Arsenal are ‘refereed differently’ and should be able to blacklist ref to prevent ‘playing with such a disadvantage’

Arsenal are ‘refereed differently’ and they just want to know why. It might also be an idea to let everyone blacklist one referee of their choosing.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

We’re angry because it *feels* personal
Death threats and abuse – bad.

Decision to give MLS a red card – bad.

Nobody is saying the abuse to Oliver and his family isn’t appalling. I want any “fans” who send such things to be banned from football for life and fined/jailed, whatever the law dictates.

All we want is consistency. That’s it. If every time a player did a tackle like that and got a red card for it, we would be overjoyed. But we won’t. It wasn’t even consistent in the same f****** game as Gomes was much higher and should have been a straight red. These differences matter, one is banned for 3 games, the other for just 1.

This has been blown out of proportion because it’s Michael Oliver. He sent Martinelli off for 2 yellow offenses in the same action (never been repeated). Sent Trossard off for time wasting (never repeated). Red card for slightly late, slightly high cynical foul, which I promise you, will never be repeated again.

Arsenal have had the most red cards this season (4) but the 14th least yellow cards (47). Chelsea have 66 yellow and 1 red card by the way. This is despite making the 14th most tackles in the league. So we clearly aren’t an aggressive team going for wild tackles. Havertz fouls the most at number 14 but after that you are into the 30s and 50s for the next Arsenal players. So somehow Arsenal are managing to get a red card every 6 games with the rest of the league getting 1 every 11 or 23 games.

I don’t know what it is (it isn’t a conspiracy btw). But what about Arsenal is causing them to be refereed differently? Why is it when MLS makes that tackle he gets a straight red but when other players do it its a yellow? Why is it Arsenal players get sent off if they are on a yellow for time wasting but most players don’t even get the first yellow. This is what I want an answer to. The abuse for Michael Oliver doesn’t help, the conspiracy theories don’t help. But we have to figure this out so we can stop playing with such a disadvantage.
Rob A (let’s be honest, VAR wouldn’t have referred Michael Oliver if he’d given a yellow) AFC

MORE ARSENAL REFEREE DISCOURSE FROM F365
👉 ‘Faux outrage’ on Arsenal fan abuse is ‘smokescreen’ for ‘biased’ Michael Oliver
👉 Arsenal fans and media must share blame for Michael Oliver death threats
👉 Michael Oliver praised for ‘clever’ Wolves v Arsenal decision which means club ‘can’t appeal’ red card

An optical illusion, I kid you not
My email earlier referenced the lack of criticism faced by referees or the PGMOL by ex-colleagues who have a place in the media and in particular, one Dermot Gallagher. Monday’s ref watch was a prime example and should possibly be replayed to the PGMOL to enable them to see just what a farce they are presiding over.

Whilst all concerned felt that Michael Oliver had made an incorrect decision, on at least 3 occasions and this includes the ex=pro’s, a comment was made that “I feel sorry for Michael Oliver”, on two occasions Gallagher actually said “he probably still thinks he got it right”!  There were references to him being “one of the best in the world” and he was even praised for “carrying on for, what, another 63 minutes”.  Worse still, Gallagher said, and this is not a joke, that “I think he has had an optical illusion”,

Gallagher claimed that it is not protocol for the VAR to “step in” unless they think a “clear and obvious error has been made”, I would suggest that those on VAR including Darren England of notorious VAR fame, are the only people not to consider the red card not worthy of a least a review.  Stephen Warnock commented that this may be a result of the perceived hierarchy element to certain referees standing.  Gallagher responded by saying and again, no joke, “this has been proved wrong as we saw in the Spurs/Chelsea game last season”, so ONE example when there have been thousands of times when this could/should have been done.

Whilst this sycophantic attitude exists and referees are not called out for their errors, they will feel no need to improve and continue with their holier than thou stance.  The PGMOL have stood referees down, for one game, when an indisputable error has been made, but I’m not holding my breath on Oliver receiving the same.
Howard (I thought I’d had an aural illusion) Jones  

Referees have too much influence
First of all, to all my fellow Arsenal fans who have cried out for somebody from another team to be sent off for delaying the restart, there you have it! It happened! Joao Gomes’s first yellow of two was for delaying the restart, so FINALLY we can say that it’s happened to someone else. And Michael Oliver was even gracious enough to do it in a game we were already watching.

