Ref (or whatever you want to call him) on the day was Anthony Taylor
As most of you will never look back at the match in full and I can understand that but as a reviewer we have the hard task to do this. Mostly it is fun but not this time. As a referee I was shocked to see how Taylor tilted the pitch in the most obscene ways. Not even subtle at times and shockingly bad.
The match started with a foul every minute almost. And as another ref said after the match, after 5 minutes I knew that he was out to do Arsenal. The foul on Alexis that was turned in to a foul from Alexis was not even subtle. It was punching the Arsenal players in the face and saying, “I will screw you today.” And so he did for the rest of the match.
Crouch performing martial arts against chambers on a football field without getting a yellow card, then punching Mertesacker in the face twice and only then getting a yellow card. And then he had the guts to send off Chambers for what were in itself not worthy of a yellow card in 99,9% of the matches and certainly not in this one when he allowed Stoke players to manhandle Arsenal players like they did.
The Aston Villa match from last season all over again with giving all and everything against Arsenal when he could and even when he couldn’t he still did it.
And for those who point at the disallowed goal from Stoke and the penalty given to Arsenal this was only the result of their assistants making the calls. I wonder if those assistants had enough of the one-sidedness of the referee in the middle and if they were trying to bring some balance in to the match. I have had this once as an assistant when I saw a blatantly biased ref doing a terrible job in the Taylor way and after a while you can have this reaction and the other assistant told me after the match he also tried to correct the ref whenever he could and tried to add some balance.
I would have refused to do another match ever again if I had been appointed with that ref but for the welfare of refereeing he stopped half a year later as a ref.
But he refused to do this and so we can only come to the conclusion that he is unfit to referee an Arsenal match or even a PL match over all. Mr. Riley do we really have to see again limbs hanging off bodies before you will act?
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Let us look at the scores. And because of all the fouls he could even muster a reasonable score of 68% in total. If we put weight on the decisions it drops to 59%. Too low.
And if we only look at the important decisions we get a score of only 34% correct decisions. That is terrible. Unacceptably low.
I challenge you, Howard Webb to show us the numbers from the PGMO from this match. But I bet you wouldn’t even dare to send them to me in private even when I would promise to not use them. Because your number of 98% correct decisions is false. Completely fabricated.
The bias numbers from Taylor in this match. 22 wrong decisions in total. 11 important one (yellow and red cards, goals and penalties) and 11 not that important one.
And all 22 wrong decisions were against Arsenal. All of them.
As our previewer said before the match: “The man makes Dean look an Arsenal Supporter ” and my boy he was spot on. I must admit that I have seen horrendous matches from Dean against Arsenal but for the moment Taylor makes Dean look like a choir boy and an innocent child born on Christmas day when it comes to bias against Arsenal.
Another disgraceful performance as predicted by Untold before the match and as it came out from the preview after the match.
This was the most terrible and one sided refereeing performance I have seen against Arsenal. And I have seen a lot of them. Too many to be good.
ps: sorry as the review is almost double the length of a regular review the page may load slowly. Blame Taylor for that please. The better the refs are the shorter the review.
Classic Untold
The causes of injuries and how the press draw false conclusions
Football supporting and football journalism in a spiral of decline
Not for the first time I’m in a total agreement with you regarding Taylor.
He is most defenetly unfit to work Arsenal games , but again, this is something that should be addressed by the club and the manager himself.
There’s enough evidence to support a strong campaign against Taylor, which is btw most certainly something SAF , Mourinho or even Rodgers would’ve done.
Like I have said before, not making an issue out of Alexis’ treatment by the thugs of this league, is borderline negligence on our club’s part.
Thanks for the review. Shocking. As Tom has suggested, negligence is a valid term here, what in the hell are the club doing about this? Everyone from Jose to Gary Monk is having plenty to say about the pgmol, with impunity. Why do arsenal remain silent. Raise these things in the media after match. And why do the media remain silent when bet365 Stoke players use choke holds and elbows? And why aren’t our players told to get in the faces of these refs…..just study a few Roy keane vids if they need to know how. I know some of them are well capable. Yes I know we get disproportionate punishment, but FFS react on the pitch and after the game and show this pgmol shit fest for what it is. Have the passionate, justice seeking wenger and the players been silenced by the corporate club suits? Why is wenger not manipulating the media like Jose is doing this weekend ,why the silence? Lots of whys in there.
Nice guys do not always finish last, but they get nowhere with the pgmol.
lol i bet the same people asking for our players to react and stand up for themselves, are the ones who critices Giroud for his ‘Headbutt’ (lol, if that is a headbutt….)
