chance of officiating over this years final. It will take some refereeing performance to beat the one we all saw the other night.

So there you have it, no comments on the Barclays Premier League this week. It was good to have a chance to look at some other leagues and officials. I have no doubt we will be back discussing the Barclay,s Premier League next week. I can only hope we are not discussing an issue involving your team and a match official. Until then have a great week and enjoy your football. Ciao

The Truth Hurts

Those of you who read my regular blog for the boys at Pitch Talk will know my usual style and content. I have spent all of this season looking at the controversial issues involving refereeing decisions. The amount of controversies has gone beyond the point of a joke and as we head into the final weeks of the season I am sure we will see loads more to have a look at. But this week I want to have a look at two players who have come under the microscope and have faced a lot of criticism from all areas of the media. What I find incredible is, that it has taken until March for all the so called experts to finally see what has been going on with these two guys now for quite a while. I even read this week that one former top referee had called one of the two a thug. So who are we talking about when I say two players, well please can Mr.Diego Costa and Manchester United's Manuel Fellaini please step forward. These two guys have been the subject of many a conversation over the past week, so let me below give you my opinion on what these guys are all about.

When Diego Costa came into the Barclays Premier League the pundits were falling over themselves to praise him and his up and at them style. What has developed over his short spell in the league has been a distasteful attitude by the player towards his fellow professionals and match officials. Diego spends most of his appearances going around the pitch winding up his opponents to the point of explosion. As a referee this is the type of player we can do without in my opinion. The game itself is hard enough to referee and with his input it can become nearly impossible. I wrote earlier in the season that I thought he was an incident waiting to happen every time his name goes on the team sheet and I have been proven correct. His antics last week in the cup game between Everton and Chelsea was just unforgivable, although if he had sunk his teeth into his opponents neck moments before he was sent off he could have been in so much more hot water. But in my opinion the thought was there but he decided against carrying out such an action. As a Chelsea fan it must make your blood boil every time he steps out of line, I can agree he will get you goals but his antics outweigh any positive from that argument I am afraid. His club managers keep naming him when he is available but they pay the price if the player with his demons turns up. In my opinion the guy is trouble and now it seems that the Spanish manager has seen enough as well and left Diego out of his squad for the upcoming international friendlies next week. One other aspect that is very often missed in conversations about problem players is the effect it can have on the boys and girls around the world who watch everything their heroes do, only to recreate their every move on the playing fields of the local park.

Manchester United and Belgian international Fellaini is a total different story in my opinion. He was accused this week of been a thug by former referee Howard Webb. I actually think he is a very clever player and takes things very close to the line but very rarely is sent off. He often looks very awkward when competing for a ball and tends to use his arms and elbows a lot. I have no problem with that, but it is when he puts his arm across an opponents face that I take issue. I have seen him in many a game get away with it on a regular basis, but this is the clever bit in my opinion, the player knows only to well unless he deliberately smashes his opponent in the face the worst he will get is a yellow card for continuous fouling. I feel that this season there has been many a time when referees should have shown him a straight red and not let him get away with it, you do not have to necessarily use your arms all the time when challenging for the ball. If you have followed his career, you will notice that once he picks up a yellow card for the over use of the arm whilst challenging for the ball he very rarely challenges again in the same manner, so why does he have to do it from the start of a game. This in my opinion is where he is very clever, I would not call him a thug, just clever. Referees need to seriously look at this and deal with him accordingly.

So there you have it, incidents a plenty this week but I just had to comment on these two players as everyone else has had their say. I am sure next week I will have loads to discuss for the boys at Pitch Talk and I will only be happy to bring you my views. So until next week, enjoy your football and let us hope we are not discussing a bad refereeing decision in a game involving your club. Bye for now.