Untold Ref review: Arsenal 3 – Stoke 1

By Ref Reviewer 04

For the game between Arsenal and Stoke we had ref Mason in the Emirates. Because of some computer problems we didn’t get the Ref Watch online so it will be interesting to see if what we found will be in agreement with what Dogface thought it would be.

Min Type Foul from On C/NC Comment points weight
1 OFFSIDE Crouch   C   1 1
1 OFFSIDE Walcott   NC Walcott was level on the moment the ball was played 0 0
2 OTHER Whelan Song C Push 1 1
2 OTHER Santos   C Handball 1 1
9 OTHER Chamakh Upson NC Push in the back 0 0
15 OTHER Upson Chamakh C Tackle from behind 1 1
17 OTHER Crouch Song C Push 1 1
18 OTHER Whitehead C Handball 1 1
19 OTHER Whitehead Arteta NC Frontal tackle catches ball and man 0 0
19 YELLOW Whitehead NC It was dangerous and should have been punished with a yellow card 0 0
21 OTHER Wilson Walcott C Late trip 1 1
23 OFFSIDE Walters   C   1 1
24 OTHER Arteta Delap C Trip 1 1
26 OTHER Wilkinson Song C Push 1 1
27 GOAL Arsenal   C Yervinho was onside, correct goal 1 3
29 OTHER Crouch Koscielny C Crouch touched Koscielny on his leg when he tried to jump 1 1
30 OTHER Djourou Crouch C Trip 1 1
30 OTHER Whitehead ARteta C Arteta has to jump up to save his legs 1 1
30 YELLOW Whitehead C Correct card. Could/should have been his second 1 2
33 OTHER Koscielny Crouch NC Koscielny made a clean jump. No foul 0 0
33 GOAL Stoke   NC Stoke score from the resulting free kick. Shouldn’t have been a free kick 0 0
34 PENALTY Wilkinson Chamakh NC Wilkinson clearly drags Chamakh to the ground. Clear penalty. Ref had a clear and unobstructed view. 0 0
36 OTHER Ramsey Whitehead C Assistant gave the foul was close to him 1 1
38 OTHER Delap   NC Delap steals two grassquares on the field (so some 10 meters) to take a throw closer to the goal 0 0
39 OTHER Song Crouch NC Song nicked the ball away but Crouch cannot be touched it seems 0 0
41 OTHER Delap Koscielny C Push 1 1
               
  Half time         17 20
      CORRECT   60,71% 57,14%
               
  YELLOW       1 2 50,00
  RED       0 0  
  PENALTY     0 1 0,00
  GOAL       1 2 50,00
  OTHER       1 3 33,33
               
          3 8 37,50
               
  OFFSIDE       2 3 66,67
               
  Second half          
               
49 OTHER Upson Chamakh C Clean won header just like Koscielny, no foul given this time 1 1
50 OTHER Shawcross Arteta NC Push not given 0 0
52 OTHER Whelan Arteta C Kick on the ankle 1 1
55 OTHER Wilkinson Walcott C Pulled him by his shirt 1 1
55 YELLOW Wilkinson C Blatant shirt pulling and stopping a possible promising move 1 2
56 PENALTY Walters Song NC Walters was holding Song with both his arms around Song. Song then tried to free himself and pushed Walters away against another Stoke player and then they both went to the ground. Surely the ref must know that he should punish the first foul? 0 0
59 OTHER   Walcott NC Obstruction 0 0
59 OTHER Song Crouch NC Obstruction 0 0
62 OTHER Wilkinson Koscielny NC Push in the back of the defender not given 0 0
64 OTHER Santos Etherington C Trip 1 1
68 OTHER Shawcross RVP NC Shawcross wins the header but smashed his arm against the head of RVP. Clear foul 0 0
68 RED Shawcross NC As shawcross had RVP clear in front of him all the time he knew that he couldn’t stretch his arm like that. So it must have been a deliberate act. Deliberate use of the arm against a player his head should be a red car 0 0
73 GOAL Arsenal   C correct goal 1 3
75 OFFSIDE RVP   C   1 1
77 OTHER Santos Whitehead C Push 1 1
77 OTHER Jerome Szczesny C Barging in to the keeper 1 1
78 OTHER Wilkinson Arshavin NC Push 0 0
78 OTHER Santos Whelan C This was a foul but why didn’t he give the one seconds before on Arshavin? 1 1
80 OTHER ? Arshavin NC Advantage signalled. When you go all the way back to the keeper there is not really an advantage 0 0
82 GOAL Arsenal   C correct goal 1 3
84 OTHER Jones Song NC Trip and pull 0 0
85 OTHER Koscielny Whelan? C Trip but advantage given. Stoke can almost manage a shot 1 1
85 OTHER Whelan RVP C Push 1 1
86 OTHER Song Whelan NC Obstruction 0 0
92 OTHER Upson Arshavin NC Illegal block 0 0
               
