Officials are ruining our game

Sorry if anyone else has posted this but for me the only thing thats ruining our game is diving.  Agreed refs could well be corrupt but both our game and the chelsea game as far as simulation goes were a complete embarassment to me.

Diving is not a major issue in our game. At worst, it will happen once in a game. If you want to talk about on-field antics then shirt pulling is the criminal. Half a dozen times today players on both sides almost had their shirts ripped off their backs due to the shirt pulling that was going on.

I'm not sure, United for one always seem to pick up 3 or 4 wins a season with some very dodgy refereeing decisions. The pressure these refs get put under by United have to have some impact on their decision making.

Yet Mike Riley (the guy who determines which referee officiates which game) phoned Brendan Rodgers this week to tell him to stop complaining about ref's not giving LFC any decisions. It's perfectly acceptable for Fergie to complain though. Anyone that remembers when Riley was a referee will know he always showed Utd bias. Utd's CEO is also a senior member of the FA.

It's things like this that do lead me to believe there is corruption in our game. Not corruption like in Italy with payments being made to throw matches, but corruption by way of bias, by way of one team having far too much power within the governing body. The governing body should be completely neutral with no representation from any club on its board or within any of its ranks.

This is why I believe that if officials where required to give post-match interviews, they could be called out on these. They could be forced to answer tough questions about their decisions ("Can you explain why you flagged so later for an offside that you where perfectly in-line with"/"Can you explain why you sent someone off for diving who was fouled with a two footed challenge?"). Interviewers could ask about repeated patterns of behaviour towards certain teams from certain match officials . Incompetency and bias would soon bee routed out.

The fact that if a Ref see's an incident and includes it in his report means the FA can't act on it is ridiculous. The FA are supposed to be the governing body and should be able to act on whatever decisions they see fit and not just one's the refs miss.

This is key and ref's should also be allowed to review their own performances and be subject to a press conference after watching the game they just refereed. 

This is key and ref's should also be allowed to review their own performances and be subject to a press conference after watching the game they just refereed. 

Agree with them being subject to a press conference Rodders to at least explain the decisions they make but I also think the FA should make it their business to act on any decision made during a game that they feel has been handled wrong, not just the one's the ref misses.

Refs don't seem to take responsibility for their actions - the FA don't take responsibility - so who does ? Mike spineless F**k Riley doesn't

Would totally agree especially in the EPL especially with all the money at stake. the higher the league the more curruption. Usually take a look at man utd today, and most titles in the epl are won by one point. Also betting is part of the culture of curruption, most time man of the match is the linesman or referee. No wonder its taken years for the FA  to bring in video or goal line technology. The  people getting paid off would have a big income drop, if the rules were changed.

Refs don't seem to take responsibility for their actions - the FA don't take responsibility - so who does ? Mike spineless f**k Riley doesn't

Officials are scored on their performances in games and can be relegated to officiate lower league games if they consistently perform poorly. The problem is it's all done behind closed doors when it should be an open and transparent process. Referees and lines men should be on a publicly viewable league table so everyone can see how they are doing. The entire process needs opening up to the public so public scrutiny can be brought to bare on their decisions.

Would totally agree especially in the EPL especially with all the money at stake. the higher the league the more curruption. Usually take a look at man utd today, and most titles in the epl are won by one point. Also betting is part of the culture of curruption, most time man of the match is the linesman or referee. No wonder its taken years for the FA  to bring in video or goal line technology. The  people getting paid off would have a big income drop, if the rules were changed.

Blimey that's a very wild theory !

I have a feeling ,whilst at times it seems biased , we do not suffer from the same problems as the Italy league and bribing refs etc to any high scale in the prem. You can bet that something would have been found out in the press.

And it's not up to the FA to bring in goal line technology or video replay - that's FIFA and UEFA

Blimey that's a very wild theory !

I have a feeling ,whilst at times it seems biased , we do not suffer from the same problems as the Italy league and bribing refs etc to any high scale in the prem. You can bet that something would have been found out in the press.

And it's not up to the FA to bring in goal line technology or video replay - that's FIFA and UEFA

I agree with this. Bias is the problem, not bribery.

However, I don't think that it'd take long for the FA to eventually cave in to the green and fix matches.