Now, Arsenal are a bunch of big obnoxious assholes. They complain and make cynical fouls and wrestle and some of the squad are just unpleasant. Gabriel Martinelli seems incredibly nice but can be the most annoying man in the world not named Marc Cucurella when he steps onto the pitch. Everybody who plays right back takes an eternity on throw-ins. Mikel Arteta is also not nice. I understand why referees would have problems with Arsenal, but I don’t think that amounts to corruption or even an unfair bias. Having said all that I’d like to never see Michael Oliver officiate an Arsenal match again, nor should he want to considering his own history. He doesn’t like them to the point where it effects his decision-making, so let’s move on.

What I do find very strange is the referees’ readiness to send players off for small, largely trivial offenses. Everything I have ever known about being a referee is that a red card is a last resort. You shouldn’t if you don’t have to. You can argue all you want about enforcing the letter of the law but we have all seen referees let things go in every match and we are all ok with that. We don’t watch the game to see the ref do a great job of punishing footballers for standing in the wrong place, even if the players are mostly dicks. Everton’s N’Daiye got booked for doing a seagull celebration at Brighton. Nobody wants that except for teenagers as far as I can tell.

So why are the refs booking people for taking too long at corners and for hurting the precious fans’ feelings with their horrible celebrations, while Joao Pedro gets to throw elbows like he’s trying to kill people and Joelinton can put the force of his whole body into an opponent’s ankle? People cry for consistency, but I think this is consistency from the perspective of the refs.

The key is VAR, which referees are using to back up their own decisions rather than get things right. Football referees have not developed a system that allows them to make decisions quickly yet (“I can’t do anything, great process”) and that is their fault. They’ve had the tech for years and they still don’t know how to use it. It causes interminable delays. We’ve all seen them take 3 minutes to figure out easy offside decisions for consolation goals in second half stoppage time. We’ve all seen the game have to be stopped for god knows how long because the ref’s little earpiece doesn’t work. These are all far worse disruptions to play than whatever Declan Rice was doing against Brighton or Trossard being a little too wound up before halftime against Manchester City. Anthony Taylor booked Ethan Nwaneri for taking too long at a corner against Brighton, but there was barely any football played in that whole game. Mostly people falling over. So why book this kid for absolutely nothing?

I think they know how much of the clock VAR eats up and they feel like they need to find the time somewhere. Hurry up boys, we’ve got paying customers waiting. Got time to lean got time to clean. We want customers leaving with smiling faces having watched their team lose to Everton at home, better not make them feel bad with your celebration young lad. And the worst knock-on effect is that it makes the fans and players crazier than they already are, because you can get your opponent sent off by pointing to your watch and screaming. It creates a culture of tattling and I hate it. I don’t want to see people sent off for kicking the ball away, but this extreme interpretation of the laws of the game makes people very cynical. And it’s hurting the product.

Essentially I think referees are being given too much authority in shaping the way the game is played when they should shut the hell up and get out of the way. If the players want to be dickheads and kick lumps out of each other I say let them within reason. If they want to take a minute for every free kick (imagine some of these refs in Serie A in the 90’s) then accept that’s what kind of match this is and let it happen. The craziest innovation PGMOL have made recently is this directive where they aren’t allowed to book players for fouls in which advantage is played unless it’s serious foul play (though who knows what that means). I don’t understand why they should even have the authority to do this. They have too much power, too much influence, and offer nothing but cynicism and punishment and bile.

Death threats are unacceptable. But when your media presence is based on telling people that what they saw with their own eyes isn’t real and they have to accept it then you do invite that sort of thing. It’s not right obviously but it’s the nature of the world right now unfortunately.

