A refereeing conspiracy?

[Inverurie Ram]

Anyone made the Derby County Refereeing Decisions Season 2021/22 You Tube video yet?

I suggest if anyone does, that they use the Jaws soundtrack to highlight all of these EFL sharks!

 

[Gritstone Ram]

Linesman flagged for off side at the end when the ball came off a Coventry player totally useless.

[DavesaRam]

Oh yes. I forgot in my match comments that towards the end of the match Luke Plange was wrestled to the ground, the ref blew for the foul and indicated that the free kick was for Derby, but Coventry carried on playing and he did absolutely nothing about it!

Edited March 20, 2022 by DavesaRam

[plymouthram]

The standard of refereeing is bad, been bad for 3 or 4 years now. But when it comes against Derby, I feel they have an issue of trying to upstage Wayne who is a big name in football and these incompetent officials seem to want the man to fail.

[uttoxram75]

2 hours ago, plymouthram said:

The standard of refereeing is bad, been bad for 3 or 4 years now. But when it comes against Derby, I feel they have an issue of trying to upstage Wayne who is a big name in football and these incompetent officials seem to want the man to fail.

I said a year ago that the refs would have been told not to be influenced by Wayne Rooney and this would in fact work the other way, ie, no 50/50s going our way because of the refs mindset.

[DavesaRam]

On 14/03/2022 at 18:40, DavesaRam said:

Well I had hoped that things had changed since Wayne had his words about the officials, especially with the almost reasonable refereeing performance against Barnsley. But all to no avail. So I have sent a couple of emails off to Rick Parry, as follows:

Dear Rick

Can I start by thanking you for your replies to Derby County supporters who have emailed you in recent weeks. This is not typical of large organisations and authorities, so thank you.

I am concerned because of the way that the whole scenario between Derby County and the EFL has progressed, or not progressed, and because of the damage this is doing, not only to the club, but also to the supporters, the local area, to the Football league and to the EFL yourselves, because of how this saga has been carried out, and how Derby County have, and are being treated. However, accusations that the EFL are seeking to destroy the football club are completely unfounded, as evidenced by your continuing flexibility with various deadlines being extended. Again, thank you for that. Having said that, it is clear that there is still a desire to exact further punishment on the club, including the desire to see the club relegated.

That there are major questions about it all is not in dispute, and the issues of EFL rules and processes, the rules of accountancy and the rule of law have all been well represented in the emails I have referred to. So instead of these areas, I am approaching this from a different angle. It is a fairly obvious one, that of the performance of the match officials. Now before you reach for the delete key, please stay with this for a while. It might be an eye opener.

Supporters have always moaned about the man in black for as long as I’ve followed football, and most think that their club is singled out for special attention. This has over the years reflected the fact the job of match officials is a difficult one, and one which has become harder as time has gone, given the propensity of players, coaches, managers and clubs to want to gain an advantage by getting decisions in their favour. Actually, a referee making the odd mistake here and there is inevitable. But when those same questionable decisions are happening several times in a match, and in match after match after match, then questions have to be asked. Sadly, that has been what has been happening in matches involving Derby County for nearly two years, ever since the FFP saga has been running. I could visit all the matches over this time, but will limit it to the last couple of months.

So: Cardiff v Derby County – there were a number of issues, but I will pick out just 3: Cardiff were on a dangerous looking counter-attack, and were heading towards the Derby penalty area at pace. Curtis Davis ran towards the striker to put in a challenge, but before he got there, he was completely flattened by Uchu Ikpeazu, who was nowhere near the ball, and nowhere near the striker. It was a blatant take-out of a defender to allow his team mate to go free. It happened right in front of the referee, who did absolutely nothing, not even a free-kick. It was a clear yellow-card offence. Why the reticence, given the speed at which red cards were brought out against Ravel Morrison and Richard Stearman in previous games? Then Festy Ebosele was getting up from a challenge on the edge of the Cardiff penalty area when he was caught with the slightest of touches and down he went, and the ball broke free for a Cardiff attack. It was only a slight contact, but often a full-on trip isn’t necessary. If Ebosele hadn’t been brought own, then the attack leading to the goal wouldn’t have happened. And the goal – it was that man Ikpeazu again, grappling with Curtis Davis, again. They both had hold of each other’s shirts, but Curtis let go given the risk of a penalty shout. The amount of free-for-all wrestling in the penalty area during matches has long been a universal problem, but it is another issue to be dealt with at another time, but was a contributory factor here. As the ball came across, Ikpeazu literally threw Davis to the ground so he could attack the ball and score. A clear foul, with the ref again in full view. And yes, the referee’s decision did affect the result.

