Mark Halsey &#8211; CaughtOffside

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Turpin is highly-rated and his performances in the competition this season earned him his final spot, and I think we can say he got the big calls right last night.

I like his manner and his man-management of matches, he doesn’t brandish cards too quickly, he tries to use common sense when he can and all of that gains the respect and trust of the players.

Premier League refereeing needs to improve next season

The Champions League final was a good night for the match officials, but overall I feel it wasn’t the best in the Premier League in 2021/22.

There have been so many bad decisions over the course of the season. So much inconsistency with VAR and penalty decisions in particular.

The main talking point has to be the use of VAR in the Premier League – you don’t know what you’re going to get from one game to the next. Holding and pulling in the penalty area – sometimes we see a penalty given and sometimes we don’t.

PGMOL chief Mike Riley said at the beginning of the season that toenails and heels wouldn’t go against teams when looking at offsides, but we did see some of those very marginal calls given as offside. Still, I think the use of VAR needs to improve, that’s the challenge for the PGMOL and their officials.

A tribute to the retiring Mike Dean

Mike Dean

The Premier League will miss Mike Dean because he’s been an excellent referee. A lot of people will be happy to see the back of him as he retires but he’s been an outstanding servant to the PGMOL.

Dean has officiated more than 500 Prem games and his quality and consistency of performance has kept him at the top. He has not decided what he is going to do next but he will be sorely missed.

Dean was not the only referee to hang up his whistle yesterday as Martin Atkinson, who was an elite official, and Jon Moss are also retiring. Moss was a decent ref but he wasn’t in the same class as Dean or Atkinson, for me.

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Everton have themselves to blame for implosion, lucky West Ham, and a well-managed cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea – Mark Halsey column

Mark Halsey — Mon, 16 May 2022 10:12:11 +0000

Quiet FA Cup final means a job well done for Craig Pawson

There wasn’t really anything of note from Craig Pawson’s officiating. I think in fairness to him he did well to let the game flow. He probably could have cautioned players for some of the reckless challenges we saw, but he managed the game and managed the players well. And I think that’s all players and fans want – consistency in those situations.

It’s a massive game, it’s the FA Cup final, and it’s great for a referee to take charge of a game at Wembley. All the players want to be involved in cup finals and play at Wembley, and it’s no different for the match officials. On the whole I think Craig did a good job, no one’s shouting about his performance and that’s what you want as a referee. Well done to Craig and his team.

Everton can have no complaints over implosion against Brentford

It was a vital game for Everton at home to Brentford, and they can have no one else to blame but themselves as they lost and finished the game with nine men.

Things clearly boiled over, and I’m not surprised that manager Frank Lampard is going to be spoken to about his complaints regarding the officials.

Regarding Richarlison having his shirt pulled – perhaps some will feel that was harsh on Everton, but I think both of them were at it there. Having said that, if the referee had given it we wouldn’t have seen VAR overturn it.

As for Rondon’s sending off – he can have no complaints, it was a silly challenge, with excessive force. It was good to see Michael Oliver take a moment to think about it and then issue the red card. It was a bad day for Everton, but they have only themselves to blame here.

West Ham threw away a two-goal lead, but it could’ve been even worse

West Ham got a bit lucky with a penalty decision that wasn’t given at the London Stadium.

There is definite contact from Kurt Zouma on Gabriel Jesus but it’s just one of those that is subjective. VAR has had a look at it and deemed it not a clear and obvious error by the match referee, so they haven’t got involved.

But if Anthony Taylor gives that as a penalty, it stays given.

In the end, the Hammers will be frustrated to lose a 2-0 lead against a Manchester City side that seemed there for the taking, but it could’ve been worse if that penalty had been given, or if Riyad Mahrez hadn’t his effort saved for the one that was given.

Tottenham getting a bit lucky at just the right time?

Harry Kane scored the winner against Burnley to take Tottenham a step closer to the top four, but should that penalty have been given in the first place? The handball rule certainly seems to have divided a lot of fans and media commentators alike.

Should that count as a deliberate act from Barnes? The distance proximity of the player and the ball, the pace of the ball. You could say it’s harsh, but you could also ask why was his arm up that high?

