As a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur I have become increasingly frustrated by the exceptionally poor refereeing witnessed in games involving my team, the vast majority of which do not go in our favour. I'm not talking about 50/50 decisions which just don't go our way. I'm talking about big calls, in big games, which drastically change the balance within the match, and which are due to exceptionally poor judgement.
We're talking about things of the calibre of Clattenburg-at-Old-Trafford (you know, Mendes goals that that are a few feet over the line, that sort of thing). But specifically, situations that have arisen this year - I could delve into a rich history with Webb et al but to be honest, this season is more than enough to go on. Yesterday's appaling decision regarding Juan Mata's "goal" is not the only example.
Emirates Marketing Project (PL, away). The country's best referee, Howard Webb, fails to spot Mario Balotelli kick Scott Parker in the head. Right in front of him. Remains on the pitch, scores the winning goal with the last kick of the match. Balotelli later banned by the FA for 3 matches.
Stoke (PL, away). Quite possibly the worst officiating of an entire match this season by Chris Foy. I'm sure I don't need to go in to detail but the highlights would be: Adebayor wrongly adjudged to be offside after scoring (goal disallowed); Crouch handballs to set up Stoke goal (unpunished), Shawcross handballs Kaboul shot on the line (unpunished, no penalty, no red card). Kaboul challenges Foy about this decision who books him for his disrespectful behaviour. A shame, as Kaboul did have a valid question, even if his manner does contravene the "Respect" agenda. Since I cannot be booked, I would like to enquire whether or not Foy has yet purchased his clearly, desperately needed spectacles?
These three would probably be amongst THE most widely acknowledged examples of diabolical refereeing seen this season. But on top of that, there have been frequent big decisions that have been made incorrectly against Spurs:
* Wolverhapton Wanderers (PL, home). Adebayor wrongly judged offside again. He has had three legitimate goals ruled out this season in this manner.
* Chelsea (PL, home). Ashley Cole deliberately handballs in assist to Chelsea goal.
* Manchester United (PL, home). Adebayor scores but penalised for handball. The rules are not clear on this, but the lack of consistency from referees is, when Spurs are in the reverse position the following week but the goal scored against stands.
Of course, the usual cliche in response to this is: "well, its all swings and roundabouts, it all evens out in the end". Which leads me to thinking about the big, blatantly poor decisions that have gone in favour of Spurs this season.
And I'm struggling.
The worst decision to have gone in our favour was the sending off of Cahill by Attwell (Bolton, PL). Possibly not as crucial a decision as above, since Spurs were comfortably leading against a team who appeared to be significantly behind in terms of form and performance at the time. But, it is fair to say that it is an example of an incredibily bad piece of refereeing. (It's interesting to note that despite the equally bad decisions listed previously, Attwell was quickly depatched off to the Football League. No news yet on whether Foy, Webb, Clattenburg or Atkinson are due to be demoted but we live in hope).
Others? Van Der Vaart's "handball" against Arsenal (PL, 2-1 win for Spurs). But you could hardly say it was a glaring error from the ref. Same for the Walker handball against Fulham.
So I'll gladly stick those three decisions against the hat-trick of Adebayor "offisde" goals on your swing and roundabout any day of the week.
There are others, decisions that have gone for/against us but I would say these you could largely put down to the margin of human error. I doubt if there is any other incident that you could raise from any other game involving Tottenham Hotspur from this season which rank with those listed above.
Of course, I am frustrated with the current predicament my team are in. Cruising in a Champions League spot, we have lost a lead to our biggest rivals and are struggling to secure a place in the top 5. We've just crashed out of the FA Cup in embarassing fashion, to another local rival. The majority of the responsibility of this lies with the players and management who, quite frankly, have let their fans down big time. However, the sub-standard refereeing has not helped.
I can afford to attend about one home game a month, and including travel, match tickets and a subscription to Sky Sports I spend a fair amount of my disposable income watching Spurs. I pay to watch them in the FA Premier League, and the FA Cup, I pay to see them compete within the rules and regulations set out by the FA. Respect, Kick Racism Out Of Football, the whole lot. And in return I expect to see a fair contest. It's the hypocrasy that grates right now - you ask for Respect from players, yet why is the Manchester United captain allowed to flap his gums in the face of the referee at every big decision that might be going against his team? Where is the Respect from another England International who is seen on national television racially abusing a fellow professional, while he is not sleeping with the wife of a teammate? And where is the Respect from referees to fans, who maintain a wall of silence against people like me, when his disgraceful decisions mean that I have wasted my time and money watching a blatantly unfair contest.
In my job, if I made the consistent level of bad, big decisions in a year highlighted above...... well, I'd have lost my job by now. And probably would be unemployable for years to come.
So, what would I expect you to do about it? In short, sort it out because I don't want to endure any of this rubbish any longer from Atkinson, Clattenburg, Foy, Webb. How? To be honest, that's your problem and I really really hope you are dealing with it. But here's a few ideas.
Firstly, these people need to be allowed - no, instructed - to justify some of their decisions after a game. In the same way that you have finally managed to get Sir Alex to talk to the BBC again (bravo by the way) then the refs should have some clear and public voice after the game. It doesnt need to be an interview, but I expect people like Foy to watch the entire game, replays and all, within 24 hours and respond on anything controversial. To be honest, big decisions should be turned around within the hour after the game. It would help a lot to be able to see that these people are not the arrogant, self-rightous individuals they are percieved to be.
Secondly, greater honesty and profesionalism needs to be fostered from players. This would come from a campaign designed to raise respect amongst players. Sounds a good idea? Please don't confuse this with the "Respect" agenda, I'm suggesting a campaign that would actually mean something. Rather than just words. What use is it that Lampard and Terry come out after a game to say they knew a referee made a mistake? Just highlights their own dishonesty. Why can't players do this in-game? And please, please, abolish this ridiculous rule that if a referee books a player then you are powerless to act upon it. You make the rules for crying out loud. Bad tackles, dives, elbows - these need to be punished hard.
But back to the referees. If these people are not good enough, they should be demoted. And what's wrong with getting more of the Football League officals into the Premiership? Better training, a higher turn-over, and you will undoubtedly start to see more young refs coming through at grass-roots level. Finally, when you do get examples of severely poor decision making, please keep those people away from my club for the rest of the season. You have your own assessments, and I'm quite sure that all of the points I made above are written in someones little black book somewhere in the FA. Why should we have to run the risk of another shocking error from the likes of Foy or Atkinson this season? They have robbed us once, keep them away and give us another of your trained referees.
Goal mouth officials is another route available to the richest league in the world and it is baffling why this is not being utilised. I recall one instance in a Europa League match at White Hart Lane this winter when initially it appeared that Spurs were on the end of a bad decision. However, TV replays later showed that a goal-line offical made a brave, firm and crucial call. It was superb officiating, and a resource which can only help the referee. Of course, that assumes that the lead official is willing to consult his assistants, which is not always the case in the Premier League.