It is right though, the club should raise these issues – they show content on arsenal.com of the games after midnight i believe – why dont they highlight these issues?
Furthermore, and heres a nice money spinner – why do they not use this content, and make a ‘match of the day’ show, and assess the matches? at least then a footy highlights show will not be filled with newcastle, spurs, united and liverpool tossers, who fail to show any of these issues (or say, ferdinand looks angry!!!!!)
‘Nice guys do not always finish last, but they get nowhere with the pgmol’
You may want to copy right it Mandy, it sure has a nice ring to it.
Furthermore, while I agree with you that the players could do more to influence the referees, although sticking ones face into another player’s face isn’t the way to be sure, the main action has to come from the club.
While I have had my disagreements with Jambug on veriety of issues, I totaly agree with him on this; there’s absolutely no backlash from anywhere for making bad calls against Arsenal.
If Arsenal FC themselves are going to shy away from the fight , why would the media have any interest in fighting it for us.
Case in point ; Charlie Adam’s tackle on Alexis. There was planty of coverage of it in the written media and on line , and most of it was the mocking of Charlie Adam kind. Yet not a single word from the club.
Arsene Wenger brings up his vast managerial experience ( and rightfully so) whenever questioned or criticized , wouldn’t it come in handy for him to mention that in all of his years of coaching and following football he hasn’t seen a tackle like that on a football pitch( which I’m sure he hasn’t).
The press would have to pick it up and run with it, and since that would’ve been a statement of fact , most everyone would’ve had to agree with it.
I’ve been around football for over forty years and I’ve never seen a tackle like that , ever.
An excellent review. This must be one of the worst performances of recent history by a PGMO ref – almost on a par with Riley’s Invinciple destroying accomplishment.
I cannot believe it was an accident that Taylor was appointed for this fixture.
We know Stoke will be thugs – when permitted to be so – and with Taylor they really reverted to type.
My impression was that Crouch did some pushing for the first goal, but I can’t bring myself to review the recording again.
Walter, I second your challenge to Webb – I would very much like to see his comments on this review – but, I expect silence!
I will be interested to see if the F.A do anything about the Sterling incident against Swansea or the Shelvey elbow for that matter.
I’m not holding my breath.
And just to finish my involvement on this thread, am I the only one who has found Arsene Wenger’s comments on Song’s disallowed goal strange?
‘I don’t know why his goal didn’t stand, I thought it would’ , is I believe what he said right after the game about the incident.
Now, I don’t have the quote right in front of me so apologies if it’s not word for word( seeing as I ve been accused of not qouting per verbatim in the past).
But if in fact that is what Arsen Wenger did say, then all I can say is wow!
And I’m not having a go at Arsene Wenger here but let’s look at the facts, shall we. The linesman made a controversial decision against the home team (a correct one at that). He got lombasted by Big Sam, who by the way was technically and factually incorrect about the incident( a call like that has been made before). But Arsene Wenger instead of complementing the brave guy for making the right call in adverse conditions, went on record to kind of question it himself.
What’s the insentive for the linesman or the referee to give us the benefit of the doubt again in the future( other than doing the righteous thing of course), when all he got in the aftermath was ridicule and doubts?
Poor referee management.
There is too much leeway between decisions of ref all judging the same offence, this results in too many possible outcomes.
No wonder most are confused, and the media and pundits seemingly more so. In reality, although we all kid ourselves that we know the rules, it is impossible to guess which decision will be given for an incident we have just seen live. We end up with as many different decisions as there are refs.
Some say, this enhances the PL.
I think AW has grown a lot this season. By not complaining despite the atrocious refereeing this season, he has practically saved his players from slaughter from opponents. He just let the lawmakers to see and figure out themselves. Thus, he has taught the players to take such treatment to their chins and be honorable warriors. Now, we began to see Arsenal players being tough and start giving out lessons of their own in speed and fitness, true attributes in footballers.
Ben. I am not in Walter’s category, but I have refereed. It matters not a smidgeon if a head butt is damaging or effective. Giroud head butted an opponent. He was given a straight red card, and is serving his suspension.
All one need look at for example, are red cards issued for spitting. Unless the spit gets into a mucous gland or a cut, there is almost no chance of damage. And yet, it is still ruled violent conduct by FIFA.
When you see such bad obvious refereeing against your team, and still not get pissed off with it, then I thin you deserve such treatment.
The club has to stand for it.
The players have to stand for it.
And we, the fans, should stand for it. How? I dont know, but by shutting the people who do all the time is not helping.
Last game the ref was a disaster, still when we mention that we are told to shut up and stop blaming the ref. What is it with refs in Enland by the way? are they somekind of Gods to be worshipped and never questioned. not only the media, but even our own fans!
