Terrible decision makes the headlines again. What would you do about Mr. Styles?

Lots of great football to write about today but once again the subject of referees is right up at the top of the agenda. At Old Trafford yesterday afternoon, Bolton were fighting a spirited rearguard action against Manchester United until on the hour, they were gifted a goal by a shocking refereeing decision.

Jay Lloyd Samuel put in a perfectly timed challenge to take the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo as he ran into the penalty area. It was a fine challenge and one that nobody in the ground thought was anything other than a really good tackle.

Refused to explain

The referee, Rob Styles, was perfectly positioned only some four or five yards away with an unobstructed view. How he thought that the tackle was a foul and warranted the award of a penalty only he will ever know. He was given the opportunity to explain his decision after the game but he refused all interviews.

Last season Rob Styles was demoted to the lower leagues for a week on two occasions for giving terrible penalty decisions. No doubt he faces a trip to Macclesfield or somewhere similar next week.

Horrified

Whilst on the subject of referees, I was also horrified to see on television last night that the fourth official at one of the Premier League games yesterday was none other than Stuart Attwell, the man who gave one of the worst decisions in the history of the game at Watford last week.

There is a real problem with the way referees are dealt with in relation to mistakes that they make. The respect agenda is largely directed towards the eradication of abuse of referees and is a worthy campaign. For the campaign to have any success then the referees themselves must ensure that their own house is in order.

What message does it send to fans, managers and players when the referee who awarded a goal in a Championship match when the ball didn’t even go between the posts, is then officiating at a Premier League game the next weekend. Meanwhile, the manager who was sent to the stands for pointing out the referees mistake will probably receive a fine and a touchline ban.

Justice

I agree that the manager shouldn’t have done what he did, but where is the justice for the referee?

Then we come to Rob Styles. Twice disciplined last season for awarding ridiculous penalties. Now he’s done it again. Surely it is time to say enough is enough. There is a pretty clear pattern emerging here. Rob Styles seems to be unaware of the rules of the game!

What will they do with Rob Styles. Punish him by making him referee a Championship game next week? Tell him to take more care in awarding penalties? I don’t know what they will do, but whatever it is it won’t be enough!

Incompetent

In most professions you don’t get three serious warnings for being incompetent and then continue at the highest level afterwards, but that is what is likely to happen here.

So, after a feast of football yesterday it was two referees who compelled me to write. Until these sort of matters are sorted out it will be difficult to achieve what the respect agenda is trying to achieve. Mr. Attwell should be facing some sort of disciplinary charge and Mr. Styles, well, what would you do with Mr. Styles? He certainly shouldn’t be refereeing at the top level in my opinion.

Off-colour Arsenal

The football in yesterday’s Premier League was exceptional. The game at The Emirates is the one that everyone is talking about, quite rightly. Fantastic performance by Hull who rode their luck a little, defended well and took full advantage of a slightly off-colour Arsenal side.

Special mentions as well for West Brom who won at Middlesbrough and Chelsea who were their usual efficient and effective selves at Stoke. Liverpool came out on top in the Mersey derby and poor old Newcastle lost at home again.

Today sees Tottenham fighting to restore some pride in a game at Portsmouth who have conceded ten goals in their last two games.

Samba football

Manchester City make the short trip to Wigan, where their new ‘samba’ football will be given a stern test.

After those games today I’ll have a look at who’s hot and who’s not in our regular Monday feature on this site, but whatever happens, I think you can be pretty sure that Rob Styles won’t be featuring in the ‘hot’ section!