Match Day Thread WATFORD v NEWCASTLE

Agreed very unsettling........

 

I'm not sure about the card happy bit - that tackle against Sarr in the first couple of minutes warranted a card but the ref was too gutless to produce one - meaning Sarr had a pretty torrid time for the rest of the game as the Newcastle players took the ref's inaction to mean open season on him. He wasn't biased either way though - we escaped some that he should have awarded. Kucka elbowing their player in throat should at least have brought a yellow - as should Josh King's 'goal' celebrations when he took his shirt off. Then there was the Newcastle player who got angry when a free kick was awarded against him, and he reacted by booting the ball away. I'm pretty sure that is a bookable offence - and in his case it would have been a second yellow.

I'd like to think that it will be a while before the ref is invited back - but the memory of Stuart Atwell still lingers...

 

Rob Styles definitely worse imho. Every bit as bad as yesterday.

 

I was thinking about the shirt celebration. I don't know what the wording of the rule is but if it is specifically about celebrating a goal then he couldn't be booked because it wasn't a goal.

I don't remember this ref as being particularly bad when he was in charge of our Championship games. Mind you, I have removed the home defeat against QPR from my memory.

 

Probably shows with VAR around you shouldn’t get so excited unfortunately.

Was 3 of them offside too apparently so not sure what took so long to make the decision?

Maybe sums up how the game was officiated.

 

Am pretty sure that when the rule was introduced there were two reasons mentioned.

1. It was specifically to discourage time wasting - so it may be moot whether the goal stood or not, time was still wasted. Having said that, maybe the VAR should be yellow carded at times too.

2. One that may annoy people more - religious grounds. Taking your shirt off, thereby forcing people to view your naked torso is apparently offensive for followers of Islam.

Best keep number 2 quiet - I can just imagine the reaction in certain circles.

 

Think it's more about messages underneath the shirt that they brought the rule in for before.

 

Does it really matter why the rule was brought in? Surely its the exact wording of the rule itself that matters.

 

In which case, those who take their shirts off without revealing a message underneath surely shouldn't be booked?

 

Another point is never a bad thing on reflection.

We haven't kept a clean sheet in the league yet though.

 

Too late now
Muslims ought to understand that they do not have the right not to be offended. No one does.

 

I wondered if it was to prevent time wasting too when celebrating?

Poor King put a lot of effort into that celebration only to see it ruled out !

 

Given that this statement about Gillett was made well after the game, someone obviously didn't watch it...

https://www.footballinsider247.com/watford-and-newcastle-make-history-amid-22m-hackett-reveal/

 

Sounds more like a general interview about needing overseas refs in this league rather than about his performance on Saturday.

But yes being good in the A league doesn’t mean you can control a hotly contested and highly charged Premier league game easily .

The main issue is probably there are a lot of older refs kept on as younger ones drop out of the game due to abuse or other reasons .

 

I think the better referees tend to come from Europe - perhaps the government could double up and give HGV drivers from the EU qualified referee status too? Two birds with one stone.

I suppose it would have been counterproductive to have mentioned Gillet's performance in that article...

 

I watched the highlights before knowing the result, when he scored I knew it'd go to VAR, he looked off. Surprised he went so wild as did many fans when it was obviously off.

 

3 of them apparently!

Not sure why it took so long to disallow?

As we saw in the Euros.

Seemed to be in much more control , fitter and respected more .

 

From the other end it was impossible to tell. And in fact it looked perfectly reasonable. Then the ref pointed for a goal , hence greater celebrations, before remembering what he had been told. ( Perhaps, being Australian he got his North & South mixed up).
Actually, King was at fault, since he could see across the defence. But in a split second...

 

I would have loved to see the expressions on the wooden tops faces if the goal had stood

 

Sorry to go back over old ground a bit but are people on Twitter being harsh on Foster saying the reason we didn’t win was down to him ?

I would have thought the reason we didn’t lose was very much down to him as well !

The goal was probably a bit soft but he made up for any error with some key saves later on .