If this refereeing (stoke game) was against any other team, the Club and the fans would have blown the ref into pieces. But its Arsenal, we take everything on the chin and move on. Why?
I have no idea how this guy is a ref and I pray every time we get him that someone from Arsenal has the guts to tell the FA we don’t want hos reffing our game as he is a danger to our players.
Reading the comments, I have been saying the same for years. We need someone like Gazedis to come out and openly say we are being targeted by the thugs.
Here is my take on it.
The English press have created a myth that Arsenal players don’t like physical football and that has lead to another myth that the way to beat Arsenal is to play “industrial football” or any other team you care to use for kick and foul them. The ref’s have bought into this myth fully and believe that when an Arsenal player is fouled, it is a case of him just being “out muscled” off the ball or complaining as they don’t like “the rough stuff”.
It is time for someone high up at Arsenal to make a video of all the atrocious and frankly dangerous assaults our players have had to deal with over the last decade and bring light onto the subject.
Out of curiosity, how many teams have had as many leg breaks as we have in the last 10 years?
Just had to delete a whole raft of comments from Stoke fans.
To clarify, of course we will publish views that are contrary to our own, but simply calling the writer names, and just saying we are wrong without providing any evidence, isn’t likely to make it onto the publication.
I really don’t quite know why anyone would think that it would.
Agree on the ref management Tom, think either Wenger has just given up on them, or has been told to keep quiet.
Meanwhile, this is what happens when you are a manager prepared to use the media and pgmol
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2890588/Referee-Anthony-Taylor-apologised-Jose-Mourinho-failing-award-penalty-Cesc-Fabregas-trip-Southampton.html
Don’t see wenger getting too many apologies from them these days, or at least not that are made public.
Watch Chelsea start getting dodgy penalties
@ Tony
To me Stoke fans are a vile bunch of assholes.
I hate them more than Spuds’ or ManU fans (despite hating those clubs much more than the Putas, eh sorry, Potters). Any collection of fans who relishes on the near carreer ending injury of another player, deserve the worst. I’m just holding back in order not to write what I really wish for them.
To revenge the 3-2 has become the most important match of this year for me, and I’m trying to make it to London especially in order to be there, row 7, prime view for the public humiliation of those motherfucking thugs.
COYG
No, this is just un-fecking-believable –
The Daily Mail: “Referee Anthony Taylor has apologised to Jose Mourinho for failing to award a penalty when Cesc Fabregas was tripped at Southampton on Sunday.”
Gotta hand it to Bunkerinho – it’s working.
Taylor can now apologise a dozen times to Wenger for his bad officiating….
TommieGun
Of course it’s working, it always does.
I can just see that conversation Mourinho had with Taylor after his ‘Anti – Chelsea conspiracy ‘ rant.
How he thought Taylor was a wonderful referee but he was being influenced by all those other managers telling lies about his players , who are good boys and never dive.
How Taylor just cost him two points, but it’s OK because it wasn’t his fault but rather those managers who talk shit about Chelsea.
And then he wished him and his FANTASTIC family ,who’s names he had researched, a happy new year ,and how he was looking forward to having him officiate Chelsea matches in the future because , again, he (Taylor) was one of the best referees in England or perhaps even in Europe.
A typical Mourinho mind – fuck , which btw has been described and admitted to by a former PL referee Graham Poll.
Mourinho and his team’s operate on a different level when it comes to referee manipulation and rule bending.
My all time favorite is the ‘Oh, I’m sorry ref , I thought it was my throw in ‘ routine.
Ivanovic excels at this particular bit of time wasting when Chelsea are under presure or disorganized at the back.
After he himself puts the ball out for a throw in , he quickly retrieves it and puts it back into play and then claims innocence and surprise when the ref points the other way. It’s quite comical at times when his throw – ins don’t even end up with his own teammates. But that doesn’t matter , he just bought his team some some precious time to reorganize themself again.
Cesar Azpilicueta tries to do the same thing on the other side of the pitch but he’s not as smooth at it as Ivanovic just yet.
Marcelo and Contrao for Madrid used to do the same thing under Mourinho.
Ladies and gentlemen, watch and learn.
@ Tom,
The level of cynicism Bunkerinho players are capable of is nothing short of amazing.
But even more amazing, is the fact that they are all (or at least, the vast majority) very, very good players who need not downgrade themselves to these embarassments.
Examples? Plenty.
Drogba – one of the best strikers to play in England in the past 7 years (or so). a 1.88 physical beast, who, as we all know, used to roll around like a 5 year old girl who got hit by a truck.
