Well done ref, another game ruined!

OK, the rules are the rules and if the last man commits a foul that denies a goal scoring opportunity, then he should be shown a red card.

Naïve

After their opening day 4-0 win at Wigan, Blackpool went to the Emirates to take on an Arsenal side that on paper, should score six past them, with a certain amount of naïve confidence.

In the game Blackpool started pretty well but it was no surprise when Arsenal took the lead in the twelfth minute. They then went straight back at Arsenal and had a good chance to equalise which was wasted. Arsenal then piled forward but Blackpool defended with spirit and passion and held them out.

Dismay

Then, just after the half hour, Chamakh was put through and Blackpool’s Ian Evatt brought him down. The foul was outside the box but referee Mike Jones, much to the dismay of all connected with Blackpool, decided to award a penalty and then, much to the even greater dismay of all connected with Blackpool, show the tangerines defender a red card.

That was it. Game over. That was really harsh on a Blackpool side who went on to lose 6-0.

Arsene Wenger didn’t think it was a penalty but felt the red card was inevitable,

“I thought the Evatt challenge was outside the box but it was difficult to see from the bench and I will have to look at it again. The decision is harsh but referee has no choice once gives penalty for denying a goalscoring chance.”

Decision

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway was less understanding about the referee’s decision,

“We were doing OK until the referee deemed Ian’s challenge to be a sending off. I thought it was a penalty at best but then to send him off, ridiculous, it absolutely ruined game as spectacle. But we’d probably have been beaten anyway. Some of the football Arsenal played was world class and they could have scored more. After the red card it was then damage limitation and they damaged us all the way to the end.”

Holloway is right. Arsenal played some great stuff and would almost certainly have beaten an eleven man Blackpool comfortably. Despite that, it surely shouldn’t be down to referees to end a Premier League game as a spectacle.

Fair

If he and the assistant thought the foul was in the box, then despite not quite understanding how they could have, it was a fair penalty. Once that is given, isn’t that punishment enough? The sending-off was ridiculous and it did ruin the game.

It is time, once and for all, to make the players the most important part of Premier League football and to bring in some referees who are happy to give decisions, stay out of the spotlight and stop having such a dramatic say in the result of games.

Ruin

Mike Jones probably feels that he had a good game, made a correct decision and took the right action. What he actually did was ruin the game. Well done ref!