Luton Town v Derby County. Part way through the second half Kristian Beilik fell to the floor having been hit in the face. He got up and remonstrated with the Luton player Hyndman, and was then lectured by the referee as though Beilik had committed the major offence. Hyndman gestured as if he had moved his arm backwards to hold Beilik away from him, to prevent a tackle. But forgot to indicate that he moved his arm backwards at speed and at head height. As such it was a red card offence. Again, nothing given, apart from effectively his official blessing for “anything goes”. Because Hyndman hit Beilik in the head again a few moments later, this time with a clout across the back of his head. Again, nothing given. In the same match, Cashin ended up with a bloody nose, which may have happened entirely accidentally, but then again, it might not. Beilik’s protests at being smacked in the head was as a direct result of what happened in the match at Middlesborough, and maybe the match against Peterborough as well – more on those in a moment.

Peterborough v Derby County.

A two-footed lunge by Coulson on Ebosele was a straight red offence, but the ref played advantage, booking Coulson when play stopped. Having played the advantage, he could only give a yellow card because he had let play continue. Coulson getting a second yellow moments later for fouling the same player was a touch ironic. In addition, Peterborough were using time-wasting tactics almost from the kick-off, with the ref eventually giving a yellow card for it in the second half, yet ironically we ended up with more Derby County players being booked for time wasting than Peterborough players, even though our alleged time-wasting was all after the 93rd minute. And even one of those bookings was dubious, because Nathan Byrne’s “kicking the ball away” happened before the whistle was blown.

I have no complaints about the red card given to Tom Lawrence, because his reckless challenge was very dangerous. He shouldn’t have taken the law into his own hands. But then again, he shouldn’t have had to. Moments before he was smashed in the face by the player he then lunged at. It happened right in front of the referee and his assistant, yet, as always seems to be the case, absolutely nothing was done about it. Given what had happened in the match against Middlesbrough, Tom obviously thought that full-blooded punches to the faces of Derby County players are perfectly acceptable to match officials. As I said, he shouldn’t have effected his own justice, but as I have also said, he shouldn’t have to. That is what match officials are supposed to be for.

Derby County v Millwall.

There isn’t much to comment on in this one, apart from the issue of time wasting. Millwall did plenty of that, especially after going ahead so early in the match – although it was from a free-kick which should have been awarded to Derby. But these things happen. But the time-wasting became absolutely blatant towards the end of the match, with Millwall taking all week to take throw during time added on. So, Ryan Allsopp ran across to remonstrate about the blatant cheating, only to get booked for it – how ridiculous. So, a man who got booked for a single instance of time-wasting during time added on in the previous match, against a team who had been time wasting all match now gets booked for asking the ref why he isn’t stopping Millwall from blatantly wasting time. And you say there isn’t an agenda?

Middlesbrough v Derby County.

Given all the off-the-pitch activities going on between the two clubs, the EFL rightly identified that this could be a rather feisty match, and called in Mike Dean from the Premier League to oversee affairs. Which was a very wise move, apart from the fact that he didn’t deal with any of the feist.

Very early on Crooks assaulted Kristian Beilik with a forearm smash to the face, right in front of Mike Dean, who did what all referees seem to do in these situations, which was absolutely nothing. This was yet another red card offence, in full view of the man in the middle, yet there wasn’t even a free-kick, let alone the red card which should have been given. There should be scope for a retrospective red card, but I hold out no hope of that happening, because they never do where there has been an offence against a Derby player. And this issue goes back for more than the two years I have highlighted. But let’s not pursue that one.

A short while later Max Bird is bursting clear with the ball and would have had a clear run on goal, but he was felled by a two-footed, in-the-air challenge – by the same player. This was a clear red card offence for two reasons – it was a two-footed, out of control challenge, and it prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity. So what did we get? A yellow card! Oh, and a free-kick. Thank you, Mike, how generous!