As much as we all think it’s harsh, you can’t argue that it was correct in law. The players should know these rules by now and maybe just need to adjust so they don’t get caught out like this.

We also saw Spurs benefit from the decisions in their win over Arsenal, but in fairness, this has to go down as the Gunners’ own fault.

When Rob Holding committed another offence, he deserved to be cautioned for consistently infringing the laws of the game.

He can have no complaints and he can have no complaints with his second yellow card.

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I actually think he should be thankful to Paul Tierney for giving him a second yellow for reckless use of the arm because it could have quite easily been a straight red for violent conduct.

Had he been sent off for violent conduct, he’d be banned for three games, instead of one match for two yellows.

It’s a very, very poor challenge, a challenge that endangers the player’s safety with excessive force. Anthony Taylor was in an excellent position, took his time, thought about it and then produced a red card, was absolutely spot on.

He was sent off for serious foul play and will face a three-game ban, no ifs or buts about it.

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Real Madrid star “very lucky” not to be sent off against Manchester City, says ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Thu, 05 May 2022 13:29:07 +0000

After a relatively quiet game between Liverpool and Villarreal, at least in terms of refereeing incidents, we were treated to a bit more of an explosive clash between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last night.

There were almost too many strong challenges to keep track of, but I think Casemiro was certainly very lucky to stay on the pitch after committing two clear-cut yellow card offences in the first half of the game.

The Real Madrid midfielder produced a poor and reckless challenge on Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

It was Italian referee Daniele Orsato’s chance to stamp his authority on the game early on, but he didn’t.

Sí, Casemiro terminó el primer tiempo sin amarillas. pic.twitter.com/4du7MB610a

— Pablo Giralt (@giraltpablo) May 4, 2022

I think that was the wrong call, and it later led to a bust-up between Luka Modric and Aymeric Laporte with Vinicius Jnr grabbing the City defender by the throat.

Orsato cautioned both aggressor Modric and retaliator Laporte for his slap on the Croatian playmaker and I felt that was the correct outcome.

Yet Casemiro should have received another yellow card when he pulled back Phil Foden. It was another nailed on caution for the Brazilian but Orsato set his tolerance level too low.

I can understand that would be frustrating for Pep Guardiola and his players, but City can have no complaints regarding the penalty conceded in first half of extra time.

City seemed to lose their heads towards the end of normal time and the start of extra time, and that was a clear foul on Karim Benzema, who made no mistake from the spot. 43 goals in 43 games now for the Frenchman – what a season he’s having!

In terms of complaints about the time added on at the end, you probably could say the referee hasn’t played the full quota. I think what we probably need to look at in football is an independent time keeper and take it out of the referee’s hands.

I think it’s a fair criticism to make of the referee, with Real Madrid players and their antics of going down, staying down, wasting time. He hasn’t played the full allotted time, but he’s the sole judge of time keeping, so I’d prefer us to move to an independent time keeper like we see in rugby.

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So overall that maybe wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from a Champions League referee this season, where the standards are normally very high. I was impressed, however, with the officiating in Liverpool’s win over Villarreal on Tuesday evening.

I watched that game and I thought the referee did well. Danny Makkelie is a very experienced referee, very respected at that level. You can look at some decisions throughout the game, the odd free-kick that’s given or not given here and there, but it’s subjective. Teams will often feel those little decisions have gone against them when they’ve lost the game in that manner.

As far as Villarreal’s penalty shout is concerned, I think if anything the player has jumped into Liverpool ‘keeper Alisson.

VAR checked it and if it had been a clear and obvious error, then they’ve have recommended a review.

Personally I think the referee did well, Villarreal may have felt hard done by, but both the on-pitch official and VAR didn’t see any error. I also don’t think it was a penalty and Makkelie handled the game well.

Looking back at the Premier League action from last weekend, we saw the best and worst of players in terms of their behaviour in matches.

I was very impressed with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen for his honesty after a challenge from Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Bowen was quick to tell the referee that Ramsdale hadn’t made contact with him, and his honesty earned him a yellow card for simulation!

You could say Ramsdale maybe came out in a reckless manner, but Bowen’s also taken his leg out of the way, taking evasive action. In that situation, you can still give a free-kick to Jarrod Bowen.

