Two players and a referee walk into a pub.......
Monday, April 6, 2009 at 4:47PM "What do you both want to drink?" Asks the ref.
"I'll have a pint", says one of the players. "Make mine a rum", says the other.
The ref then sneezes a 'Dummy's Guide to understanding Java' out of his nose and Deirdre from Coronation Street wakes up from her dream explaining the fundamentals of dark matter in spoken Hebrew to the badger with the head like a golf ball. He laughs and the squirrels feast on the dead carcass of themselves from the future. North Korea then star-jumps with a knowing nod and remarks 'Καλά Χριστούγεννα'.
Confused? Was that joke a little on the random side? Inexplicable and surreal? I personally thought it made far more sense than some of the decisions I witnessed during Saturdays 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
In particular, the foul on Palacios.
No matter how many times I watch it, all I see is Aaron Mokoena shoulder-charging Wilson Palacios face. Even looks like he shapes up to hit him as he runs towards our midfield powerhouse. Surely a red card ref, no? The right honourable Mr Walton didn't see it as such, but no surprise there considering what he did and didn't see through-out the afternoon. Whether it was the penalty he gave to us, the one he didn't give to Rovers or the second yellow to Palacios.
Allardyce (if you happen to notice) subbed the defender almost immediately after Mokoena flattened Wilson. Hmm...I wonder why.
Nothing has been said about this since (from what I've seen). And not a lot was made of it at the time either. Wilson (eventually) got up and got on with it. No damage done. I can't remember Andy Gray having kittens about it either. Mountain out of a mole hill then? Maybe I'm being too protective of a player in Lilywhite.
Or perhaps it does not require a re-visit based on the fact that Wilson does not wear the colours of Man Utd/Liverpool/Chelsea/Arsenal thus deeming the incident a non-event and a simple case of over-exuberance and Wilson's face getting in the way of very legal player-to-player contact.
The irony of later on having to watch Palacios get red-carded for basically attempting to avoid physicality with Dunn (and avoid a certain card) and thus falling to the ground and still receiving a card is completely and utterly lost on me. With Johnson of Pompey sent off for running in one of the other Saturday games, it's like some kind of weird experiment in anti-football where refs are following directives set by David Lynch.
Respect the referee? Sure I will. But only after the backwards talking midget in the room with the red drapes tells me to.
Reader Comments (15)
I think this is now my fave footie blog.
:)
eloquently put, my thoughts exactly(well almost, not quite as detailed, but the gist of it anyway,nearly, well get what your saying anyway!!!!!!!!!)
Even though I cant condone someone throwing a coin at a referees head, I can understand the frustration that leads to such actions when referees like walton can simply cheat like he did in the spurs game.
what about the disgusting, studs up, knee-height challenge mokoena put in on i think jenas within the first five minutes? he should have been off for that already, or at the very least booked. it was a terrible display by a ref who has already passed the retirement age, but supposedly passed a fitness test that lead to the premier league renewing his contract for another season. what a disgrace.
I have already written a letter to both the FA and the Premier League about this. and i've managed to secure some relatively well known referee-bods to support me. walton will not be refereeing in the premier league next season if i have any say!!
Dont mess with the people!
It's one thing needing video footage for tricky possible controversial 'have to see it again' incidents, but the muppet in charge on Saturday was completely incompetent.
Relegate him.
If Mokoena had made that challenge on one of the Goons "wonderful" footballers(Theo Wilnott for example) we'd still be hearing about it from Whinger. It was close to assault and only different to Ben Thatcher's attack on Pedro Mendes due to Mokoena's ability to be more subtle(within 10 yards of the ball) and Wilson's iron jaw. Shocking display from a Premier League referee, although not something that we should be overly surprised about.
Havent seen the incident but the bits i could drag myself to watch sickened me . What should we expect from sam the chewer bolton blacburn both start with a b so does boot the bastards .Davspurs has the right answer to mutch energy flowing through there viens COYS
I really think we need video replays now, it works in most other sports without disrupting the play, and if they were that bothered about play slowing down they would have clamped down on the play acting by a certain few players...Drogba, Ronaldo to name a few, but the reason they don't want it is to protect the Sky big four, because as we know if a decision is 50/50 or even 40/60 it goes to them nearly everytime.
I get the joke!! How can you guys not get the joke!! MAHAHAHAHAHA
Ref was totally clueless, as were his linos.
Diouf took corners at least a foot outside the arc, nothing said.
I gotta be honest and say I did think it was a pen. The distance from Lennon to the arm was enough to allow time to avoid contact and with hand on heart I admit that if it was the other way round I'd have accepted it.
What gripes me though is the foul on Wilson was similar in consequence to the O'Shea tackle that should of got him sent off at Wembley. Somehow against us they go unpunished, but BAE's foul at WBA got an instant dismissal.
I seriously wonder if the gits at the FA don't have it in for us because years ago Sugar took them on and won.
interesting that redknapp said at half time that the penalty decision would have to be matched up against spurs to equal out the refs mind.......now that is absurd and part of the game which constitutes .....cheating by an official....
it was a penalty,it was not a foul....
so this ref has failed in his duty to be impartial to the game.....and what are the fa and refs association with their respect campaign doing about it?
sod all!
as a matter of fact....... palacios red should be reversed....and analysis of why refs behaviour has become to be this kind of mindset which makes for bad decison process
which could result millions of pounds either way at the end of the season
Oh my god.....Spooky, you Greek?! :-O
Agree with everything you wrote, but would like to add that the match was uncomfortably reminiscent of several during the dark last days of Ramos -- totally outplaying the other team but losing after preposterous refereeing decisions. Although when Ramos was still in charge, we didn't need preposterous refereeing decisions in order to lose. We all know that you can't appeal if you got two yellow cards. But why is that? That rule, in itself, is tantamount to the suits at the FA and Premier Leaguue admitting that they know their refs are an embarrassment. In a just world, it would be changed. But in a just world, the suits at the FA and the Premier League would be scraping a living as dustmen or McDonalds operatives.
Oh my god.....Spooky, you Greek?! :-O
Not quite.