This sh*t just got real ! This isn't going to end well - Chelsea accuse Battenburg of inappropriate language towards it seems Mikel and Twittee has it down as "racial"

Mark Clattenburg: Chelsea make complaint against referee

Chelsea have made a formal complaint against referee Mark Clattenburg after accusing him of using "inappropriate language" to two of their players in the defeat to Manchester United.
Part of the allegation is that Clattenburg used racial language, BBC Sport has learned.

It is also understood midfielder John Mikel Obi is involved in the complaint.
"We have lodged a complaint to the Premier League match delegate," said a Chelsea spokesman.
"The match delegate will pass the complaint to the Football Association."

Referees' organisation Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) later issued a statement which said: "PGMO is aware of the allegations and they are being treated with the utmost seriousness.
"Mark will co-operate fully and welcomes the opportunity for the facts to be established."

All four officials - the referee, his two assistants and the fourth official - wear microphones and ear pieces that allow them to hear what each other is saying throughout the match, although what is said between them is not recorded.

The news that Chelsea had made the complaint rounded off a dramatic day which saw the Blues lose their unbeaten top-flight record after Javier Hernandez struck 15 minutes from time.
Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres were both given red cards in the space of five minutes in United's 3-2 win, with the Spaniard's dismissal for diving disputed by Chelsea.
"It is a shame a game like this had to be decided in that manner by officials," said Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo.
"Surely when the referee watches it he will realise he has made big mistakes."

In addition, Chelsea are to investigate reports that a steward was injured by objects thrown from the crowd at Stamford Bridge.
Hernandez appeared to be pelted as he celebrated scoring United's winner in front of Chelsea fans in the Matthew Harding Stand.
After that, a steward required 10 minutes of treatment before being taken to hospital.

I hope there is truth in this complaint and the whole refereeing panel and system get a shake up.

This is beyond a joke now I think after this weekend both us and Chelsea need to sit down with the FA and demand answers, things can no longer be brushed off or dismissed as coincidental.

The truth will eventually come out. Examples just recently lance armstrong and jimmy saville. Just be patient the lord will bring down well established  empires of darkness.

We have to be extremely careful with the way we look at officials in the future as we don't want people over reacting to every decision that goes against us. Mistakes happen and will continue to do so. Yes we can all see that today was ridiculous but we must not forget we will have goals given wrongly offside in the future.

The problem is the FA have no real governing body because lets face it UEFA don't give a sh*t if their money comes from this country or another one so they are hardly going to rock the boat.

The only hope I can see may come from an unlikely source, tabloids

Obviously this isn't what a lot of people want to hear but if we look back over the last 10 years newspapers have broken a lot of stories and they generally have a lot of sway over the entire adult population. Some tabloids have forced the government into becoming more transparent with the general population so it stands to reason that if a newspaper actually did find evidence of corruption and ran with it we could see some changes to the way football is governed.

Lets look carefully at that scum Young, ok, there may have been some contact from Ivanovic but that idiot fell as if he was shot by a M16 and one of his legs were trailing back and made contact with Ivanovic high up in the air as if he has been fouled very badly by Ivanovic and to make sure the referee dosn't miss that. Young is the most underated diver and cheat and Chelsea must point this out. The one that should be sent off is not Ivanovic but Young for simulating a bad foul while Ivanovic only deserves a yellow. I felt pity for Chelsea just for this time and they have been robbed just like us.

I hope there is truth in this complaint and the whole refereeing panel and system get a shake up.

This is beyond a joke now I think after this weekend both us and Chelsea need to sit down with the FA and demand answers, things can no longer be brushed off or dismissed as coincidental.

Meet, discuss, debate, deliberate, reason or whatever we want, it all will come to nothing as we have to acknowledge who are the people behind the corridors of power, it can only get worse from here. BR tried to do it diplomatically and was asked to shut up, KK tried we ended up worst. Is the whole FA run by a group of cultured mob or something? Ok, we can give it a try but it will come to nothing and I may sound a bit extreme but we may have to rope in Man City and Chelsea and start a mass exodus from the FA. The scums can have the 100th title to themselves for all I care, it's worthless anyway and we get a few teams from the lower league to make up the numbers for a start while Stoke can start to supply the scums with all the titles.