I’m not sure Mike Dean needed to book the Hammers forward, it probably could’ve been handled better by the referee, but fair play to Jarrod Bowen for getting up and saying there wasn’t any contact.

Having said that, looking at it at a different angle, you could argue that Wet Ham deserved a free-kick because Bowen felt he needed to take evasive action. It’s subjective and Mike Dean saw it that way because of Bowen’s honesty.

By contrast, things got a little out of hand between Everton and Chelsea in a tense encounter at Goodison Park, and I wasn’t too impressed by the behaviour of some players.

Everton vs Chelsea is getting HEATED! ?

A coming together between Mason Mount and Yerry Mina sparks a mass brawl in this tense match ? pic.twitter.com/vr0u64v22M

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 1, 2022

It was a cracking game, full of tension and incidents, but it’s another one where, as a referee in these kinds of games, you’ve got to set your tolerance levels. If you set them too low you could end up with a lot of cautions and red cards.

Some of the players were acting like children at times. It annoyed me seeing Seamus Coleman getting involved as a few other players clashed, there’s no need, let the referee do his job and calm things down.

These games can be tense and it’s important for the referee to keep his head while everyone else around them loses theirs. He could maybe do with slowing the tempo down, slowing things down when it comes to free-kicks and just making sure everyone keeps their heads.

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A game of two halves for Stuart Atwell as Liverpool beat Everton, while Man United star shows the ugly side of his game – Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 06:11:16 +0000

It was a big weekend in terms of the key battles at all ends of the Premier League table, with the title race, the top four, and the battle to stay up all on the agenda.

The main talking points came in Liverpool’s win over Everton and Arsenal’s win over Manchester United, with the latter possibly proving decisive in the race for Champions League qualification, while the former could end up having a major impact on what happens at the top and the bottom of the league.

The Merseyside Derby really burst into life with some unsavoury behaviour from both sets of players in the first half.

That melee in the first half was all handbags really, and I thought the referee handled the incident well. It’s difficult to sort those situations out, and obviously there’s VAR there to back the referee up.

I think this will probably lead to both clubs being charged for failing to control their players in that incident, but the referee handed out a couple of cautions and calmed the game down, so I think he did well.

There were two big talking points in the second half of Liverpool’s win over Everton.

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Looking at the penalty shout for Everton after Gordon was pushed by Matip – for me, that’s a clear penalty. Stuart Atwell was behind the play a bit, trying to catch up, and he maybe didn’t have the ultimate viewing angle. I thought it was a clear error from Stuart and I don’t understand why VAR didn’t get involved.

For me, we’re still seeing too many inconsistencies with VAR. You look at the Arsenal penalty in their game against Manchester United – the goal was disallowed and then they noticed the foul on Saka in the build-up, but for me Gordon’s penalty shout is more of a nailed on penalty than the Saka one was. If VAR got involved on that, then why didn’t they intervene with the challenge on Gordon?

Had Stuart Atwell decided to give the penalty there, I think that would have been the final decision, we wouldn’t see VAR overrule it, so what does that tell you?

On the other hand, Everton were also lucky, or rather Richarlison was lucky. I think had a red card been shown for his kick out at Henderson, I don’t think VAR would get involved as it wouldn’t have been a clear and obvious error.

? "I've gone one v one with him and I've got the better of him and he's stood on me foot."

Anthony Gordon explains why he feels he should've had a penalty and that he didn't deserve a yellow card for his "dive" pic.twitter.com/lhCkgxiwqB

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 24, 2022

Gordon was obviously cautioned for trying to deceive the referee in the first half, so perhaps that was on his mind later in the game. But referees must make sure they’re refereeing what’s in front of them – just because he went down easily in the first half, doesn’t mean he was doing so again in the second half, so for me that’s a clear and obvious error.

Going back to that game between Arsenal and Man Utd, there were a fair few talking points in an action-packed game at the Emirates Stadium.

Anthony Elanga maybe felt he should have had a penalty, but I think he went down far too easily, I agree with VAR not getting involved in that, it’s subjective.

It would have been a soft penalty had the referee given it, so I think the officials got that one right, as they did with the later handball by Nuno Tavares.

