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:

• Untold Ref Reviews …
• Untold Corruption …

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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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