Refereeing and protecting the players physical integrity.

I went to a game yesterday, I tend to watch football at every level and I did not even last the full game !
Because : 1 it was cold 2 the game was over with a 4-0 lead 3 there was only a train every 30 min towards London.

Also the main reason I went early was I saw the typical things that I dislike in football all mixed together : dangerous physical play and bad refereeing team performance. No wonder players can get injured in those conditions. I get really angry when a player gets injured because a game has been badly managed.

First the assistant in front of me gets a good start with 3 offside calls out of 4 where I don’t agree and the people sitting next to me did not either. She improved progressively and the fact that the forwards on that side of pitch were running like headless chicken helped her.

Then the referee that let go a multitude of dangerous physical tackle to the knee, to the ankle, from behind. I must have counted 3 or 4 in the first half when you think. How come there had been no booking in that game ?

As a result, you get players giving each other the verbals in front of the same assistant referee who does nothing, does not signal to the referee. And then comes the tackle, where the players is slightly late on the opposition ankle. Thank god, she missed it because it was a typical one.
If you have played football, you know what goes in the players mind when the referee gives nothing and does not control the game enough. They will see how far they can get away with, it is a very human reaction.

I have to be clear here, with no referees there are no game and they deserve respect. I have done a few Sunday League games when there was no referee and you get dissent from the players and threat from the touchline from their mate sometimes which is more of a problem actually.

I am always surprised by the level of verbal dissent that goes unpunished in the game at every level : in Sunday League, in women’s football or in the Premier League. And what comes from the stand from fans who don’t know the law of the games actually is just stupid.

Speaking of the LOTG, there is the law 12, and it shoukd be applied properly and you do wonder if referees are reluctant to give yellow and red cards in general and apply it.

I am actually amazed that referees do not seem to be interested in protecting the physical intergrity of the players in the PL for example. That is one of the important point passed on to referees in France. Dangerous play not allowed and severely punished.

Extended punishment for players who injure other players happen around in Europe. Why does the FA do nothing on those cases ?

How many cases if the last 10 years with knee / ankle / fibula broken or even a goalkeepers head severely hit and how many punishment extended. One in the lower division if I remember well.

So referees will always make mistakes because they are human, it would be better if they made those when they don’t influence the game’s result but they really need to distribute the yellow and red card according to the LOTG and the game would be a lot cleaner.

FA women’s Cup round 4 draw

Oxford and Yeovil who won away in round 3 against Higher level opposition will be at home in Round 4. This is the last round before the FA WSL enter the competition.

Yeovil Town v Portsmouth
Gillingham v Sheffield United Community or Nottingham Forest
Coventry City v Manchester City
Watford v Leeds United
Cardiff City v Reading FC Women
Oxford United v Newcastle United
Sporting Club Albion v Sunderland
Aston Villa v Preston North End

Are Arsenal Ladies taking a gamble with the new manager Shelley Kerr ?

All the Arsenal Ladies fans have been awaiting the news about who would take over from Laura Harvey. Although it seems an easy job from the outisde, there is certainly a lot of work to do in the training ground and difficult choices have to be made in the starting line-up.

I find it is a positive thing to note that she has already worked with a couple of players previously and therefore will not come in an unknown territory. it will be interesting to see who will come into the coaching staff and if changes will be made to the playing staff.

All the best to her in her new adventure and hopefully she can continue the winning trend at Arsenal Ladies.