It was a good spot by Craig Pawson. I don’t think Arsenal can have any complaints about that at all – his arm was clearly in an unnatural position. Of course it didn’t matter too much in the end as Bruno Fernandes missed from the spot.

Bruno Fernandes has let himself down in his last two games and referees need to keep an eye on him

The Portugal international was unfortunate with his effort, but he then got very lucky a bit later with his challenge on Tavares.

I’m surprised that VAR didn’t recommend a review. I thought that was a challenge that endangered a player’s safety with excessive force. I think Fernandes was very fortunate that VAR didn’t recommend a review. He certainly wasn’t having his best game for United and maybe that was his frustration showing, but it’s a bad challenge.

It’s an ugly side of Fernandes’ game when things aren’t going well for him – we also saw it a few days earlier in the Red Devils’ defeat at Liverpool.

In that game, we saw Fernandes get away with a high challenge on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s knee – had Martin Atkinson opted for a red card on that occasion I don’t think it would have been overturned.

Bruno Fernandes got lucky in games against Arsenal and Liverpool

When he’s on his game, Fernandes is a joy to watch, but with United struggling at the moment I think referees would do well to keep an eye on him as someone who can lose his head a bit when things aren’t going his way.

Back to Arsenal, we saw Granit Xhaka wrap up the three points for the Gunners with a superb long-range strike, but technically that goal should have been disallowed.

I believe that goal should have been ruled out for offside due to Nketiah interfering with Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

If you look at De Gea, he has to go to the right, he’s looking around Nketiah, is he interfering with the goalkeeper? Is he interfering with his line of vision? I think he is.

It’s not always that obvious how much a player can be deemed to be interfering with play, but I think his positioning clearly made it difficult for De Gea to get as close to that shot as he would’ve liked, though of course there’s no guarantee he would’ve saved it anyway as it was such a powerful and quick-moving effort. Overall, though, I still feel that the goal should not have stood.

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Atletico Madrid vs Man City was chaos because the referee lost control, says Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 12:43:31 +0000

It’s never great to see a referee lose control of a game, but that’s clearly what happened amidst all the chaos we saw last night between Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side are through, but the City manager won’t be happy with some of the challenges from Diego Simeone’s men, with City picking up some injuries ahead of some hugely important games coming up in this crunch stage of the season.

The German referee, Daniel Siebert, missed a chance early on to stamp his authority on the game and keep a lid on the aggressive tactics deployed by Atletico Madrid.

Foden went up for an aerial challenge, won the ball and Felipe comes through the back of him, with no chance of winning the ball. He knew exactly what he was doing – it’s a poor challenge and for me the referee should’ve cautioned the player.

That was an ideal opportunity for the referee to stamp his authority on the game because if you don’t do that in the early stages with a challenge like that, they’ll see him as a weak referee.

For me it was a clear yellow card; it was reckless from Felipe, with no chance of winning the ball.

In fairness, City got a bit lucky later on when the home side might quite rightly feel they should’ve had a penalty.

When you see the replay, you think that Cancelo has not got the ball, he has caught Correa on the shin; there are lots of bodies there and it’s difficult for the referee to see.

Still, is that a clear and obvious error or is it subjective, is it a clear and obvious error for VAR to get involved?

VAR should only get involved when it is a clear and obvious error and obviously, they have looked at that and thought to themselves that it is not a clear and obvious error, so that is why VAR didn’t recommend a review on that incident.

Atletico can feel hard done by, though, and I think that, combined with the earlier leniency on that challenge on Foden, is why we saw things unravel like they did.

All that chaos stems from that incident, where the referee didn’t get hold of Felipe early on in the game.

Marcos Alonso’s goal was rightly disallowed – Thomas Tuchel can have no complaints

Chelsea were desperately unlucky not to go through after a superb performance away to Real Madrid, but there’s no justification for Thomas Tuchel to be trying to deflect blame onto the referee.

Marcos Alonso’s goal looked fine at first, but it’s clear from the video replays that it had to be disallowed.

In real-time you don’t see anything wrong with his goal but when you see the replay, it just brushes his hand and obviously then he puts the ball into the back of the net.

As per law 12 – handling the ball, a player that scores after accidentally handling the ball, the goal must be disallowed.

