Things around the Andy Carroll red card are getting quite hysterical. And not in a good way. First, West Ham are so beside themselves over the fact that FA didn’t pick up the toys they threw out of their pram that they’re threatening legal action. I’m not even kidding. They’ve gone to QC Lord Something or Other and are threatening
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Nicola Rizzoli has been named Italy’s top referee for the 858th year in a row. Okay, I exaggerate. It’s just 857. In all seriousness, this is at least the third year in a row that Rizzoli has walked onto the stage at Italy’s Gran Gala and accepted the trophy. And I think he’s worn the same suit every year. (For
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West Ham have failed in their bid to overturn the red card Andy Carroll received against Swansea this past weekend. And may I just take this moment to say… Called it. You can read my reasoning here, but basically, Webb had a clear, unobstructed view and he had already decided Carroll swung his arm with intent to strike before Flores took
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Mark Clattenburg is the Man to Watch this upcoming week. But then, when isn’t he? He’s got Everton (5th) at Spurs (6th) on Sunday, then takes a break and does Arsenal (1st) v. Man United (7th) on Wednesday. A single bad call from him this week could impact next year’s Champions League spots, and maybe even the title race. No
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So, apparently climate change is everywhere, because it’s been raining buckets in Rome for, like, six weeks. Or that must be how it feels to them. There’s so much rain that the Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency in the city. It rained for 24 hours before the Roma v. Parma match, and the teams walked out onto
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Chico Flores is a cheat and a swindler and a crybaby. Everyone knows that. But was Howard Webb really completely wrong to show West Ham’s Andy Carroll the red card after the big oaf tangled with Flores on Saturday? I’m not so certain. If you take a look at this video, Carroll doesn’t look as innocent as he’s been made
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The FA overturned Danny Rose’s red card from Wednesday’s match with Manchester City. Rose was sent off in the 50th minute by referee Andre Marriner after what replays showed was a clean tackle on Edin Dzeko. Marriner appeared to signal for a corner, before having his mind changed by linesman Scott Ledger. Marriner then awarded City a penalty kick and
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A couple of caveats to today’s edition of ‘Red Card or Not?’ First, I’m a Tottenham supporter. Second, I’m an Andre Marriner supporter. So, these two sides of my particular coin clash badly when reviewing Marriner’s red card to Danny Rose against Manchester City at White Hart Lane. The setup: Rose, who was playing brilliantly to this point, slid across
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According to this exclusive in Daily Mail, the big kahunas of football were so aghast at Mike Jones’ horrendous day at Newcastle that they’re just throwing money at refereeing now. The highlights of the story: The amount of money spent on refs is due to nearly triple, to somewhere around 1 million pounds annually The goal is to both raise current
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The last time France did not have a referee in the World Cup was somewhere around 1357. Or 1974. Whatever. It’s been a while. But unfortunately, Stephane Lannoy gets that ignominious “honour”. Let’s get it out of the way right now: Lannoy is a good referee. Granted, his performance at the 2010 World Cup was hardly stellar. In the Ivory
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 