Then, towards the end of the half Crooks went in late on Max Bird again, well after the ball had gone. A clear yellow card. Yet again, nothing given. So, Crooks could, and should have been sent off on three separate occasions, but remains on the pitch. But then, here comes the killer issue: Crooks is still on the pitch to score the decisive goal at the end of the half. At 1 – 2, Derby County were very much still in the game, but that 3rd goal killed any hope off. Refereeing official’s decisions not affecting matches? I don’t think so.

Derby County v Birmingham City.

In this match Kamil Joswiack’s season was put in jeopardy by three horrendous tackles in the first half. The first two were yellow card challenges, and the 3rd was a two-footed challenge. IE a straight red. Yet, as ever, absolutely nothing was given for any of the offences. Not even a single free kick. That third foul was, yet again, in full view of the referee. Joswiack need extensive treatment for that last foul, and didn’t come out for the second half, and is still undergoing treatment some 5 weeks later. A picture may help, ironically from a Birmingham City Mail article looking at Birmingham City FC’s prospects. The newspaper is totally unaware of what the picture shows.

 

 

 

It is notable that the referee for the Derby County versus Barnsley match put in a very creditable performance, but cynic’s might link that to Wayne Rooney going public with his criticism of match officials after the previous match. It is also surprising that he wasn’t punished for publicly speaking about against the powers that be. But he does have a point.

These are details from just the last 6 matches, but they continue a pattern which has typified Derby County matches for the last couple of years. I know you are likely to simply trot out the standard response that the EFL does not have an agenda against Derby County, but that is like Hitler turning up in Poland saying that he isn’t about to start a war. It might be worth pointing out that in his autobiography, Graham Halsey actually stated that the Premiership used to lean on match officials to favour the big teams, and to keep the big-name players on the pitch. So it is not as though there aren’t any agendas being carried out.

The evidence from just this aspect of match officiating alone is overwhelming, and it is clearly time that Derby County started being treated fairly and even-handedly.

Yours faithfully

David Ellis

Hi Rick

Further to my email this weekend, I have to admit I was wrong about Wayne Rooney going public in his criticism of the performance of match officials. I thought with the officiating of the match against Barnsley that things had changed, but they haven't. I am almost expecting the aforementioned referee to be reprimanded for being so even-handed.

So instead of going into the Bournemouth versus Derby County match in hope of a good result, my heart sank when I saw who had been appointed as the referee. All hope was dashed, and it was only a matter of time before those dashed hopes were fulfilled.

There are two talking points. Firstly the penalty claim. Yes. Yet another stonewall penalty not given to Derby County. Have a look: 

Two pictures taken moments apart. What is not a penalty about that?

 

Yes, some people say that the ball has gone/he has lost control of the ball. But that is not the issue. He was fouled in the penalty area. As clear as clear can be. And remember, as per my previous email, this is not an isolated incident, just one of a huge number of contentious decisions going against Derby County.

Then the first goal. The throw in was taken from 15 - 20 yards from where it had gone out of play, yet the referee saw nothing wrong with that. He didn't think that it gave Bournemouth a distinct advantage. Yes, Derby should have defended the resulting action better, but they shouldn't have to. The referee should have handled the issue better.

So two contentious decisions which decided the match. If Derby had been given the penalty which they should have had, and the throw in taken from the correct position, the score could have been completely different. Which is probably why things happened the way they did.

To make matters worse, all the reports were that Barnsley, one of our relegation rivals, were given a soft penalty on Saturday. How convenient. But when you watch the action from that match, you see quite clearly that it isn't a penalty at all. The two players were tussling for the ball when the Barnsley player suddenly threw his feet forwards and fell down. For his feet to have moved like that, and for him to fall in a semi-sitting position would have required his feet to have been taken from him by an incredibly fast sweep of the leg by the defender. BUT there was no physical contact of feet or legs. The referee should have given a free-kick to Stoke City, and booked the Barnsley player for simulation.

Rick - you could keep getting these emails from me probably every match from now to the end of the season, because I am sure that there is a wealth of more material just waiting to be carried out. I shall not be doing that, because there is already way more evidence than is needed.

I ask you once again to call off this vendetta, and let Derby County's future be decided fairly on the pitch, not off the pitch in shady meetings.

Yours faithfully

Dave Ellis.

Good News! Well I have actually had a response. And there the good news ends.

