<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-439" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2009/04/cardiff.jpg" alt="cardiff" width="425" height="266"></figure></div>There were some tremendous games at all levels of British football on Sunday. Cardiff and Swansea battled out a thrilling 2-2 draw. Luton gave the Football League a poke in the eye by winning a wonderful Johnstone Paint Trophy Final 3-2 against Scunthorpe. And finally we had the gasp-inducing 3-2 stormer at Old Trafford.
It was just a shame that fan behaviour cast such a pall over the whole day.
Like many fans I was disgusted with the throwing of the coin that injured referee Mike Dean in the Welsh derby, but I’ve been just as concerned by the reaction of key figures from both clubs.
Peter Ridsdale, Cardiff Chairman, said:
<blockquote>“We’ve now identified an individual who threw a coin, we believe it’s the individual whose coin hit the referee… assuming it’s the right individual he will be banned for life.” </blockquote>
Well, that’s good to know. But it wasn’t ‘an individual’ it was many individuals. The few seconds of footage surrounding the moment Mike Dean was hit clearly shows several items landing near the referee, while Swansea captain Garry Monk has claimed objects were being thrown throughout the match. Cardiff fans have commednably been more open than Ridsdale, speaking of witnessing a number of individuals throwing objects onto the pitch ranging from coins to lighters.
Does Ridsdale think that getting rid of this one person somehow solves the problem? Moreover, was this individual more guilty for hitting the referee than anyone else who tried but missed?
Cardiff manager Dave Jones said:
<blockquote>“I hope the club don’t suffer serious repurcussions as it was only one person and there were 20,000 people here… It’s ridiculous as I thought those days were long gone.”</blockquote>
Only one person, Dave? Really? And you thought those days were long gone? Good job the police didn’t share your view or they might not have sent those 450 officers to Ninian Park to try and minimise trouble between the fans.
What weasel words by both of these people. I would expect more of Jones in particular, but perhaps he is just trying to protect the club. If that is the case then he has been shown up by the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust who condemned the ‘mindless idiots’ (notice the plural) and for those Cardiff fans who stood up and pointed out the offenders at the time. If only club officials were so forthright.
It is unfair that the whole club should be tainted by this, but football must not continually attempt to hide the truth. Whenever there is violence at a game we are fed the same line about how “these people are not football fans” – well, who are they then? There can be no doubt things have moved forward over the last 20 years, but problems still exist. Every club still has their trouble-makers.
In the midst of all this you might expect Swansea to act with quiet dignity, but manager Roberto Martinez, a good, honest, likable man, a successful coach and a very decent TV pundit, has waded in with some ill-advised comments of his own:
<blockquote>“You don’t want to see coin throwing incidents like that but looking at the overall performance of the referee maybe he was affected by it… you work all week not to get emotional performances from your players and you drop two points because of an emotional decision by a referee.”</blockquote>
In one sense, Martinez is right – Cardiff’s late penalty for the equaliser was probably the wrong decision – but to show such callous disregard of the referee’s health beggars belief. He had been hit in the end, no more than a few centimetres from his eye, yet made little fuss and carried on refereeing the game – on the whole very well. It seems incredible that rather than blaming the fan for his actions he suggests that the referee failed to deal with the situation adequately. I wonder what Martinez’s reaction might have been had his goalkeeper received a blow to the head. Would he have publicly blamed him for dropping a cross and for becoming too emotional?
The fallout from this will undoubtedly continue for some time, but what sort of punishment should be meted out by the Football Association? Ridsdale has a point in that it seems unfair to punish Dave Jones’ team for the actions of some of the fans. Cardiff have improved the image of the club in recent years and so a fine or a points deduction seems ill-fitting.
Perhaps the FA must leave it to the club to identify as many of these coin-throwers as possible and have them thrown out of all football grounds for good, but while Ridsdale continues to suggest it was only one person, this is not a problem that will disappear any time soon. In the meantime, football officials need to start being a little more honest when it comes to assessing the behaviour of some fans.

How Should Cardiff Be Punished For Coin-Throwing Incident?

How Should Cardiff Be Punished For Coin-Throwing Incident? - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mark-clattenberg.jpg" alt="mark-clattenberg.jpg"></figure></div>
This Sunday marks the traditional beginning of the top flight of English football when Portsmouth battles Manchester United in the Community Shield Final at Wembley Stadium in London. If you’re like me, you’re excited about seeing the return of English football after being without it since the end of May.
But the biggest story in the press in the buildup to this Sunday’s match is not anything to do with United or Pompey. It’s referee Mark Clattenburg who has been dropped from the match in favor of Peter Walton.
Clattenburg has been suspended because the electrical company that he owns has gone bankrupt and owes debts of £60,000.
Not only will Clattenburg miss the Community Shield Final, but he’s also expected to miss being in charge on the pitch for the first few weeks of the Premier League season until the issue has been resolved.
Clattenburg will also not officiate in any other games until the issue has been resolved.
With Clattenburg having such large debts, the Professional Game Match Officials feel it’s not appropriate for the referee to be in charge of matches especially when there would be temptations for refs who are facing financial difficulties. I believe the FA and Professional Game Match Officials are making the correct decision.
Let’s hope that Sunday’s final is remembered for something special on the pitch rather than the issues off the pitch.