      2nd half score      
  TOTAL         13 18
  %   CORRECT   52,00% 52,94%
               
  YELLOW       1 1 100,00
  RED       0 1 0,00
  PENALTY     0 1 0,00
  GOAL       2 2 100,00
  OTHER       1 2 50,00
               
          4 7 57,14
               
  OFFSIDE       1 1 100,00
               
      TOTAL SCORE    
               
  TOTAL         30 38
  %   CORRECT   56,60% 55,07%
               
  YELLOW       2 3 0,00
  RED       0 1 0,00
  PENALTY     0 2 66,67
  GOAL       3 4 75,00
  OTHER       2 5 40,00
               
          7 15 46,67
               
  OFFSIDE       3 4 75,00
               
  Correct calls For Arsenal 20 66,67%  
      For Stoke 10 33,33%  
      Total correct calls 30    
               
  Wrong calls Against Arsenal 17 85,00%  
      Against Stoke 3 15,00%  
      Total   20    

 

An astonishing number of wrong calls from the ref. Almost 40% of his decisions were wrong.

And amongst them a few important decisions. The free kick from which Stoke scored… And maybe even worse the not given penalty for a foul on Chamakh. And the worst part was that the ref had a clear and unobstructed view of the defender wrestling Chamakh to the ground.

Shawcross also being his usual himself with planting his arm against the head of Van Persie when he just had come on the field. But then again this could have been the last thing Van Persie needed to make sure that Arsenal would win the game.

So another Arsenal win but a very low and poor display from the ref.

8 Replies to “Untold Ref review: Arsenal 3 – Stoke 1”

  1. Tony “Rugby” Pulis is a dirty c*nt. The penalty incident just shows why they’re called Stoke Rugby Football Club. I just can’t fathom how a ref can let that go. To me, it looked like he instructed his players to obstruct our off the ball runs as well, especially on Theo. What shocks me is that it’s allowed. In any other league, a coach sending his players out to do that is like a suicide mission, your team will probably finish the game with less than 11 men. In the EPL, the refs are complicit in these ugly neanderthal tactics.
    I think the topics under discussion at Riley’s Ref Shop (where a certain Kenny D buys services) were not only “how to get L’pool into the top 4” but also “how to keep the Frenchman’s team out of the top 4”. I think we’re getting in their way, with all this bloody winning, so we can probably expect to see more non-decisions like the one Chamakh suffered. Did you guys notice how everyone seemed to get over it in no time, and how little protesting there was? If it had been manure or some other “darling” team, the game would have come to a standstill… It’s like our players are tired of it all, no longer surprised or shocked, and just want 2 get on with the uphill battle.
    Pathetic from the officials.

  2. I personally thought Mason’s performance was appalling, even in comparison to the other matches this season. To me, it seemed like the same template from the Newcastle match last season. Take repeated dives around the Arsenal penalty area, ref will call them, score from set pieces. The good news is that it didn’t work this time, because Stoke couldn’t get the ball around Arsenal’s penalty area, or score from set pieces 🙂

  3. @ Anne

    I agree the term “appalling” is very a very apt description of Mason’s performance. It would also appear that certain thug teams seem to know that they can get away with more fouls and indeed more blatant fouls against Arsenal. As you correctly point out, Mason was not able to change the outcome.

    I wonder; as the refs gradually realise that our defending of set pieces has improved, will the number of unfair fouls given against us from close outside the box, decrease?

    @ Reviewer 04 – good review.

  4. @bjtgooner:

    I’m sure that they will continue to try, no matter how good Arsenal gets. But the fact remains that it’s getting harder and harder to fix matches against Arsenal because there’s such a gap in skill level between Arsenal and the other EPL clubs. Aside from Arsenal, I’d say that the skill level of the league as a whole is decreasing every year. And if that continues, I think we’re going to see more and more matches like Sunday’s, where the ref can’t impact the outcome no matter how hard he tries.

  5. must say that my opinion at the game, and of those around me was that Mason was “avin a mare”

    I felt he was inconsistent, Stoke goal was a joke for all to see, such a poor decision right in front of him, Crouchs grin should have told Mason he had been mugged, Mason just seemed determined to make our life difficult.

  6. However can i add that once given the goal was a good one and i feel should be marked as such. The goal was valid, i was a separate incident from the free kick, I know they are tied, but so are all incidents on a football pitch, at what point do you stop saying this incident would not have happened if. Because none would have happened if one single prior incident could be reversed.

    Arsenal should have defended the free kick better, and had they done so it would not have attracted comment in the review, making it, in my opinion a separate incident.

    But seriously, apart from that matter (which is one of opinion) a bloody good review.

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