Now had Alonso then passed it to a teammate, who then scored the goal, that goal would have been allowed.

It is only the goalscorer that can be penalised if he accidentally handles the ball; so as per Law 12 on handling the ball on a VAR check, it was correctly disallowed for Alonso accidentally handling the ball, where it just brushed his hand. It is unfortunate, but it is correct in law.

Marcos Alonso had a goal disallowed for handball

It would have been impossible to see that in real-time, so it is not the fault of the referee with that incident because you wouldn’t see that in real-time.

Regarding the referee smiling with the opposition coach Carlo Ancelotti – that happens week in, week out in the Premier League. It doesn’t hurt anybody to be polite and smile. Perhaps the manager said something, maybe complimenting the referee’s performance, and he’s just smiling or laughing it off.

You often see match officials smiling and shaking hands with players at the end of the game, so I don’t think that’s a problem. I think Tuchel’s just disappointed with the result – Chelsea were outstanding and had a lot of chances to win the tie, but they’ve narrowly gone out on aggregate, and I think Tuchel’s venting his frustration there.

It was a fabulous football match, really entertaining, and Chelsea can count themselves really unlucky that they’re out of the Champions League. I don’t think there’s anything more controversial to it than that, and no need to be blaming the referee.

Bravo to Anthony Taylor for how he handled Manchester City vs Liverpool

There was some talk before last weekend’s big game that Anthony Taylor would be a bad referee for Liverpool, but I thought he had an excellent game.

Apart from an incident involving Fabinho in the second half, Anthony got the big decisions right.

Had he decided to show Fabinho a red card for a nasty challenge on Bernardo Silva, it wouldn’t have been reviewed, it would have stayed a red card. You could say that Fabinho was perhaps lucky to only see a yellow card and not a red.

If you look at City’s second goal by Gabriel Jesus, I think it’s an excellent decision by the assistant referee to keep his flag down.

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Jesus stayed onside by a matter of inches to finish well after an excellent ball from Joao Cancelo, and there should be no questions asked of the officials for that one, with Liverpool’s defence simply caught out by the clever movement of the City striker.

Sterling’s disallowed goal, clearly offside. You can’t argue about that. Offside is a matter of fact and it’s a fairly easy decision.

Anthony has come off that game and nobody is talking about him.

If the referee is the talking point of a game, rather than the players, it’s rarely due to positive reviews, but heavy criticism instead. The conversation following the game is centred around the excellent football on display, rather than the referee, which is a compliment to Taylor’s performance in the middle.

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What a result for Patrick Vieira against Arsenal, and why Mike Dean will be missed – Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 11:55:53 +0000

What a result we saw last night – a great achievement for Patrick Vieira, who played for Arsenal for so many years. He’s made Crystal Palace formidable, particularly at Selhurst Park. I know what it can be like from many years refereeing there, there’s no let-up with their fans, I think they’re some of the best fans and most intimidating atmospheres in the Premier League.

As for the game, it was a tale of two penalties really. First was one Arsenal wanted but didn’t get, with Saka coming together with the Palace defender. For me, it’s not a penalty – if Saka’s in front of the defender and then there’s contact, it’s a different story. But here they’re side by side and it’s a fair challenge.

Odegaard’s offence was a clear penalty, though. Paul Tierney’s in a good position and initially looks like he’s not going to give the penalty – he’s backing away, but then thinks “oh no” and gave the penalty. It looked like there was some indecision there, I don’t know if he maybe got a shout in his ear from a fourth official or someone at Stockley Park but it didn’t look right.

In the end it was the right decision, but it was strange that he seemed to dismiss it before changing his mind. Still, it was the correct outcome so there can’t be any complaints really.

Crystal Palace got a deserved penalty against Arsenal

Looking at the Liverpool-Watford game, I’ve seen a few comments regarding the penalty Liverpool got towards the end of the game, and it was another case of a referee not acting decisively enough.

In my view, it’s a clear penalty, it’s a clear holding offence by Cucho on Diogo Jota, Cucho’s not even looking at the ball, he’s pulled him down like it’s a rugby tackle!

