Important weekend EPL fixtures marred by poor refereeing decisions

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 28: Fernando Torres of Chelsea is shown a second yellow card by referee Mark Clattenburg during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

The English Premier League is considered to be one of the best domestic leagues around the world, with La Liga coming a close second. But not many may agree with it. The poor decisions over important weekend fixtures involving Manchester United and Chelsea, & Everton and Liverpool, does not support the cause of the EPL. The officials involved in the game did not give a very good account of themselves, as a result of which, Liverpool and Chelsea would consider themselves unlucky.

During the Merseyside derby, the most controversial decision came in the final stages of the game, when Luis Suarez seemed to have scored after Sebastian Coates headed the ball in front of goal in Suarez’s path from a dead ball situation. Luis Suarez, with his back against the assistant referee, started to celebrate thinking it was three points for Liverpool, but he had raised the flag for an offside. Replays suggested Suarez was onside, so his goal should have stood.

Liverpool have had an unlucky campaign, where they have not gotten the rub of the green from referees. They have been on the receiving end of bad refereeing decisions. But, there was an instance during the game when Andre Marriner should have flashed his red card to Suarez after his reckless challenge on Sylvain Distin. Once again, replays suggested Suarez did not deserve to stay on the pitch after that challenge.

During the Manchester United versus Chelsea’s game, it was Mark Clattenberg who was the talking point for two controversial red cards that were shown to Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres. While Chelsea fans were still digesting Ivanovic’s departure, Clattenburg committed a huge mistake when he booked Fernando Torres for diving, which was the striker’s second yellow card. Chelsea fans could not believe what they were seeing, with the score reading 2-2 with only nine Chelsea players on the pitch. It was in fact Evans who was to be booked for fouling Torres (Torres had not dived) on the ankle.

The Chelsea fans were made to suffer more human errors, with the assistant referee failing to spot Hernandez’s offside position when he scored the winning goal of the match, which resulted in a Manchester United victory. Football experts were livid with the decisions that were made by Clattenburg, and one of the ESPN football pundits claimed Clattenburg to be the worst EPL referee.

Referees play an important role in determining the fate of a match, as was witnessed during the recent fixtures. It is understood only the best referees are included in the EPL, where they undergo fitness training to cope with the growing demands of the EPL. But the English FA should award important matches only to experienced referees who will handle pressure calmly when it comes along their way. Showing red cards or being overly strict does not make one a good referee, but controlling the game with the whistle, and gaining respect from players for his decisions makes him a respectable referee.