Another weekend, another handful of bogus penalties…
Another week of Premier League action has passed and once again it’s the officials who have been rattling football cages. Rob Styles, a smartly dressed ref, confused Jlloyd Samuel’s excellent tackle on Ronaldo with an uncoordinated lunge, and immediately pointed to the spot. Diarra handled the ball for Portsmouth and got away with it, and Steve Bennett awarded a perfectly decent penalty, albeit one involving the most elaborate Willem Defoe from Platoon impression The Spoiler has ever seen.
Everyone’s been yapping their disapproval, is it time we just said to hell with it and demanded video evidence? Bolton probably think so…
4 responses so far
1 Gaz // Sep 29, 2008 at 9:32 am
Referees would be able to give more confident penalty decisions if sumulation was eradicated from the game altogther. The olny way this will ever happen is if post-match video evidence is used to pinpoint the culprits. If the FA/UEFA/FIFA decided to suspend a diver for 3 games with immediate effect where the simulation is irrefutable, then the cheats (players AND managers, who should be held accountable also) will very soon amend their ways. This process could be done in addition to the referee’s ability to caution a player for diving, this would therefore ensure that the system is improved upon, not just replaced, and so there is excuse to not apply this system simply because lower-leagues are not televised - their games would not benefit, but neither would they be disadvantaged and so there is no logical reason why this system of penalisation should not be implemented. I believe the SFA is already signing up to the idea, good for them.
Beat the cheats, and the refereeing will soon improve. Well, a little bit.
2 George // Sep 29, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Overall I agree. But as MOTD pointed out, Styles was in the perfect position to see that JLS had taken the ball and not the man. So his eyes can’t be up to it.
3 Bokolis // Sep 29, 2008 at 3:41 pm
If the officiating is going to protect and reward cunts like Poof-naldo, it begs for the players to take matters unto their own boots. If Poof-naldo is going to walk bowlegged, for once, let it not be from that strap-on he took from a coked out stripper.
4 Upminster Iron // Sep 29, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Poofnaldo doesn’t even sound like Ronaldo! It’s like calling the Arsenal manager Arsene Twatner, the Liverpool defender Jamie Carradick or the Chelsea midfielder Florent Uselessouda. I agree with the sentiments though!