I remember an interview with Mark van Bommel where he said he used to get chummy with referees and recommend them restaurants and shopping before the game. He found that refs booked him less. He was an astonishingly violent player and got away with it all the time. I don’t think Arsenal can suddenly turn this around by pretending to love Michael Oliver and asking him what cool David Coote-style parties he’s attending this weekend. Honestly I don’t know what the answer is. I just know that refs have more power and media presence than they ever have. They get clicks and screen time. The people who run the game are hurting it for the sake of social media engagement and I hate it. And we should get rid of VAR until the refs demonstrate they can use it properly.
deadbeat cat dad, AFC

READ MORE: Mike Dean makes U-turn and backs Michael Oliver over Lewis-Skelly red in Wolves vs Arsenal

A solution to referee abuse
Anyone sending threats to footballers, their wives, referees etc are obvious sh*tbirds, and we should punish them to the full extent possible. Purported Arsenal fans or not. However, that doesn’t mean that referees should somehow be immune from any criticism or censure.

Michael Oliver continues to over-index in his punishment to Arsenal. I’m sure other clubs have other refs who similarly are far more punitive to their clubs than others. This isn’t a uniquely Arsenal experience. Whether it is imagined or otherwise, it is something that is regularly impeding anyone’s enjoyment of football matches.

So I propose a solution, at the beginning of the season, each club gets to nominate a referee who will not be allocated to any of their matches. If a referee is nominated by multiple clubs, it reflects on that referee and maybe PGMOL could do their job, and demote that person to a lesser league as they are obviously not up to snuff.

Secondly, bring in foreign referees. Referees who have no regional bias. Referees who are the best in their field. We have some of the best players, coaches, and facilities in the world, why would we not want the best officiating? Personally, the almost weekly occurrence of an incorrect call should shame PGMOL. They are a larger narrative that the clubs who are potentially relegated.

VAR as an idea is fine, but the way we have implemented it is bullsh*t. Put in place clear guidance in how to implement it, with clear parameters. Until we have consistency, we are at the whims of fallible people.

I would much rather write in about football, about goals and players, but instead it is nothing bu X referee got Y wrong. Ad infinitum.
John (I know people will come up with umpteen reasons why this is bad) Matrix AFC

Some satire
Make a terrible decision.  Come up with a technically correct (i.e. BS) justification.  Refuse to back down.  Take a welter of criticism and abuse.  Highlight the abuse.  Release a po-faced victimhood statement about the abuse to deflect away from the terrible decision.  Has PGMOL been getting advice from the Labour government?
Matthew

It was a red
I don’t watch much football these days [VAR] but I was keen to see ‘the worst decision in the world’.

Looks like a fair red to me. Yellow if the Arsenal guy used his instep to bring down the Wolf. It’s a cynical foul, commentator would call it a smart move, probably. ‘Took one for the team’.

He didn’t, though. It was studs.
Alex Stokoe, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Good afternoon from Aus,

I agree with, thankfully, a growing number of people who are happy to say that yep, the ML-S is a red. Or, at least, can see why it was given. Studs above ankle. Need I say more? Throw in the entirely cynical nature of the foul (baseline here is already a yellow), the pace, and the straight leg and I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t a straight red.

But it’s the cynical aspect I wanted to add something; if you have the time to make the decision to perform a professional foul then you better bloody make it as safe as possible. This is an “in cold blood” crime. It’s cynical, you’ve thought about it. I’m much less willing to accept the dangerous play wasn’t with intent in this situation. It at least represents a wilful disregard for safety.

If that’s not controversial enough for you (and it actually really shouldn’t be controversial at all) I’d also like to say that some of the handwringing over what is essentially some inbred moron sending a never-to-be-carried out death threat or mean words is also quite ridiculous.

Is it nice? No. Are the perps likely to be douchebags? Yes. Is it the crime of the century? No.

The idiot who sent Havertz’s wife “death threats” was seventeen. Is it really worth dragging the young lad over the coals for a moment of stupidity and possibly giving him a criminal record? Not for me, Clive.

Everybody needs to grow up.

