Yeah, so…if you were thinking to yourself: “Exactly how would I go about getting a red card in a Premier League game…?” This would be it. Two-footed, studs up, coming in high…it doesn’t get more clear cut as that, and referee Craig Pawson doesn’t exactly hand out red cards like candy (this was his first). Even Jose Mourinho can’t complain about
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Listen. Diego Costa is an ass, and he’s always going to be bad mouthing someone and starting fights. He just seems like a jerk. But Pablo Zabaleta has been around long enough to know better. Zabaleta was skating on thin ice, anyway. Referee Mike Dean had spent the first half of the game handing out yellow cards like it was
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Poor old Jon Moss. He’s not the strongest referee in the league, but he didn’t deserve this. Not only was he run ragged trying to keep up with Everton and Chelsea’s nine-goal marathon (ending 6-3 in Chelsea’s favour), but his assistant referees let him down something awful. This definitely was the worst refereeing team performance we’ve seen yet this season
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I always love it when Phil Dowd (above) referees Spurs. Lots of potato jokes amongst my crowd. “Is it just me or does Phil Dowd look like a potato with a pack of cards?” “Don’t be silly! Potatoes have eyes.“ (I actually think Phil Dowd is terribly sexy in a weird way. Which I know I probably shouldn’t admit.) Anyhoo… Aside
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Add yet another feather of refereeing oddness to the Honey Badger’s cap. Italy’s Nicola Rizzoli gave Diego Costa a deserved penalty kick in Atletico Madrid’s Champions League semifinal clash with Chelsea, after Samuel Eto’o clumsily chopped him down in the box. But Costa went all “princess and the pea”, bizarrely claiming the ball wasn’t sitting right and continuing to spin
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It’s official: Chelsea get the Honey Badger. Italy’s Nicola Rizzoli, who officiated the 2013 Champions League final, will referee the Chelsea v Atletico Madrid semifinal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, April 30. This is bad news for Chelsea’s manager, Jose Mourinho, and his band of thugs. Rizzoli is known as heavy-handed with the cards, even internationally, and he has no
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Update, April 24: Ramires has accepted an FA charge of violent misconduct, and received a four-game ban with immediate effect. After what seemed like an extraordinary amount of time, FA has finally charged Jose Mourinho, assistant coach Rui Faria (both, above) and midfielder Ramires for their behaviors on April 19 against Sunderland. Ramires has been charged with violent misconduct for hitting Seb Larsson
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The biggest game of the week is undoubtedly Liverpool v. Chelsea. Martin Atkinson (above) is up in the rotation for that one. Hopefully, foaming madman assistant coach Rui Faria will be suspended by then, so Atkinson doesn’t have to hire a bodyguard. Chris Foy, who took a Jonjo Shelvey deflection in the face last weekend, will be fourth official at Fulham
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The Atletico Madrid v. Chelsea Champions League semifinal will be officiated by The Big Swede: Jonas Eriksson. Eriksson has been very active in European action this season. In addition to some Europa league matches (including Tottenham’s), he refereed Manchester City v. Barcelona in the Group of 16 and Bayern Munich v. Manchester United in the quarterfinals. He’s performed pretty well in
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Poor Mike Dean. What a day he had at Stamford Bridge. First there was Ramires punching Seb Larsson in the face (which Dean actually missed, but has no doubt seen by now) and then this. Cesar Azpilicueta did his best, but got outfoxed by Jozy Altidore in the box. Dean correctly called the penalty, which Liverpool loanee Fabio Borini stepped
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 