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We have to start at the Etihad Stadium, which hosted the best teams in the league, the game of the weekend, the big controversy of the weekend and a couple of big calls too.
The first is something I can't really analyse in depth. I make a conscious decision not to talk extensively about close offside calls, because they are usually so open and shut. This isn't a lot different, and what can I say except Ashley Young was onside but flagged off? It is the elephant in the room and one which you'd have heard a lot more about had Manchester United not nicked a winner at the death.
The incident that interested me most came right at the very end of the game, when Carlos Tevez (already on a booking) swung a leg at Phil Jones. Frankly, it was a straight kick. Much has been made about the fact that it was right infront of Sir Alex Ferguson, but more importantly it was right in front of Mark Clattenburg, the fourth official. I am staggered that Tevez was not sent off. I'm not bothered by the fact there was only seconds left. That kind of petulance shouldn't be tolerated, plus it would lead to a three-match ban. Everyone saw the influence Tevez had when he came on as a substitute; City would miss that over a three-game period.
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Some felt that the penalty award West Ham had for Joe Allen handling a shot from Guy Demel was harsh. I don't. I believe that when you attempt to block a shot, you know what parts of your body can legally play the ball. The hand and arm is not one of them, so if you knowingly place yourself in the ball's intended path and your arm away from your body and it hits that arm, that's a penalty.
If you are stood facing a player, arms by your sides, and they play it against you, I don't think you deserve to have anything given against you. But if you are knowingly shifting your arm, that's different.
Put yourself in the position of the attacker. You've hit a great shot which is goalbound; it may even go in. Then a defender pops in front of you and stops it with his hand. Don't you feel aggrieved? I know I would.
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Stunning game at the Liberty Stadium, with seven goals and talking points aplenty - one of which was whether Ashley Williams should have been sent off for bringing down Grant Holt as he looked to burst clean through.
Williams was undoubtedly the last defender, but received only a yellow card from referee Howard Webb when halting Holt's progress. I think, though, Mr Webb got it right. I think the ball was ever so slightly overhit as it went towards Holt, and had Williams not made contact I think Holt would have run wide. If I have that doubt in my mind, then so might Mr Webb, and therefore the goalscoring opportunity was not 'obvious' or 'clear'.
The more talked about incident was where Swansea thought, having been 3-0 down, that they had brought it back to 3-3 when Michu forced the ball to spill from goalkeeper Mark Bunn's grasp and Itay Shechter pushed it home. Mr Webb gave a free-kick, and I think he was absolutely right.
On Match of the Day they showed a clip from an earlier incident of something similar that was not given and appeared to offer it as evidence as to why Mr Webb was wrong to not allow this. To me, they just showed an earlier decision that was wrong.
I feel Michu led with an arm - not nastily, mind, but his arm was pushed into the goalkeeper, and it's enough to put him off balance. When people argue that goalkeepers get too much protection, what you should remember is that a goalkeeper is unique in being allowed to play the ball with his hands. It doesn't take much to put him off balance, particularly when it's in mid-air, so they deserve more protection. Bunn got it here, and Mr Webb was spot on.
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Here's a deliberately fatuous point, but an interesting one. The low-angle replay of when Michu was adjudged to have fouled Rudd showed the Spaniard covering his face with his shirt in distress.
The exact wording in the laws of the game is:
'A player must be cautioned if...
* He removes his shirt or covers his head with his shirt'
So why no caution for Michu? Well, the sub-heading of this section is 'Celebration of a goal' so presumably it doesn't cover the rest of the game. I think it is clearly time this section of the Law was rewritten, because the biggest scourge on the game right now is very obviously people covering their faces. We shouldn't have to tolerate this appalling evil at times other than when a goal is scored.
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There was another example of a drum I have been banging for a long time when Chelsea visited Sunderland on Saturday. Eden Hazard was very clearly held back as he made an incursion into the penalty area, but he opted to stay on his feet. Off-balance, the ball got away from him, and the Chelsea chance was gone. Message? Go down. Had he done so, he would have got a deserved penalty. This just sends the message that staying on your feet won't benefit you in the long run...
...isn't that right, Santi Cazorla?
I hope the player is embarrassed about the penalty he conned out of Mike Jones at the Emirates on Saturday. It was the very definition of a dive, and Mr Jones bought it hook, line, sinker, rod, angler's arm. I can't really comment on the decision from the referee's perspective, as I haven't seen it from his angle. I guess I can see why it might have looked like a foul, as Steven Reid did have a swing at the ball/Cazorla.
The second penalty, though, saw a far worse decision from Mr Jones. Not for the foul by Chris Brunt on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the latter's challenge on Goran Popov seconds earlier, which was allowed to continue despite there being a push from the young Gunner.
Suddenly West Bromwich are on a bad little run, but it has to be hard to take when you lose in these circumstances; via two penalties, neither of which was deserved.
Rob McNichol (he's on Twitter, you know)
Rob knows most of you aren't wrestling fans - but for those that are, he'd like to tell you about his new digital magazine Hooked on Wrestling, available to purchase online from HookedonWrestling.com (http://bit.ly/HOWIssueOne) for only 99p. Ta.







