The problem at first glance does appear to be localised to Brighton. I can`t honestly remember the last Brighton game that was played in its entirety without a controversial decision. To refresh your memory here are A few recent examples; The referee giving a penalty and then changing his mind at Tranmere or only a booking for the Oldham Centre half`s assault on Ashley Barnes when the assistant referee was two yards away. And then Saturday, Michael Symes` kick at Casper Ankergren breaking our great Danes Nose or the same culprit`s wild elbow to Tommy Elphicks place, the referee was ten yards away on both occasions and only the honesty and refusal of the two Brighton players to perform amateur dramatics saved the forward from an early dismissal. Regardless of the lack of rolling about and behaving like an extra on The Gladiator they were both instant red cards and hopefully Symes will see justice due to the presence of the Sky Sports cameras.
However the referee and ONE of his assistants was not done yet (I say one because the lino officiating the touch line adjacent to the South Stand made four tough yet correct offside calls against the Albion frontline) It`s the 89th minute and a long ball drops on the edge of the box contestant by Elphick and Steve Fletcher, both players have their arms up and the ref who is no more than ten yards away gives the free kick to Bournemouth for hand ball, it`s a tough call but someone has to make it. Then, the linesman`s flag goes up fans, commentators and outfield players assume is to reverse the decision and award Brighton the free kick. Not quite the linesman who was hideously out of position awards a penalty, Bournemouth score (decent finish to be fair) and the game finishes a one all draw.
As stated earlier these injustices happen on a weekly basis, phantom goals, dodgy penalty decisions, and refs who are convinced that the crowd has paid their admission money to watch them for ninety minutes. I would argue that the old saying “it balances itself out over a season” is founded upon the very idea that decisions are wrong regularly and as the game in the professional divisions of England flourishes the standard of officials and disciplinary procedures appear to have been left behind. A good referee is the one you don`t notice, that doesn`t happen regularly, granted they need much more help from technology and a drastic acceptance of that by the sport`s governing bodies. However sheer common sense, better positioning, humility and a more pragmatic approach would serve some officials well and would be a giant step in the right direction.
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