It is actually a bit of a Filing Cabinet response. It is one of RPs oppo's who has emailed me, and he refers to a load of principles and protocols which the EFL use in order to monitor referee performance. And I am supposed to go away happy that although an opposition defender has hypothetically just taken Luke Plange's legs off with a chainsaw, the referee didn't fully see it, and the 4th official was further away, therefore all rules were followed, so everything is OK.

On the surface the email would seem to answer my complaints. Only it doesn't. All it does is tell us that these principles exist - hence the "Filing Cabinet Rsponse" reference. What it doesn't do is tell us that these protocols are actually followed. For example, the match officials are marked by several interested parties after the match, including the two club managers. How much notice do they take of those two reports? Anyway, here is his email for delectation: 

Hello David

 

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

The EFL receives numerous queries and complaints regarding individual officials’ decisions and their overall performances. While we are not always able to comment on specific incidents, we can advise that the performances of all officials are constantly monitored by way of club and match observer reports, match videos and footage received by the referees’ coaches. Matches are analysed by the Referees' Manager, a referees’ coach and the referee, and these assessments can have an impact on future appointments.

 

It is important to note that all referees at professional level are trained to a high standard and within that training are measures to ensure all referees perform with integrity. All officials at SG1, SG2 and within the National list have undergone many years training and development to reach these levels, at all times being subject to PGMOL requirements relating to integrity and transparency. Of course, in addition to match by match assessment and feedback from referee coaches, they are also subject to review by Club managers who submit a report on their performances. All of this data helps to produce a ‘merit list’ of match officials on which appointments, retention or reclassification are based.

 

Clubs are encouraged to provide constructive feedback on match officials and dialogue is encouraged with PGMOL. The EFL Referees’ Manager works with his group in a bid to constantly improve standards and support the development of match officials and Select Group 2 officials are subject to a range of training measures to encourage continuous development and improvement.

 

Thank you for contacting the EFL.

 

Kind Regards

 

Danny

Supporter Services Department

EFL

[uttoxram75]

3 hours ago, DavesaRam said:

Good News! Well I have actually had a response. And there the good news ends.

It is actually a bit of a Filing Cabinet response. It is one of RPs oppo's who has emailed me, and he refers to a load of principles and protocols which the EFL use in order to monitor referee performance. And I am supposed to go away happy that although an opposition defender has hypothetically just taken Luke Plange's legs off with a chainsaw, the referee didn't fully see it, and the 4th official was further away, therefore all rules were followed, so everything is OK.

On the surface the email would seem to answer my complaints. Only it doesn't. All it does is tell us that these principles exist - hence the "Filing Cabinet Rsponse" reference. What it doesn't do is tell us that these protocols are actually followed. For example, the match officials are marked by several interested parties after the match, including the two club managers. How much notice do they take of those two reports? Anyway, here is his email for delectation: 

Hello David

 

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

The EFL receives numerous queries and complaints regarding individual officials’ decisions and their overall performances. While we are not always able to comment on specific incidents, we can advise that the performances of all officials are constantly monitored by way of club and match observer reports, match videos and footage received by the referees’ coaches. Matches are analysed by the Referees' Manager, a referees’ coach and the referee, and these assessments can have an impact on future appointments.

 

It is important to note that all referees at professional level are trained to a high standard and within that training are measures to ensure all referees perform with integrity. All officials at SG1, SG2 and within the National list have undergone many years training and development to reach these levels, at all times being subject to PGMOL requirements relating to integrity and transparency. Of course, in addition to match by match assessment and feedback from referee coaches, they are also subject to review by Club managers who submit a report on their performances. All of this data helps to produce a ‘merit list’ of match officials on which appointments, retention or reclassification are based.

 

Clubs are encouraged to provide constructive feedback on match officials and dialogue is encouraged with PGMOL. The EFL Referees’ Manager works with his group in a bid to constantly improve standards and support the development of match officials and Select Group 2 officials are subject to a range of training measures to encourage continuous development and improvement.

 

Thank you for contacting the EFL.

 

Kind Regards

 

Danny

Supporter Services Department

EFL

Nice to get that response from them.

Doesn't explain why the feckers have cheated all season against Derby though.

[DavesaRam]

3 hours ago, uttoxram75 said:

Nice to get that response from them.

Doesn't explain why the feckers have cheated all season against Derby though.

No, it’s designed to make us think they aren’t cheating.

[PistoldPete]

7 hours ago, uttoxram75 said:

Nice to get that response from them.