Cheers!
Craig

If you think Ange is the problem, you’ve not been watching closely enough
There’s a brilliant film called ‘The Siege of Jadotville’ which is based on the true story of  a small, inexperienced Irish UN peacekeeping unit deployed to the Congo in 1961. Led by Commandant Pat Quinlan, the group are ambushed and surrounded by a much larger force of mercenaries. Despite overwhelming odds, the Irish soldiers heroically defend their position for days, displaying remarkable courage and resilience. The film shows the bravery of the soldiers against impossible odds, but also the shameful way that the UN abandoned them – offering no support or reinforcements, until surrender and retreat was the only option.

Right now, I feel we’re watching the siege of Tottenham Hotspur. Ange is Commandant Quinlivan. He’ll be ostricized and ridiculed for leading a ‘failed’ mission, but in reality, he and this group of players have done a heroic job in achieving as much as they have in the face of crazy adversity. Absolutely, Ange is not without fault, but the bigger point remains: this poor, poor manager has been hung out to dry.

After we’d been turned down by the likes of Slot and Kompany, this man *wanted* the challenge of being Spurs manager. He was privileged to take the job.

He wasn’t just coming to Spurs to take part, and to hang on the coat tails of the ‘bigger’ clubs – he was coming here to do exactly what he had done everywhere else: to win. To take on a challenge that others and the media have laughed at for 20 years: Bringing identity, pride and trophies to Spurs.

Early last year we saw the signs immediately: Exciting, attacking, fearless football. 10 games unbeaten. Raucous noise in the Spurs stadium. Incredible.

He was hammered by injuries in year 1, but even then, managed a top 5 finish.

Year 2 has been a killer.

He’s down to the absolute, utter bare bones of a squad. 8 starting players out (Vicario, Udogie, Romero, VDV, Bissouma, Solanke, Johnson, Maddison), 3 more barely back on the field (Sarr, Richarlison, Bentancur), and the others that have been miraculously and admirably powering through this run are absolutely exhausted (Son, Kulusevski, Gray, Bergvall, Porro, Dragusin). Crazy, crazy stuff. Despite all this, he’s kept us in all 3 cups into February.

After all this, these players, to the best of their ability are still trying to win. They are trying to play for him. But there just isn’t enough in the tank.

It’s nothing short of shameful how the club hierarchy have thrown Ange to the wolves here. They seem to have no intention to throw him a lifeline, but they’re unwilling to sack him until it’s perfectly suitable for them. Shameful. You brought Ange in because you wanted someone to bring in radical change, but if you want to do the kind of radical surgery Spurs require, you can’t half ass it – you’ve got to back it fully with time, money, everything. Otherwise, what was the point? Why didn’t you just bring in some merry-go-round manager like Fonseca or Lopetegui instead, and be happy being 6th-10th?

If this club continues the way it has, and finishes this disgraceful treatment of Ange with a horrible sacking, then let it be a warning to every other manager: Iraola, McKenna, Alonso, whoever: Beware Daniel Levy and this club.

For the 1 millionth time… *Sigh*.. Ange in.
Andy, Spurs, Eire

There has been little nods to the fact that at multiple points during the match we were so vocal in our dissatisfaction with Levy, however, given the vitriolic nature of it, barely any word on it – here or anywhere else.

Postecoglu is the name constantly mentioned.

Who cares about him, really? Hoddle, Santini, a chanced upon Jol – (who he sacked at half f**king time!), Ramos, Redknapp (I’d take him back right now), Villas-Boas, Sherwood, Poch (because van Gaal did a last minute ‘f**k that’), Mourinho (sacked five days before a cup final so Ryan Mason 0 first team matches as a manager, could take over!), Nuno, Conte, Ange….it’s like throwing a dart at a group of names and hoping one of them tows the line…Ange, right now, should be shouting from the rooftops; we haven’t signed a single player to alleviate a long standing, mammoth injury list bar a 21 year old keeper – who looks good – but come on…

Surely someone on 365 should have the ability to write about Levy and not Ange…surely someone amongst you can say that Spurs has the lowest wages to turn over ratio – despite being told that the new stadium would have us competing with the best. Someone must recognise that the Levy is building a load of hotels on top of the stadium…because he’s the chairman of an investment company – not a football club.
Kufre, Nigeria; if you’re going to bother your arse writing something, do a little bit of research into why Spurs fans are so pissed off with Levy, otherwise you sound like someone who supports their rivals trying to say something which means nothing. Thanks for caring though.

