StanSP Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 The hot topic right now. What strikes me as interesting is Keith Stroud is from Hampshire but has refereed Southampton & Bournemouth games. Jon Moss is from Sunderland and has done a Newcastle game. Anthony Taylor is from Manchester (apparently lives 2 mins away from Old Trafford and has done numerous Man City/Utd games. And perhaps worst of all, Michael Oliver has refereed a Norwich game despite being a Newcastle fan and the 2 teams being in direct relegation rivalry together. The fallout over referee Jon Moss' performance in Leicester's 2-2 draw against West Ham took attention away from another officiating talking point. Last week, Leicester fan Kevin Friend's removal from taking charge of title rivals Tottenham's game at Stoke had already sparked debate. Instead he will be in the middle of Manchester City's trip to Newcastle on Tuesday night. But how does a referee's home town, or who they support, affect which games they are actually allowed to officiate? Do referees have to say who they support? Yes. And referees will not get appointed to the clubs they support. "At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited," said Keith Hackett, the former head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organisation that makes refereeing appointments for Premier League games. "They complete a form - the sort of things include who they support, the history of if they've played the game and, with the addresses you know where they are residing. "That gives you a picture that comes into use when you're appointing. It's about ensuring, for example, you wouldn't appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team." BBC Sport has not seen an official record of referee's allegiances, one of several factors considered when officials are selected for matches. Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey added: "I was never able to referee Bolton because I lived there. If you lived in Leeds, you weren't going to referee Leeds United. " What is the official line? PGMOL says the process behind referee selection is all about avoiding "unnecessary extra external pressure and scrutiny on referees" in what is an "already a high pressure and demanding job". It also says that where a referee lives is not a factor when referee appointments are considered. So what does happen when you referee your team? Halsey, a QPR fan, said he refereed his own team twice, before rules over announcing your allegiance came in. "I lived 35 miles away from Loftus Road," he said. "I refereed one win and one loss and I thought 'I can't do this again'. I never told them initially because it was back in the 1990s and things like that were only just starting to happen. "I had to declare it because I felt like celebrating when they won. But once you've crossed the white line you're the ref and you always remained professional." Sheffield-born Hackett added: "I'm a Sheffield Wednesday fan. The only time I refereed them against Sheffield United was United's centenary game at Bramall Lane. "I sent off Carlton Palmer." Are there inconsistencies? Both Hackett and Halsey argue there are inconsistencies. Halsey has questioned why Friend was removed from refereeing a game involving Leicester's title rivals, while Michael Oliver, a Newcastle fan, was allowed to officiate in a game involving the Magpies' fellow relegation candidates Norwich City, when they lost to Crystal Palace last week. "I just think they're making a rod for their own back," said Halsey. And Hackett has pointed towards inconsistencies around refereeing appointments when it comes to geography. Mike Dean, a Tranmere fan, was removed from refereeing the 2006 FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham because he lived in the Wirral - the same area as Liverpool Up until that point he had officiated one Liverpool game and two Everton games, but has not overseen either side since, despite moving to north Wales. Meanwhile, Anthony Taylor, an Altrincham fan who lives in the Greater Manchester borough of Trafford, is allowed to officiate matches involving Manchester City and Manchester United. "If you're an Everton fan coming up to the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United and you look at where Anthony Taylor lives, you suddenly go 'wow'," said Hackett. The PGMOL says it makes appointments on a "case by case basis". Halsey and Hackett said they were not questioning the integrity of any referee, but questioned the consistency of the appointment process.
Matt Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Stuart Attwell, of "phantom goal" fame, I call it fame because they do like abit of central attention, "all eyes on me", fame. From Nuneaton, I believe he's a Coventry fan, he's reffed Leicester games before.
EastAnglianFox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Just shows how social media can get into people's heads. If twitter was anything to go by then John Moss was 100% a Tottenham lad!
Lloydwasmylife Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Interesting to see how few referees seem to be glory supporters.
foxile5 Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Kevin Friend supports Bristol and has officiated 7 Bristol games?!
Jimothy Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Kevin Friend is not a Leicester fan. He lives in the county and has attended games with friends, the same many of us will have done whilst living in or visiting other cities.
Soar Fox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Tweet from Henry Winter "Six of PL's leading refs on training week with Uefa. Top two, Clattenburg/Atkinson, told they couldn't ref last weekend to keep them fresh" So at the business end of the season with important games the "2 best" referees are resting ready for a uefa training course. Kevin Friend is not a Leicester fan. He lives in the county and has attended games with friends, the same many of us will have done whilst living in or visiting other cities. When Leicester have played Bristol City down here he has always gone in the away end.
Matt Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Kevin Friend supports Bristol and has officiated 7 Bristol games?! "Fuck it, it's only a Championship game" is probably the opinion. I mentioned it this morning when someone said Moss should be demoted, why should clubs in lower leagues suffer? They're games are just important to them as top Premiership games are to them, it doesn't matter, if the referee is poor they shouldn't be reffing, clubs in lower league shouldn't suffer.
Matt Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Tweet from Henry Winter "Six of PL's leading refs on training week with Uefa. Top two, Clattenburg/Atkinson, told they couldn't ref last weekend to keep them fresh" So at the business end of the season with important games the "2 best" referees are resting ready for a uefa training course. When Leicester have played Bristol City down here he has always gone in the away end. I heard this when listening to Talksport yesterday, I was going to post about it last night, but I wasn't sure what the scenario was and couldn't find anything to back it up but glad you've posted it and jogged my memory, really is a joke. If say Chelsea and Arsenal were fighting for the title and it was Chelsea v Arsenal I bet those "2 best referees" would have been made available.
Jimothy Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 When Leicester have played Bristol City down here he has always gone in the away end. By down here I guess you mean Bristol? He's probably gone with the same Leicester supporting mates he's gone to home games with. I'm not saying he won't have, over time, grew an affection for the club, but to say he's a fan would be bending the truth.
Soar Fox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 By down here I guess you mean Bristol? He's probably gone with the same Leicester supporting mates he's gone to home games with. I'm not saying he won't have, over time, grew an affection for the club, but to say he's a fan would be bending the truth. Apologies I didn't word that the best. When Bristol City have played at the King power he has always gone in the away end with the Bristol fans.
sphericalfox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 By down here I guess you mean Bristol? He's probably gone with the same Leicester supporting mates he's gone to home games with. I'm not saying he won't have, over time, grew an affection for the club, but to say he's a fan would be bending the truth. Everyone knows referees don't have mates!
ousefox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 How unlucky are Sunderland and Newcastle not getting either of the best refs in the country. Oliver and Clattenburg are the only refs I really trust.
RowlattsFox Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 Anthony Taylor has reffed a lot of Manchester games considering he's from Manchester. Of course he only supports altrincham.
biggs Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 I guess we upset Moss the week before when we beat Sunderland I'll show them in their title race
Izzy Posted 19 April 2016 Posted 19 April 2016 John Moss played the game? Jesus wept. Apparently he was on the books at Millwall and Sunderland as a youth, but let go by both on accounts of being a fat cvnt
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