how many referees?

[minnieclaret]

Were on Taylors stag do?
The standard across the board this weekend has been abysmal.
The one law they have all forgotten, in every match I've watched, is the shove in the back.
This is not just a sulk about Llorentes winner. There have been so many more.

[bfccrazy]

At the start of the season there was a huge clamp down on shirt pulling and defenders wrestling players down in the box at corners/freekicks.

I remember Simpson at Leicester whinging that it would affect their game and was not happy about not being allowed to cheat anymore.

Why does it seem like after a short stint of being very stringent on those fouls....... Normal service has resumed and it's being allowed in general again.

[Sidney1st]

Probably because the PL don't want the current champions relegated, they've had a word with the refs and asked them to let Leicester resume normal service.

[Barry_Chuckle]

The linesman at Stadium of Light was there judging by his decision to flag Silver offside when he just scored

[Paul Waine]

At the start of the season there was a huge clamp down on shirt pulling and defenders wrestling players down in the box at corners/freekicks.

I remember Simpson at Leicester whinging that it would affect their game and was not happy about not being allowed to cheat anymore.

Why does it seem like after a short stint of being very stringent on those fouls....... Normal service has resumed and it's being allowed in general again.

Might have something to do with response to Taylor's award of penalty when Vokes handled. Make a wrong decision it's "one of the worst refereeing decisions of the season." Ignore a push in the back, "that's OK."

[dsr]

The linesman at Stadium of Light was there judging by his decision to flag Silver offside when he just scored

A man so close in front of goal who is trying to get to the ball, is offside. Even if he doesn't get there.

[Ashingtonclaret46]

A man so close in front of goal who is trying to get to the ball, is offside. Even if he doesn't get there.

Oh no he isn't! The AR got the call wrong by giving offside when Sillva was not offside and the goal should have stood.
This was similar to the goal which Southampton had disallowed in the EFL Cup Final last week --that was another wrong call.

[minnieclaret]

Oh no he isn't! The AR got the call wrong by giving offside when Sillva was not offside and the goal should have stood.
This was similar to the goal which Southampton had disallowed in the EFL Cup Final last week --that was another wrong call.

Didn't catch the names but the offside player went to challenge the defender. Thereby making himself offside. Whoever put the ball in the net was not offside. IMO.

[Ashingtonclaret46]

It seems that the decision was made against Sterling who is alleged to have nudged Oviedo, in which case the decision is correct because Sterling was in an offside position. I must admit that I didn't see that offence unless it happened before Sterling was in an offside position.

[Hipper]

Brighton got a penalty against Newcastle as a result of pushing and holding at a corner. Of course there were complaints that 'they're not usually given' and it being 'harsh'.

The problem is the advantage is very much with the attackers in these situations. They just risk conceding a free kick whereas defenders concede a penalty.

Nudges in the back in general play are quite difficult to decide on as players go down if a feather hits them. They also manoeuvre themselves into positions to become a victim, e.g. the Defoe penalty incident at Sunderland in the Cup. It's only in slow motion that you can see players going down before they are touched.

I find it quite remarkable how many decisions referees and their assistants get right considering the pace of the game and all the deceptions going on!