Untold Ref Review: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Blackburn Rovers. An unusual bias.

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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6 Replies to “Untold Ref Review: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Blackburn Rovers. An unusual bias.”

  1. I would love to see this done with the Man City v Spurs where Ballotelli stamped on Scottie.

  2. “In the second half it was the Blackburn we will not miss in the PL next season. ”

    Im sure arsenal fans wont miss blackburn but i cant remember much aggression in that game. 15 fouls aint even much considering relegation was almost certain without points. All i remember was the players hardly gave anything. Like tom said, the asian betting scam….unspotted.

    Anyways, i like this blog. These stats are important to get out there. So credit for the work.

  3. @ Tom Cruise, what happened to your namesake after his MLS trial? He seemed to have real promise but disappeared of the face of the earth.

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