Untold Ref Review: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Blackburn Rovers. An unusual bias. « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
This article is part of a series stretching over several seasons in which a team of referees analyse the work of refs in Premier League matches.
Our figures show that when we analyse the errors made by refs there are consistent trends which do not “even out” through the season, as some commentators would have it. All the earlier ref reviews plus analyses of the errors made by refs, and articles relating to our campaign to have the body which organises referees activities reformed, plus an analysis of the background to this campaign, can be found on:
Although this is a site built for Arsenal supporters we welcome comments from fans of other teams, although we tend not to publish comments which are simply abusive or which are completely off topic.
Today’s referee is Michael Jones –
| MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Michael Jones (2012-04-29) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | ||||||
| Min | Type | Foul from | On | C/NC | Comment | Weight |
| 2 | OTHER | Yakubu | Walker | C | Trip | 1 |
| 7 | OTHER | Formica | Rose | NC | Not given Trip | 1 |
| 8 | OTHER | Yakubu | Sandro | NC | could not see anything wrong there | 1 |
| 11 | OTHER | Formica | Vdvaart | C | pull? | 1 |
| 11 | OTHER | Walker | Hoilett | C | pull | 1 |
| 12 | OTHER | Rose | Formica | NC | Not given push | 1 |
| 16 | OTHER | Adebayor | C | Handball | 1 | |
| 19 | OTHER | Sandro | Pedersen | NC | Not given frontal tackle | 1 |
| 19 | YELLOW | Sandro | NC | Came sliding in, should have been a caution | 2 | |
| 22 | GOAL | Tottenham | C | correct goal | 3 | |
| 28 | OTHER | Modric | Lowe | C | Trip | 1 |
| 35 | OTHER | Orr | Bale | C | ref saw too late that he could have given an advantage, foul was a pull | 1 |
| 41 | OTHER | Lowe | C | Handball | 1 | |
| 43 | OFFSIDE | Tottenham | C | assumed correct | 1 | |
| 44 | OTHER | Adebayor | Olsson | C | Trip | 1 |
| 45 | OFFSIDE | Blackburn | C | assumed correct | 1 | |
| Period 2 | ||||||
| Min | Type | Foul from | On | C/NC | Comment | Weight |
| 50 | OTHER | Blackburn? | VDVaart | NC | not given trip | 1 |
| 55 | OTHER | Hoilett | Kaboul | C | Trip | 1 |
| 55 | OTHER | Formica | Sandro | C | Trip | 1 |
| 57 | OTHER | Formica | Rose | C | Holding | 1 |
| 60 | OTHER | Modric | Dunn | C | Trip | 1 |
| 61 | OTHER | Yakubu | Friedel | C | Tried to block the keeper | 1 |
| 62 | OFFSIDE | Blackburn | C | correct | 1 | |
| 64 | OTHER | Kaboul | Yakubu | C | push | 1 |
| 66 | OTHER | Formica | Sandro | C | Trip | 1 |
| 66 | YELLOW | Formica | NC | 3rd foul in the second half, 5th in total, should have been a yellow for persistent fouling by now | 2 | |
| 68 | OTHER | Dunn | Rose | C | Trip | 1 |
| 69 | OTHER | Pedersen | Walker | C | assumed correct | 1 |
| 69 | OTHER | Olsson | Lennon | NC | Kicked on the ankle from behind not given | 1 |
| 69 | YELLOW | Olsson | NC | Was a dangerous contact, should have been a yellow card | 2 | |
| 74 | OTHER | Dunn | Lennon | C | Trip | 1 |
| 75 | GOAL | Tottenham | C | correct goal | 3 | |
| 86 | OTHER | Modeste | Rose | C | Trip | 1 |
| 92 | OTHER | Modeste | Walker | C | Holding | 1 |
A not that good first half from the ref in a game that did not have than many fouls in the first half. And the worst foul was missed by the ref when Sandro came sliding in and hit Pedersen. No foul given and as a result not a yellow card given.
A good spot from the assistant with the goal for Tottenham as the ball clearly passed the line before it being kicked back.
In the second half it was the Blackburn we will not miss in the PL next season. From a total of 15 fouls in the second half it was Blackburn that committed 13 of them or almost 87%. And the most amazing part is that the ref never gave a yellow card for this persistent fouling. Surely Formica stood out in making fouls and making 3 fouls in 10 minutes should have been enough to get a yellow.
Olsson also should have received a yellow card for a bad challenge on Lennon who had to leave the field a bit later. That was a nasty kick on the ankle.
| COMPETENCY SUMMARY – Michael Jones (2012-04-29) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | Called | Total | Correct % |
| GOAL | 1 | 1 | 100.00 |
| OFFSIDE | 2 | 2 | 100.00 |
| OTHER | 8 | 12 | 66.67 |
| YELLOW | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 11 | 16 | 68.75 |
| WEIGHTED | 13 | 19 | 68.42 |
| Period 2 | Called | Total | Correct % |
| GOAL | 1 | 1 | 100.00 |
| OFFSIDE | 1 | 1 | 100.00 |
| OTHER | 12 | 14 | 85.71 |
| YELLOW | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 14 | 18 | 77.78 |
| WEIGHTED | 16 | 22 | 72.73 |
| Totals | Called | Total | Correct % |
| GOAL | 2 | 2 | 100.00 |
| OFFSIDE | 3 | 3 | 100.00 |
| OTHER | 20 | 26 | 76.92 |
| YELLOW | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 25 | 34 | 73.53 |
| WEIGHTED | 29 | 41 | 70.73 |
So a score around the 70% mark but a very low score for the important decisions because of the ref not giving the needed yellow cards.
| BIAS SUMMARY – Michael Jones (2012-04-29) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | % | Blackburn Rovers | % | Total |
| Correct For | 6 | 54.55 | 5 | 45.45 | 11 |
| Correct For Weighted | 8 | 61.54 | 5 | 38.46 | 13 |
| Incorrect Against | 1 | 20.00 | 4 | 80.00 | 5 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 1 | 16.67 | 5 | 83.33 | 6 |
| Fouls Commited | 7 | 53.85 | 6 | 46.15 | 13 |
| Fouls Penalised | 5 | 71.43 | 5 | 83.33 | 10 |
| Period 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | % | Blackburn Rovers | % | Total |
| Correct For | 12 | 85.71 | 2 | 14.29 | 14 |
| Correct For Weighted | 14 | 87.50 | 2 | 12.50 | 16 |
| Incorrect Against | 4 | 100.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 6 | 100.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 |
| Fouls Commited | 2 | 13.33 | 13 | 86.67 | 15 |
| Fouls Penalised | 2 | 100.00 | 11 | 84.62 | 13 |
| Totals | Tottenham Hotspur | % | Blackburn Rovers | % | Total |
| Correct For | 18 | 72.00 | 7 | 28.00 | 25 |
| Correct For Weighted | 22 | 75.86 | 7 | 24.14 | 29 |
| Incorrect Against | 5 | 55.56 | 4 | 44.44 | 9 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 7 | 58.33 | 5 | 41.67 | 12 |
| Fouls Commited | 9 | 32.14 | 19 | 67.86 | 28 |
| Fouls Penalised | 7 | 77.78 | 16 | 84.21 | 23 |
The bias index was almost balanced but with a slight advantage towards Blackburn and this is rather surprising as Tottenham was the home team.
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