- Arsenal: why it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a top scorer in the side
- Arsenal v Sunderland: the battle of two teams for the longest spell in the top league
Referee appointment Arsenal v Sunderland:
- Referee: Sam Barrott
- Assistants: Ian Hussin, Wade Smith.
- Fourth official: Farai Hallam.
- VAR: Michael Salisbury.
| Referee | Games | Fouls per game | Yellow per game | Fouls per yellow |
| Stuart Attwell | 15 | 20.27 | 4.47 | 4.52 |
| Simon Hooper | 14 | 24.00 | 4.14 | 5,80 |
| Samuel Barrott | 14 | 19.64 | 3.79 | 5,18 |
| Craig Pawson | 13 | 20.31 | 1.92 | 10.58 |
| Tony Harrington | 12 | 19.67 | 3.17 | 6.21 |
| Andy Madley | 11 | 20.64 | 3.36 | 6.14 |
| Variation | 24% | 232% | 234% |
The variation in the average number of fouls seen per game between referees is 24%. But the variation in the number of yellow cards waved per game is 232%. And the number of fouls per yellow cards varies by a similar amount.
This really is bizarre. Surely it is not that difficult to get referees together and agree what fouls merit a card and which one’s don’t. But he fact that there has been no attempt to sort this out either suggests PGMO couldn’t care less, or the referees who are members of PGMO are not obeying the rules laid down by their authority. Either way it is a mess.
For what this all means is that there is absolutely no consistency in terms of the way referees handle games, which is why clubs look with care are the referee they get for each match and select players accordingly. So clubs know for sure that if they have Attwell as a referee they will get yellow cards. This in turn undoubtedly influences clubs who have a player on four cards and who have a couple of difficult games coming along, and who find themselves with a card waving referee, to leave a player out for a game if they feel they need him for the next match.
It also raises questions as to whether clubs are seeking to influence PGMO as to which ref they get for each game. This of course is never mentioned by the media, but it must be a possibility with so much at stake.
Now of course no club would ever taunt a referee by saying openly, “We have Ref X this week and he hands out cards for any event, so our player Y is not playing, but when you see a player suddenly dropped for the squad, there is often a chance that this is why. Don’t protest – just change positions so you don’t get punished again for something you have not done.”
Managers should not to selecting players according to the referee, but according to the football. But looking at the vast variety in the way referees give out cards and free kicks, it appears (an d obviously this is just how it seems to me) this is now the case.
What this situation with referees does is encourage clubs to have a variety of players to select from according not only too the opposition, but also according to which referee is being used – and again this is not how it should be.
However Arsenal’s management of this crazy system is showing a considerable amount of success. Arsenal this season have picked up 33 yellow cards this season and no red cards. Only Manchester United has a lower haul of yellows with 31 yellows but they also have one red, which Arsenal have thus far avoided.
The club with the least ability to handle referees is Tottenham Hots with 59 yellows and two reds so far this season. But Arsenal’s rivals near the top of the league are not showing such skill at reading the referee in advance, as Chelsea have 55 yellows and an amazing five reds while Manchester City have 52 yellow and rather surprisingly given that number, no reds. Quite how they do that I am not sure, but taking off players as soon as they have a yellow might well be part of their strategy.
So if we look at reds and yellows together Arsenal have clearly got the lowest number of cards, and I feel Arsenal have done this by accepting the vast variance there is between one referee and the next, and adjusting their team selection and to an extent their style of play according to the referee. As we have noted so many times, this is absolutely not how it should be, but if PGMO will do nothing to ensure that referees have some sort of consistent approach to the game, this is all the club can do.
Indeed I would not be surprised if part of Arsenal’s recruitment and selection programme is based on the ability of the players not only to play, but also to vary their style according to the referee. Again we might look at he movement of the players at corners as a way of bemusing both the opposition and the officials.
Sunderland have had 15 more yellow cards than Arsenal this season and two more reds than Arsenal showing a fair amount of ill-discipline which Arsenal should be able to exploit in this game through the corners and other crowd situations.
Sunderland are currently rated the seventh dirtiest team in the league. Tottenham of course are top of that table while Arsenal are one from the foot of the table in measuring yellows and at the foot if one includes red cards as being worth two or three yellows.
Put together, these figures continue to suggest that Arsenal should not find the going too difficult on Saturday at 3pm, but we might need the referee to keep his eyes peeled for any bits of hanky-panky from the opposition..