Clattenburg Gets Red Card Ahead of Community Shield Final

Clattenburg Gets Red Card Ahead of Community Shield Final - World Soccer Talk

They’re the men in black that you love to hate, but someone has to do the job. Here’s EPL Talk’s guide to the Premier League referees for the 2008/2009 season (click on the referee’s name to view his photograph):<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/red-card-referee.jpg" alt="red-card-referee.jpg" align="right" vspace="15" hspace="15"></figure></div>
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/martin-atkinson.jpg" target="_blank">Martin Atkinson</a>. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. On August 13, 2006 he took charge of the FA Community Shield match at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Liverpool and Chelsea. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/stuart-attwell.jpg" target="_blank">Stuart Attwell</a>. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. <a href="http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/football/article-1029196/Rookie-ref-Attwell-secures-shock-promotion-Premier-League.html" target="_blank">Youngest ever Premier League referee</a> at 25 years of age. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/steve-bennett.jpg" target="_blank">Steve Bennett</a>. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. Bennett was involved in some controversy when he refereed the Manchester United versus Liverpool Premier League encounter on March 23, 2008. He sent off Liverpool’s Argentine Midfielder Javier Mascherano for a second bookable offence. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/mark-clattenburg.jpg" target="_blank">Mark Clattenburg</a>. Premier League ref since 2004. Age 33. He became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of only thirty, reaching this distinction earlier than any English referee in living memory. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/michael-dean.jpg" target="_blank">Michael Dean</a>. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 40. He was originally appointed to referee the 2006 FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium on May 13, 2006, but the Football Association took the unusual step of replacing him with Alan Wiley after concerns were raised about his ability to be impartial towards Liverpool, who are based near Dean’s home town in the Wirral. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/phil-dowd.jpg" target="_blank">Phil Dowd</a>. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. He was heavily criticised by Wigan’s then manager, Paul Jewell, and their owner, Dave Whelan, following his performance in the club’s Premiership match with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on February 11, 2007. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/chris-foy.jpg" target="_blank">Chris Foy</a>. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. On February 3, 2008, Foy removed the Fulham mascot, Billy the Badger, from the playing area for breakdancing on it during their 2-1 home win over Aston Villa. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/mark-halsey.jpg" target="_blank">Mark Halsey</a>. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. His first match in the EPL was the 1-1 draw between Wimbledon and Coventry City on August 14, 1999. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/michael-jones.jpg" target="_blank">Michael Jones</a>. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. Age 40. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/andre-marriner.jpg" target="_blank">Andre Marriner</a>. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. He was given his first Premiership match on 13 November 2004 – the 4-0 home win by Charlton Athletic over Norwich City. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/lee-mason.jpg" target="_blank">Lee Mason</a>. Premier League ref since 2006. Age 36. His first ever match in that league as man-in-the-middle came on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa, 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/mike-riley.jpg" target="_blank">Mike Riley</a>. Premier League ref since 1996. Age 43. During the first half of the home match against Newcastle on 30 April 2007 Kingsley Royal, the Reading club mascot, was sent from the field by the referee for standing too close to the pitch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/keith-stroud.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/keith-stroud.jpg" target="_blank">Keith Stroud</a>. Premier League ref since 2007. Age 38. He was ‘trialed’ for the Premier League, being given the match on March 17, 2007 between Middlesbrough and Manchester City at the Riverside Stadium. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/rob-styles.jpg" target="_blank">Rob Styles</a>. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 44. On August 19, 2007, Styles refereed the Premier League game between Liverpool and Chelsea, where a controversial penalty was awarded by him to Chelsea Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was quoted as saying that the decision was ‘unbelievable’. “That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty” said Benítez after the 1–1 draw. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/steve-tanner.jpg" target="_blank">Steve Tanner</a>. Premier League referee since 2007. Age 37. On January 1 2008 he was added to the FIFA list of referees, replacing Graham Poll, allowing him to referee in international and continental competitions. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/peter-walton.jpg" target="_blank">Peter Walton</a>. Premier League ref since 2003. Age 48. His first ever Premiership match in charge was the 4-3 home win by Wolverhampton Wanderers over Leicester City at Molineux on 25 October 2003. 
 
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/howard-webb.jpg" target="_blank">Howard Webb</a>. Premier League referee since 2003. Age 37. Refereed at Euro 2008 but was not selected to referee the knock-out stages.
<a href="http://epltalk.com/images/refs/alan-wiley.jpg" target="_blank">Alan Wiley</a>. Premier League since 1999. Age 48. He took charge of the FA Cup Final on May 13, 2006 when Liverpool played West Ham United at Wembley.

Guide To 2008/2009 Premier League Referees

Guide To 2008/2009 Premier League Referees - World Soccer Talk

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How Should Cardiff Be Punished For Coin-Throwing Incident?

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Guide To 2008/2009 Premier League Referees