I was surprised Stuart Atwell never saw this in real time, because he was looking in that direction. In those situations some referees spend too much time looking at the ball, but when does the ball commit an offence? You’ve got to keep focused on those danger zones and what’s going on there. VAR were correct in recommending the review.

The only thing I would say about that decision, however, is we’ve seen similar offences quite often this season that didn’t go to review, so we’re once again seeing too much inconsistency with VAR.

In West Ham’s win over Everton, I think Aaron Cresswell can count himself lucky not to have been sent off for his petulant kick out on Richarlison.

You can argue that is an act of violent conduct, there was no need to do that.

He is lucky both the referee and VAR didn’t see it as a red card. I thought he was extremely lucky – had the referee of sent Cresswell off, there wouldn’t have been a review.

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Finally, I have to pay tribute to Mike Dean after he announced he’ll be retiring from refereeing at the end of the season.

I worked with Mike many times, he was my fourth official, I was his fourth official. We worked together abroad as well at times. In my opinion he’s a great referee. A lot of fans don’t like him, but we had great banter on the field of play, we didn’t mind getting banter from the players and giving it back. You can imagine the language, some people don’t like it, but that’s what goes on.

I’d have liked to referee as long as he has, but with my illness it wasn’t really possible to keep going with the rigorous training regime required to stay fit. For Mike to do that at the top level for many years is tremendous. I only started in the Premier League when I was 39, Mike was a bit younger than me, and to be able to referee over 500 games is remarkable.

For me, he’ll be sorely missed, he’s an experienced referee and I’m not sure we have anyone coming through with that same know-how and man-management. We have some very good referees, but I think we’re lacking the same excellent referees like Mike.

It’ll be interesting to see what path he takes next, I know he’s an excellent golfer! His knowledge of golf is almost better than his refereeing! It’s a loss for refereeing, I know a lot of fans will be happy to see the back of him, but he’s a great man and a quality referee.

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Referees training with Premier League clubs can benefit refs and players, says Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 07:24:00 +0000

Premier League referees training with clubs is not anything new.

I did it for 12 years with Bolton at their Euxton training ground during the majority of their Premier League days between 2001-13.

I would fully back officials to restart this approach because it certainly made me a better referee.

I lived in Bolton so I felt it was common sense to use their facilities and I contacted then manager Sam Allardyce.

He welcomed me with open arms despite the fact I had previously sent off his striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.

I also spoke to former PGMOL manager Keith Hackett and he did not see a problem with the arrangement.

Working and training alongside top-flight players added to my personality as a high-level referee but also improved my relationship with players. Even now I am friends with Kevin Nolan and Kevin Davies.

I would join in with their pre-season programme which helped me get fit. Sometimes I even beat a few of the players in running tests and they weren’t happy!

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Then during the season, I would referee any training matches, 11 a-side or smaller sided games.

At the same time, because of my background as a non-league goalkeeper, I would also take part in the drills undertaken by Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Poole which were led by Fred Barber.

Training in that environment also aided my understanding of the game and it became a real benefit for me on a matchday.

Due to my locality to Bolton, I did not referee them in the Premier League. But my experience working with them meant I knew what was coming from top-flight rivals, especially their moans and traits as how they behaved in training was replicated on a matchday.

It definitely helped me in my decision-making understanding elite players and therefore I would have no issue with the likes of Michael Oliver training with Newcastle or Kevin Friend at Leicester.

Yes, there will be conspiracy theorists but they need to be ignored. Once a referee crosses the white line they make a decision based on what is in front of them. No one should ever question a referee’s integrity.

Players could benefit from working more closely with referees

We recently saw Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel complaining about Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty technique during the captains’ meeting with PGMOL.

The Frenchman stuttered in his run-up, leaving Schmeichel fuming with the referee at the time, and he brought it up again later, despite the spot kick being perfectly within the laws of the game.

Feigning in the run-up is permitted. Once you get to the ball, you can’t feign. Feigning once the kicker has completed the run-up, is not permitted, and would be a yellow card.

So the Lacazette penalty was correct, by the laws of the game. I remember watching the penalty and Schmeichel was way off his line anyway! Even if there was feigning, he was off his line as well.

The referee got it right, and we had VAR in place to check these things anyway, but the referee was completely correct in law.

