Ref for this match was Craig Pawson
A ref we haven’t got many numbers on so it is always difficult to draw conclusions.
What I did noticed is that he is not looking good at hidden kicks on the Achilles. Alderweireld did this a few times and each time it escaped the ref’s attention. This is something he has to work on. Because those fouls can be nasty and can cause serious injuries like ruptures of the Achilles.
What he also was lacking was daring to stamp his authority early on in the game. Wayama came in from behind and kicked Alexis on the calf when the ball was at chest height from Alexis. So no chance of playing the ball. A deliberate kick from behind. He called the foul but then he should have given a yellow card.
Some 15 minutes later Wayama again went in from behind on Alexis and then he gave a yellow card. After that Wayama calmed down and there you can see the influence a yellow card and certainly an early yellow card can have on a player. Or that player stops his kicking or he continues and then you just send him off. Wayama should have walked after that second kick from behind. Or he wouldn’t have done it any more.
His first half score was rather low. Not many fouls and then every mistake counts more of course. So only a score of 68% and when we put weight on the decisions he only gets 63%. If we only look at the important decisions he only gets a score of 40%. Wayama is the reason for this.
In the second half he upped up his game. But… then a big flaw showed again. Alexis was going to be one on one with the keeper and then Gardos brought him down just outside the penalty area. So correct decision for the foul outside but then he only gave a yellow card against Gardos. And that was terribly wrong. The card should have been a red one. Still some 25 minutes to play at that moment so nobody knows how the match could have been changed after that.
But for the rest he was fine with most of his decisions as the only other miss was a hidden foul from Alderweireld who kicked Cazorla on the achilles and again the ref didn’t spot it.
The score in the second half however was 87% and when we put weight on it he still has a score of 80%. If we only look at the important decisions we get a score 50%.
Over the whole 90 minutes he had a score of 78% so not that bad. When we put weight on the decisions it drops to 72%. Still acceptable compared to other PGMO refs. If we only look at the important decisions he gets a total score of 44%. Not that great.
And so we have his flaw. He backs out of the important decisions. Now I am not going to say that he has a bias against Arsenal based on this match. It could be that he is just a typical home referee who doesn’t dare to take action against the home players. That is very well possible.
So the jury is out on him. But from what I have seen I think he will be a home referee most of the time and home teams will get away with more than away teams. If he really dislikes Arsenal it is something that we will find out once we get him at home.
Bias score over the not important decisions was not completely bad with 25 against Arsenal and 75% against Southampton. When we look at the important decisions it raises to 15% against Arsenal and 85 % against Southampton.
If you want to comment please read these notes first
The books
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal
Not related but I think lots of readers will find this interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31005417
Heard about the Medes red card, would’ve been ok in the Prem as you can grab people round the throat or neck as Adams and Rio respectively can attest.
It’s Wanyama, not Wamaya or Wayama.
Thanks Walter.
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Perhaps something to keep a record of. One of the Wales newspapers is reviewing the 8 red cards (which includes second yellows) that Swansea has received. They are not considering situations where a red should have been issued (to Swansea), if any such situations exist. It is the first time I thiink I have seen t his.
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-red-card-review/story-25924404-detail/story.html
Where I think this sort of thing has to go, is to also look at the situations where a red card should have been recieved, and wasn’t.
To just look at situations where a red is received, it is too easy to fall into the process whereby a person finds a similar situation where a red was not issued, and then people argue about how close the two situations are. Which is usually missing the point, the standard is the laws of the game, not what the referee allows to happen.
This article falls at about the midway point of the season. Let’s say that they had also looked at situations where they should have been carded, and they found one. And they had also concluded that 3 shouldn’t have been issued (I didn’t tally up what the article actually said), which would be 4 errors in half a season, or 8 errors in a season. Multiplied by 20 teams, is 160 errors. And other places look at situations such as a yellow card for a first foul which is a “casual” trip in the middle of the park with no clear chance to produce a goal, or simulations given in error or not given, and so on. Pretty soon, there is adequate publically available numbers to argue from, and PGMO will still be in their dungeon under Castle FA, counting in secret (99%, 99.6%, …).
And who do you believe? Numbers in the public eye and which have been argued in public, or some secret society?
According to Mr Riley, refs are getting more decisions right than ever before.
Must have been pretty shite before then, Mike!
While Pawson has a reasonable overall score compared to some of the other PGMO reprobates, he did allow Wanyama, Gardos and Alderweired to remain on the field of play, when they should have been off.
Basically we were screwed by another PGMO incompetent.
Wanyama and the Alder have some previous as thugs – the sort of behavior the PGMO refs are supposed to be reminded of before each match.
Oh – I forgot – Riley allows the opposition to kick and rugby tackle Arsenal players and the ref has to look the other way.
Different rules for different teams. Oliver who we had at Brighton allowed their player to hack Akpom and Alexis down without cards. Now stumble on to Cheslea-Liverpool and see Henderson getting a yellow for a little pull on Hazard in midfield. Last Sunday 4 Brighton players were hacking in at Alexis in one phase and not one got carded…
That really pissed me off Walter they should have got a card each!
The BBC replies!!
Thanks for getting in touch with us about FA Cup Match of the Day broadcast on the 25 January.
When analysing the playing style of Tomas Rosicky, Phil attempted a tongue-in-cheek comment. This comment wasn’t meant to cause offence, but on reflection, Phil does acknowledge that the language he used was unfortunate.
That said, Mark Chapman did challenge him straight away and we felt that the tone of the discussion was light-hearted enough to suggest that we weren’t condoning any kind of violence or setting an example to a younger audience.
BBC Sport will, however, remind the team to take extra care in the future.
Thanks again for contacting us.
I just wonder how a two footed light hearted tackle would be appreciated by the BBC Director General. Amazing how ‘Phil’ has become a BBC son.
Got the same reply Menace, word for word……which basically says F**K off and let us continue hiding behind media neutrality!
This game had all the hallmarks of a fixed match. A ref and a keeper making inexplicable decisions.