A big shake up and total revamp in the FA is needed. I hope I don't have to wait 23 years to see that happening. The FA and it's officials integrity is in  question and is  suffering from a crisis in conscience.

It was harsh Geroge, that's what I'm really saying. That, and it's only a sending off 'today'.

Ivanovich touches Young, Ivanovich sent off
Evans touches Torres, Torres sent off

The point, is that referee officials are inconsistent and are screwing up way too often.

And clattenburg was only 8 yards away and he can't see what actually happened while that cheat Evans legs were pointed towards him and not away and the studs were up in the air, why there's no red card?

Young simulated the foul and made it looked worse than it is. Take a look at the slow motion, as soon as Ivanovich touched him, one of his legs were seen trailing back and up in mid-air as if to make sure the ref sees that as a bad foul. It was so dramatic and it warrant an oscar and Young is hereby known as the king of divers from this very moment.

I haven't seen any of the decisions today but agree with the general sentiment of the thread that officials today are very poor, or at least they appear to be, in comparison to years gone by. Not sure if it really is the case and it's just everything is examined in minute detail nowadays but  the amount of wrong/poor decisions these days is ridiculous and does spoil enjoyment of the game.

Are we watching WWF here? At least I know LFC is not part of the whole thing. It just got rammed down our throats.

I do believe human errors are part of the game because referees are only human but CAN they not be anymore obvious with their biasedness?

It's the second big game United's won via controversies.

Like I said ... Clattenburg was the referee in that 6-1 defeat to City. He never reffed another United game and the next United game he gets, he sends off two Chelsea players and hands them an offside goal?

It was the same exact things done by Phil Dowd, Mark Hasley, Mike Jones, Chris Foy and all.

All either reffed a United defeat or made a mistake in a United game (not giving United a penalty, bla bla) and then they get punished by not given another United game to be in charge or sent to the lower leagues for a few weeks. Then in their next United game, they either give United a penalty or no decisions to the team United are up against.

And the media are also dipshits. All the big talk about Suarez being a cheat in the last few weeks ... then Phil Neville, Fernando Torres and Antonio Valencia get booked for diving. Even Ashley Young himself should be ashamed for his simulation. Yes, maybe Ivanovic accidently caught him because of the way he ran but like Slur Alex said about Torres, he COULD have stayed on his feet and go on to score.

With his apparent bias towards Man United it is about time the referees association and the F.A.  put the blocks on him refereeing any more United matches. Also matches with clubs he has a history of (like ourselves)  in making decisions that have affected the results.There needs to be more scrutiny of refs with a neutral panel to assess their performances and in the situation where United scored in a offside position and we had a goal disallowed that was onside the results should be reversed.I know this will/can never happen of course but it would certainly weed out the rogue referees.

 Just a thought but I think the Ref should of sent the linesman off for that offside decision. Some of the older posters will remember Albert Pierpoint,it's a pity he is not still around he would of had these bent officials swinging.(on the end of a rope.)

Send the linesman off ?! How exactly does the ref know that the linesman got it wrong to be able to "send him off"

It's as clear as day, irrespective of what any contrarian might say (when they feel the need to be the, self-styled, voice of reason) that there is bias in refereeing decisions. A very heavy bias (supported by facts) towards Man Utd and a equally heavy bias against Suarez (obvious to anyone with eyes).

This ain't about human error; this is about a painfully bias system.

This notion that human error is what makes for the beautiful game is all very noble and indeed, in times gone by, the idea "that these things even themselves out" may very well have held more than a modicum of truth. Not today tho'; not whilst referees get reported for daring to "have a bad game" against Utd. They then get banished to either lower leagues or non-Utd games. It is no coincidence that, on 'return', the flood gates open on decisions which will swing a game towards Fergie's minions.

The tide will only turn and integrity return when some decent journalists, press and T.V., start to draw attention to the facts.

Just a thought but I think the Ref should of sent the linesman off for that offside decision. Some of the older posters will remember Albert Pierpoint,it's a pity he is not still around he would of had these bent officials swinging.

Ha ha nice one Billy. 

Send the linesman off ?! How exactly does the ref know that the linesman got it wrong to be able to "send him off"

Once again you do not understand my post,bad boy bubby knew what I was referring to,also if a linesman had a heart attack he would be replaced.