That’s the problem we have quite often with players not knowing the laws of the game. On this occasion, Kasper Schmeichel clearly doesn’t know the laws of the game, or at least doesn’t know Law 14 – the penalty kick.

Maybe referees working more closely with Premier League clubs can prevent these kinds of misunderstandings occurring in the future, as fans don’t want to see games dominated by players and match officials clashing over major decisions, especially when there isn’t really an argument to be had anyway.

Referee could’ve managed England vs Ivory Coast friendly better

These days, there’s not really such thing as a friendly game, but in games like England vs the Ivory Coast, you’d tend to be a bit more lenient with things that go on on the pitch.

The players know it’s not a competitive match, so they might not be playing at full tilt, and referees might also let a few more challenges go, so if we look at the Serge Aurier incident, that first caution technically is a yellow card, but I think perhaps in that moment in time the referee could’ve managed it better. Luke Shaw did something similar, blocking a promising attack, but escaped a caution. I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that, but there needs to be some consistency, so I think he could’ve managed the first incident with Aurier better, and just given him a warning.

With the second yellow, we don’t know what was said, maybe he used insulting language that offended the referee. It seems like it was enough to warrant a second yellow, but I still think he could’ve managed the first one better.

Looking at the penalty, in real time it looked like a penalty. VAR recommended a review and the referee changed his decision. It looks like that was the right call, and you can’t blame the referee for not spotting the contact with the ball in real time. That’s why VAR is there, and this was an example of it being used well.

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Steven Gerrard was a tough-tackling midfielder and you can understand his frustration with Arsenal, says Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 09:41:00 +0000

I watched Aston Villa vs Arsenal and to be honest you can’t argue with Steven Gerrard. I refereed him many times, and he was a tough-tackling midfielder. We all know the English game is very physical and everyone loves that about our game.

I think sometimes players don’t help referees the way they go down screaming and trying to get players cautioned, and then as soon as they get their opponent cautioned they’re up and running around again.

I think it is frustrating for players and managers, and it makes refereeing a very difficult job, because they often will look at player reactions in those situations.

The challenge by Tyrone Mings, he gets the ball, but it’s just that follow-through that catches Saka. Maybe it wasn’t as hard as Saka made out, and that puts the doubt into the referee’s mind.

This still blows my mind! ?

What’s the point in making a tackle anymore if you get penalized for cleanly winning the ball? #AVFC pic.twitter.com/hLwbNCzxY3

— 7500 to Holte (@7500toHolte) March 20, 2022

Pictures courtesy of BT Sport

We have to remember that a careless challenge is a free kick and nothing else, but a reckless challenge is a free kick and a yellow card. It’s interesting, because I don’t know why Mings went in on him that hard when they’re about to meet up for international duty and we need Saka playing for England! It was quite amusing, to be honest.

Still, it’s part and parcel of the game, physical challenges like that, so I’m a bit surprised Saka was complaining about it. Obviously referees have a duty of care towards players, but they also have to be mentally tough and not let players influence them too much.

Raul Jimenez red card was harsh, Kevin Friend should’ve done better

The big talking point in a great game between Wolves and Leeds was the sending off of Raul Jimenez for a collision with Illan Meslier.

If you look at Jimenez’s first caution, I think that’s fair, but the second one I thought was very harsh. The Leeds ‘keeper rushed out of his area, and Jimenez was just going for the ball. I think it’s just a coming together and I think Kevin Friend could’ve managed it better.

It changed the game. You can understand Wolves fans being upset, it was a bad decision and a game-changing one that Kevin Friend could’ve managed a lot better than he did.

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Worrying scenes during Ajax vs Feyenoord

There were worrying scenes in the Johan Cruyff Arena during Ajax and Feyenoord's match after a fire broke out in a section of the stand behind one of the goals. pic.twitter.com/HwnyM8NQQ0

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 21, 2022

The fire during the Ajax-Feyenoord game was very worrying. Obviously they’ve not done the proper checks at the stadium because someone’s come in with a lighter or matches and obviously you cannot do that.

All stadiums now must be no-smoking zones, so they have to do proper searches and not allow lighters or matches in. And the safety of supporters and players in the stadium is paramount, so these checks need to be done properly, if that maybe means fans showing up earlier for games, then so be it.