Doesn't explain why the feckers have cheated all season against Derby though.

Don’t you understand ? It’s Derby that cheated. They carried on using the amortisation method the Efl said was ok. Derby ought to have known this was just a trick by the Efl to catch us out, 

[Ram-Alf]

Getting on...77 years old

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes Derby County should not have been awarded a penalty against Coventry City on Saturday lunchtime.

Tom Lawrence won and converted the penalty with just over 20 minutes to play as the Rams earned a point against the Sky Blues. Referee Darren Bond pointed to the spot in somewhat controversial fashion, much to the visitors' disappointment.

Hackett now says the referee would not have given the penalty if he had been in a better position. He believes Bond "guessed" his decision and only saw "part" of the incident.

“I don’t think this is a penalty kick," Hackett told Football Insider. "The referee is looking through a crowd of players.

"All he has to do is move just to his left and he’s got a better viewing angle. He can then see the whole incident and not part of it.

“He’s looking through a crowd of players and for me, he’s guessed. He’s part guessing it. His viewing angle is letting him down, he’s only seen part of the incident.”

Edited March 23, 2022 by Unlucky Alf

[DavesaRam]

So what did Hackett say about the other two much more blatant penalty shouts which weren't given? 

[DavesaRam]

19 hours ago, DavesaRam said:

Good News! Well I have actually had a response. And there the good news ends.

It is actually a bit of a Filing Cabinet response. It is one of RPs oppo's who has emailed me, and he refers to a load of principles and protocols which the EFL use in order to monitor referee performance. And I am supposed to go away happy that although an opposition defender has hypothetically just taken Luke Plange's legs off with a chainsaw, the referee didn't fully see it, and the 4th official was further away, therefore all rules were followed, so everything is OK.

On the surface the email would seem to answer my complaints. Only it doesn't. All it does is tell us that these principles exist - hence the "Filing Cabinet Rsponse" reference. What it doesn't do is tell us that these protocols are actually followed. For example, the match officials are marked by several interested parties after the match, including the two club managers. How much notice do they take of those two reports? Anyway, here is his email for delectation: 

Hello David

 

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

The EFL receives numerous queries and complaints regarding individual officials’ decisions and their overall performances. While we are not always able to comment on specific incidents, we can advise that the performances of all officials are constantly monitored by way of club and match observer reports, match videos and footage received by the referees’ coaches. Matches are analysed by the Referees' Manager, a referees’ coach and the referee, and these assessments can have an impact on future appointments.

 

It is important to note that all referees at professional level are trained to a high standard and within that training are measures to ensure all referees perform with integrity. All officials at SG1, SG2 and within the National list have undergone many years training and development to reach these levels, at all times being subject to PGMOL requirements relating to integrity and transparency. Of course, in addition to match by match assessment and feedback from referee coaches, they are also subject to review by Club managers who submit a report on their performances. All of this data helps to produce a ‘merit list’ of match officials on which appointments, retention or reclassification are based.

 

Clubs are encouraged to provide constructive feedback on match officials and dialogue is encouraged with PGMOL. The EFL Referees’ Manager works with his group in a bid to constantly improve standards and support the development of match officials and Select Group 2 officials are subject to a range of training measures to encourage continuous development and improvement.

 

Thank you for contacting the EFL.

 

Kind Regards

 

Danny

Supporter Services Department

EFL

Here is my reply:

Danny

Many thanks for your reply. Sadly, all it shows it that you have details of the procedures and protocols involved in monitoring match official's performances filed in your records somewhere. You have also seemingly assumed that my observations were about refereeing standards in general. They weren't, they were specific to matches involving Derby County. What your reply doesn't do is demonstrate that these procedures are being followed, or that they are actually effective. 

Indeed the comprehensive details I sent to you in my two emails would suggest that they are most definitely not working, and that neither are they being followed.

Yours

David Ellis. 

[Ram-Alf]

36 minutes ago, DavesaRam said:

So what did Hackett say about the other two much more blatant penalty shouts which weren't given? 

Not known as that quote I took from the DET website ?‍♂️

[DavesaRam]

On 23/03/2022 at 16:44, Unlucky Alf said:

Not known as that quote I took from the DET website ?‍♂️

..... which they took from who knows how many other websites!

Edited March 25, 2022 by DavesaRam