Robben – aside from Messi and Ronaldo, arguably the world’s best player. You can see he is actually playing FOOTBALL for the past 5 years (under Hoenes and then Pep) – but playing for Bunkerinho, first at the KGB and then at Real – had taught him very well how to “behave”.
Pepe – under Ancelloti turned into a somewhat decent defender. Under Bunkerinho he was an MMA fighter playing for Real madrid.
Ivnanovic is another great example. Such a good player, such rotten behavior.
And how can we forget the symbol of Bunkerhinoism – John “my daddy’s a drug dealer and I’m basically white trash piece of shit” Terry.
I still cant believe the Stoke fans were booing Ramsey whenever he got the ball. At least the commentator found it amusing..
Towards the end of the W Ham game the ball went out for throw in to the Hammers right next to Arsenals technical area. Wenger immediately gave the ball to the West Ham player, no delay, no deliberate messing about to delay the throw and waste a bit of time, you would have thought it was Arsenal chasing the game. Wenger is an absolute gent. Imagine if that had been the arsehole Mourinho, he would have used every trick to prevent the opposition player from taking the throw quickly, like the other week when he took the ball off the ball boy to waste a bit of time.
@Mick,
and that is why We love him, but why would the media hate him then? Because they are &#&&$?! With no digity.
Good observation Mick!
Had just finished reading the Maureen apology article and had to come on here to let my blood simmer, I mean after all Taylor’s been good to us over the years…..
Wow. Incredible. How many times has Mouth-inho spoken about the refs already this season? And the usual reaction is some sort of punishment, but instead Mouth-inho gets an apology. This is beyond belief.
And only 60% correct. No other top professional I can think of would find that anywhere near acceptable. How would you feel if you went into a court with a lawyer who only got 60% at University? That must be one of the lowest scores ever. Sad to say such performances from PGMO refs are becoming less and less surprising. This is the standard we are becoming accustomed to. Shocking. I still can’t get over the fact that none of the newspapers even said a word about the shocking performance from Taylor. Not one, meanwhile Twitter was exploding with anger at Adams’ “tackle”.
It’s quite simply why the club is quiet about this. Have you already forgotten the days when Wenger would take on refs? Who would want further back-lash from the PGMO if the club did come out and question them? I can only see that making things worse.
I agree with Yassin, it needs to be us supporters of the club who make our voice heard and stand up against this PGMO thuggery. The problem is a lot of people buy the media propaganda that Arsenal are soft and a bunch of whingers, while others hate Wenger so much that they would never admit that a ref has a bad game, because it is always Wenger’s fault.
Anti-Wenger people always claim they support the club and not Wenger. That’s fine, even though I don’t agree. But at least support the club by standing up against blatant injustice done to the club, as in this case from Taylor. That has nothing to do with Wenger per se, that’s just standing up for the club and the players. I really wish us supporters would start taking this seriously and do something to protest this PGMO thuggery.
@para, 1:28am,
You are correct, not only do refs apply the rules in their own way, for example, sometimes applying the law about interfering with the keeper and sometimes not, making it very frustrating for supporters, players and clubs, but it’s more than that.
In this match you could clearly see how the ref applied the law un-evenly to the two teams. He had one set of laws for Arsenal, and another for Stoke. How was that two-footed sliding ‘tackle’ on Sanchez not a yellow for the Stoke player? How can Crouch wrestle Chambers to the ground, elbow our players three times and only recieve one yellow? How can Adams strangle Sanchez and get away with it? Just compare that to the two yellows Chambers got. Can you honestly say the ref was applying the same set of laws to both teams?
Excellent observations on Mourinho, Tom.
“Fact is Henry (Winter) Mike Riley (is) incompetent (at best!) and overseeing declining reffing standards, also malicious to those who question him.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/IanRidley1/status/549706727567130624
So Mr. Ridley agrees with Untold’s assessment of the secret society. And he has more information then most.
Only buffoons with perhaps eighteen years experience of buffoonery could attempt and spectacularly fail to defend the obviously unfit and limping body known as the PGMO.
Riley OUT!!!
Declining referee standards? But didn’t loveable, cuddly Howard Webb tell us all is well in PGMO lala land?
Walter – please increase the width of the comments column in your table. It allows for easier reading /better presentation. Thanks.
Taylor – an insult to Crows. How the cheating bastard can live with himself – more importantly how can his family allow him to live with them is amazing.
I wont lose my temper remembering the incidents & the pathetic Stoke fan behaviour. Their manager is just as bad as them. He has no self respect allowing his players to disrespect the game in such ignorant acts. Pulis was bad this Mf’in Sparky Hughes is worse.
Please God don’t give me reason to swear after this year ends – it is not good for me or the environment.