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Craig Pawson got Allan booking right first time, Stuart Attwell re-refereed the game – Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 08:25:05 +0000

Everton will feel aggrieved to have had midfielder Allan sent off against Newcastle United on Thursday evening – and rightly so.

There is only one really big talking point from Thursday’s match at Goodison Park – the sending off of Allan for his challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin.

You’ve got to look at the challenge. Is it a reckless challenge or a challenge that endangers an opponent’s safety with excessive force and brutality?

Craig Pawson was in a fantastic position. He was right there and as soon as the challenge went in, he cautioned the player for a reckless challenge. Looking at it, I thought ‘yeah, that’s right’, but you’ve got to ask yourself ‘is that, or was that a clear and obvious error by Pawson?’

He’s right there, great position, pulls out a yellow card and cautions Allan. No one complained, they just got on with it but then all of a sudden, Stuart Attwell is reviewing the situation.

When you’re looking at that and Attwell is looking at it so long, he took a long time to make up his mind – a long time.

So that told me that it was not a clear and obvious error. If you’re looking at an incident so many times, you’ll get out of it whatever you want to get out of it. So I think Attwell has re-refereed that.

So, yes it’s subjective, some people may say ‘yeah, that’s a red card’, and some people will say ‘no, it’s a yellow card’ – now if that is the situation then it’s not a clear and obvious error and Pawson got it right in the first place.

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We all know that once the referee goes over to the monitor, we know what the outcome is going to be. We know it’s going to be a red card because the referees are told that if they go to the monitor, they have to go with the decision of VAR. I know that because I have been told by colleagues that are working in the VAR bunker room.

Craig Pawson reviewing the pitch-side VAR monitor during Everton vs Newcastle on 18 March, 2022.

I think also whether Frank Lampard and Everton appeal that red card, they may have a case because of the positioning of Pawson during that incident and obviously has Attwell re-refereed that incident? – I believe he has.

But as I said before, yes it is subjective, some will say ‘yes’, some will say ‘no’, so it’s not a clear and obvious error but also I think Allan could face further charges because once he has been sent off, he has to leave the field of play, he’s then gone back to remonstrate with Pawson. Then, as he’s walking off the field of play, he remonstrates with Mike Dean, the fourth official, so he could face further charges.

I also think Everton will be charged for failing to control their players during that incident.

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Kai Havertz challenge wasn’t violent conduct, but Chelsea got lucky with another call because referees are becoming lazy – Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 10:18:37 +0000

There were two big talking points in the Chelsea-Newcastle game. First was the Kai Havertz challenge on Dan Burn, with Havertz deemed to have used an elbow. Both players were jumping for the ball, both have got their arms raised for elevation and unfortunately Havertz catches Burn.

It looks like Havertz’s eyes were on the ball, so I can see why it wasn’t judged to be violent conduct. It’s a bit subjective and some might say it should have been a re card, but it’s not a clear and obvious error from the match referee David Coote. I think he got that right and that’s why VAR didn’t get involved. Having said that, if he’d felt it was a red card there wouldn’t have been a review either, because it’s subjective.

There was also a penalty shout for Newcastle, with Trevoh Chalobah on Jacob Murphy. For me, Chalobah’s clearly got a hold of his shirt, and cut across him as well, challenging him and bringing him down. If you look at the referee, he can’t see through players so you can perhaps understand why he’s not given a penalty straight away, but in that situation he’s got to make sure he’s got a good viewing angle. He’s got to get wider, we’re seeing referees become too lazy, relying on VAR and not making that decision themselves.

Still, I’m at a loss as to why VAR hasn’t got involved there. It was a clear and obvious error and Newcastle can feel hard done by. They’ve had a few like that this season, with Ederson’s challenge for Man City against Ryan Fraser coming to mind. We’ve seen a lot of inconsistencies and it’s mind-boggling at times. It needs to be seriously looked at.

Moving on to Everton against Wolves, Jonjoe Kenny can have no complaints about the red card. When you’re already on a yellow you can’t go making a challenge like that. Everton are fighting for their lives now and they need all the players they can get, but they can have no complaints about that dismissal.

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