CHELSEA GAME
Reputations count for so much in football and Howard Webb will appreciate that when he reads reviews of Sunday's
Chelsea v Liverpool game.
When refereeing appointments are made the tenet 'big names for big games' is used and the key to these matches is getting the big decisions right.
At Stamford Bridge Webb failed to make the right call too many times despite being in excellent positions to see incidents clearly.
Man in the middle: Howard Webb was in charge of Chelsea against Liverpool but he got a few decisions wrong - like failing to send off Oscar (left) and Lucas (sitting down) when the two Brazilians clashed late on.
Crunch: Oscar went flying into Liverpool midfielder Lucas at Stamford Bridge
Get a grip: Lucas let Oscar know he wasn't happy with the challenge and grabbed his opponent by the neck
THE KEY INCIDENTS
- Samuel Eto’o should have been dismissed for a shocking, high, studs-up challenge on Jordan Henderson after just two minutes.
- Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty when Lucas tripped Eden Hazard – despite Hazard moving his leg towards Lucas to ensure contact.
- When John Terry appeared to climb on Luis Suarez there were loud penalty appeals and Webb was for once not well positioned and waved them away. This time he was right as Suarez caused the contact by backing in.
- Liverpool should have had a penalty when Eto’o inexplicably tripped Suarez.
- Oscar and Lucas should both have been dismissed in the final few minutes when the Chelsea midfielder committed a two-footed lunging tackle on his fellow Brazilian who reacted by grabbing him by the neck. Incredibly Webb, who saw the incident clearly, indicated for play to continue with the ‘advantage’ signal. He was forced to stop play as the fracas escalated and eventually Oscar was cautioned.
Contact: Eto'o clipped Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and brought him down in the penalty area
Going down: Suarez hit the deck after he was caught by Eto'o during Chelsea's victory over Liverpool
Ref justice: Suarez was fuming when Webb did not give a penalty for Eto'o's trip on the Liverpool star
Analysis of these incidents points to a poor performance by England’s leading referee but neither manager condemned him which supports Pierluigi Collina’s view of what makes a great man in the middle.
The Italian says that an official has a great reputation if he has earned the right to be regarded as a good referee who has made poor decisions rather than a poor referee.
That Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wrongly attacked the referee after Liverpool’s previous game and Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho won the Champions League final when Webb was in charge will have helped. But Webb will still not enjoy reviewing the game.
Welcome to Chelsea: Samuel Eto'o's high tackle on Jordan Henderson happened early on
Another one slips through: Webb did not send Eto'o off for his nasty challenge on Reds midfielder Henderson
We are the halfway point of the season and Webb has refereed on 16 of the 19 Premier League rounds of fixtures, more than any other ref.
He is yet to award a penalty or send a player off in the top division despite having plenty of opportunities to do both.
It could be that World Cup selection is affecting him and he is perhaps trying to avoid controversy in the build-up to Brazil 2014 - the list of referees for the tournament will be announced in May.
Referees believe that you are remembered for decisions you make and not those you ‘miss’. That is only true for a limited period, as is a reputation for being a great referee.
Webb now needs to review his approach and prove one last tenet – form is temporary, class is permanent.
CONCLUSIONS
MAN CITY GAME
Brendan Rodgers risked an FA charge by launching a scathing attack on the officials after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City and questioning the appointment of a referee from Greater Manchester.
The Liverpool manager believed a series of major decisions went against his side and was particularly aggrieved that Raheem Sterling had a goal disallowed after he was wrongly ruled offside.
Rodgers called the officials’ performance “horrendous” and insisted that referee Lee Mason, from Bolton, lives too near City to be given such a match.
He said in his postmatch news conference: “I was very proud of the players, I thought they were absolutely outstanding. They had no help from the officials. I thought today they were horrendous in terms of performance. We had nothing that went our way at all.
“I thought we never got any decisions. The linesman on the offside one, he wasn’t even on the same cut of grass. If you are working at this level, you have to get it right. It’s not even a difficult one. It is a perfectly-timed run and he is given offside when he is through one-on-one on goal. They are big moments in big games.
"There is another incident when Luis [Suarez] doesn’t get a free kick when Joleon Lescott comes through him and it is waved play on. It is arguable it is a penalty at the end. Hopefully we don’t have a Greater Manchester referee again on a Liverpool-Manchester City [game].”
Rodgers insisted it is out of character for him to criticise referees and their assistants and said he was only commenting because he felt they were particularly poor.
He added: “The officials will make mistakes. I just felt the mistakes that were made tonight shouldn’t have happened at this level. We get Raheem through on goal and you are talking about three feet [onside]. It’s not even the same cut of grass. Where you are as a linesman, you can see the whole picture. It is a poor decision. Of course if Raheem goes through he scores.
“I never speak about officials but I feel the need to protect the players this evening. They were outstanding and got nothing. I was surprised we were playing in Manchester and have a referee from Greater Manchester. I am sure we won’t get Liverpool-Manchester City [refereed by] someone from the Wirral.”
Rodgers felt his side deserved to become the first team to beat City at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season.
He added: “We are disappointed not to have won, never mind losing. We showed great confidence and belief and scored a wonderful goal. Some of our movement and passing was exceptional and for me it is great to see. We have lost the game but take a great deal of encouragement.”
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