Manchester United, INEOS and cycling
After reading some more complaints by United fans about lack of joy in the team it jogged my mind to a quote last week from British former Sky then Ineos rider Ethan Hayter “if you run a cycling team like a company the riders and staff lose their passion. That has been the case at Ineos over the last couple of years. Racing has started to feel more of a job”. Incidentally he has left and has found his mojo as has McTominay.

Maybe billionaires don’t know everything about everything and we should stop thinking they do.
Paul Rhodes

FAO: John
You say that the site has “ got quite unpleasant over the last year or so, I’m afraid. I used to love your website, so it’s a bit sad.” We cry salt tears for you. The overwhelming majority of the unpleasantness emanates from the wingnut fraternity of the Arsenal support. Obviously I am not talking about Stewie (whose contempt I firmly believe to be the troll alter-ego of somebody we know and love, just can’t make up my mind who…), but the noisy bleeding hearts crying conspiracy across every platform due to the inadequacy of their team at the very highest levels – Stewie would put that much more succinctly than me, but this isn’t about him. The vocal minority from Arsenal are undoubtedly the worst instigators, with Liverpool trailing in second place on this issue.

As for your remark “do you want to be a serious football website, or not?” you really are showing yourself up here. The author of the article, Dave Tickner, an actual Spurs fan, makes it very clear from the start that he disagrees with the decision (as do I), but then goes into some detail why the decision was not as cut and dried as many were making it out has. I have taken time to look at the replay including the slo-mo, and it looks a very clumsy challenge indeed, starting above the ankle and raking down over the instep. Maybe a “1.5 yellow”, but not a red. The reason I mention this is that shortly before that incident the guy commits another foul that he was lucky to get away with without copping a yellow.

I hate the fact that refs so often feel the need to “even things up” after they have dropped a bollock, but they do and always have done in all my years of watching football. Maybe if Oliver had booked Lewis-Skelly after the first challenge he might have been more careful in the second. But then he is young and inexperienced so maybe he wouldn’t. We will never know. But you boo-hooing about a very objective analysis from F365 suggests that this site might be too nuanced for you, so maybe you should follow through on your last paragraph and go and join Agbonlohor and his idiot mates at ShoutSport. I would certainly think twice before launching your new career as a journalism analyst.

Oh, and media stirring controversy in a desperate battle for clicks is definitely exacerbating incidents like these, as the article observes. But again, F365 analysis is much more measured than most, even if they sometimes don’t agree with you or stroke your grievance.
Andy Cawley (LFC but not mental), Abroad

Peel back the curtain
As a fan of new wave back in the Seventies I used to listen to John Peel’s radio show because he played unheard of bands who I came to like.  However, I couldn’t keep it up for long because for every great song there was a load of old tosh in between and, with radio being linear in those days, I didn’t feel that it was worth my time for the few nuggets that he played.

Which brings me to the F365 mailbox – for every email that is original or funny there are loads that are just dull.  Whilst most are well written they are just rehashing what has been said before.  You can cut and paste any emails by Eric, Badwolf, James, Minty, Ed Quoththeraven, Chris C etc into any time over the last few years and it would probably fit.

“VAR? Yes sir, we have available slots for every month and every season since it was introduced”.

The difference between John Peel’s show and the mailbox is that I can quickly recognise the regulars’ work and I can move onto the next offering, something I was unable to do in the pre-digital age.

I know football is on repeat and I am as guilty as anyone else talking the same shit with my friends, but you don’t have to hear it so please spare us having to read your emails.  Be original or insightful or don’t bother.

Honourable exception to this is Graham Simmons, who wears his support of Arsenal well without finding the need to diss other clubs. Less honourably, but more entertaining, there will always be a place for the likes of Stewie!
Sean, THFC, East Finchley