Stoppage Time or Fergie Time?

After Manchester United's 4-3 victory in their derby match with Manchester City last Sunday, care of a Michael Owen strike deep into stoppage time, City boss Mark Hughes was left furious that the referee Martin Atkinson had added so much time on.
Was Hughes correct and is there really such a thing as 'Fergie' time?

After watching the game on television, reading various post match reports in the newspapers, scouring the net, looking up the laws of the game, reading Club messageboards and listening to several radio phone-ins, I personally feel City have a right to feel aggrieved at the amount of added/injury/stoppage time allowed.

There's been much talk about whether the time added on was or was not correct.

So lets look at what the rules say:

FA Rules:

Many stoppages in play are entirely natural (e.g. throw-ins, goal kicks). An allowance is to be made only when these delays are excessive.

The fourth official indicates the minimum additional time decided by the referee at the end of the final minute of each period of play.

The announcement of the additional time does not indicate the exact amount of time left in the match. The time may be increased if the referee considers it appropriate but never reduced.

The referee must not compensate for a timekeeping error during the first half by increasing or reducing the length of the second half.

Dermot Gallagher (former referee)

"From Euro 96 we've had this standardisation that we're going to play 30 seconds per substitution, and for excessive goal celebrations we're to play another 30 seconds - so it starts to tot up, and this is why we find the three or four minutes we have on average at most games."

Right so lets break it down:

In the second half there were no injury delays and the medical team never went on the pitch once.

There was no time wasting by either side.

There was three substitutions in total in the 2nd half. So now we are on one minute 30 seconds (30 seconds per sub).

There were four goals in the 2nd half, (before the Owen stoppage time goal and the sub in stoppage time). That's another 30 seconds for each of the four goals.
That's a total of 2 minutes following the goals. So now with subs and goals taken into account the total is 3 minutes 30 seconds.

So where did the initial four minutes come from? I make it three minutes 30 seconds. Within the given 4 minutes, there was a substitution in the 93rd minute. An additional 30 seconds for the sub in extra time leads me to a grand total of four minutes 30 seconds.
If my mathematics are correct the referee should have blown the final whistle to signal the end of the game after 94 mins 30 seconds.

Micheal Owen's winning goal was timed at 95 mins 28 secs, almost exactly one minute after the match should have finished.

Referee Atkinson I assume then takes into account the excessive goal celebrations, following Owen's goal, (which is only applied by him and is based solely on his own opinion on events and remains questionable).

However allowing a full minute following Owen's goal he eventually blows the final whistle after 96 mins 58 seconds.......almost a full 3 minutes after the originally allotted 4 mins of added time.


Fergie time - Does it exist? The Guardian examines the phenomena using statistics.

'After the controversy over Michael Owen's winning goal in Sunday's Manchester derby, the 'Guardian' has looked at all of United's league matches at Old Trafford since the start of the 2006-07 season and discovered that, on average, there has been over a minute extra added by referees when United do not have the lead after 90 minutes, compared to when they are in front.
In 48 games when United were ahead, the average amount of stoppage time was 191.35 seconds. In 12 matches when United were drawing or losing there was an average of 257.17sec.

But there is also evidence to support the suspicions of many managers, players and supporters that United get preferential treatment at home. When Owen made it 4-3 on Sunday the game was five minutes and 26 seconds into stoppage time. In total, the referee, Martin Atkinson, allowed almost seven minutes, even though the fourth official had signalled a minimum of four. Mark Hughes, the City manager, spoke of feeling "robbed". His sense of grievance will not be helped if he analyses the last three seasons.'

In 2006-07, for example, United were winning 15 times on entering stoppage time and referees added an average 194.53sec. In the four games when United were not winning there was an average of 217.25sec. The following year the disparity was greater, Opta's figures showing an average 178.29sec added when United were winning and 254.5sec when they were not. Last season it was 187.71sec compared to 258.6sec.

The pattern has continued in the first three games of the season. In the two games United have led they have played an average 304sec of injury time. On Sunday, Atkinson allowed the game to go on for 415sec.


Make your own mind up and leave me a comment. I would very much like to hear what all fans of all Clubs feel about the outcome of the Manchester derby, the statistics that seem to favour United when they play at Old Trafford and the subject of stoppage time in general.

A Roll Call Of ‘Refereeing’ Faux Pas!

The season is barely up and running – but we've already had one of the blunders (faux pas) of the season courtesy of referee Rob Shoebridge and his officiating assistants, who somehow missed the fact that Crystal Palace striker Freddie Sears' shot hit the back of the net, before rebounding out off the stanchion inside the goal during Palace's defeat at Bristol City last Saturday – choosing to award a goal-kick instead.

Although I am Palace fan and season ticket ticket holder, I am not going to get into a debate about the use of technology, the actions of both sets of players, managers or chairmen, and the subsequent post-match mud-slinging by all concerned.

Of course I have my own thoughts and opinions on the incident, and I could write a dissertation on the subject if required, but I shall not be disseminating them on here.

The newspapers, football websites, radio phone-ins, club messageboards and so forth have gone into meltdown with the coverage of the incident, and its all getting rather irritating and tedious.

Nothing is going to change the events of last weekend, and as long as Sepp Blatter remains President of FIFA these 'goalgate' issues will never go away.

The game is over, Palace lost 1-0. End of story........until of course the next time that controversy of a similar nature rears it's ugly head!

But as major refereeing blunders go, Shoebridge has plenty of competition, as I shall substantiate for you now.

How many of you, the readers of this blog article remember the following six refereeing/refereeing assistant 'howler's ranging from just last season to almost 30 years ago?

To watch a video of the incidents click on the link inserted into the line containing the referee's name, the clubs involved and the date.

1/ STUART ATTWELL – Watford v Reading 2008

Possibly the strangest decision of the lot? In a Championship match last year Reading winger Stephen Hunt's corner hit Watford defender John Eustace and looked to go out of play for another corner.

Unbelievably Attwell awarded a goal after his assistant informed him that the ball had crossed the goal line when in fact it had gone wide of the upright, much to the bemusement of both sets of players.

2/ CHARLES CORVER – France v West Germany 1982

West Germany keeper Harald Schumacher's vicious attack on France's Patrick Battiston was the most brutal foul ever seen on a football pitch.

Instead of producing a card or awarding a penalty, Corver inscrutably signalled for a goal-kick, as Battiston lay motionless on the pitch with his own teeth lying around him.

Germany went on to win on penalties and book a place in the World Cup final – Battison eventually recovered but only after slipping into a coma.

3/ RAY LEWIS – Man Utd v Spurs 2005

Tottenham Hotspur looked to have secured a famous win at Old Trafford back in 2005 when in the last minute Pedro Medes' audacious effort from the halfway line beat United keeper Roy Carroll.

However, despite the ball having clearly crossed the line, assistant referee Lewis did not give the goal and the game finished in a 0-0 draw.

4/ DEREK WEBB - Coventry v Crystal Palace 1980

In similar circumstances to Freddie Sears' 'goal' last weekend, Clive Allen 'scored' one of the most controversial disallowed goals of all time in a game between Coventry and Palace in 1980. Allen curled a stunning direct free-kick into the top corner of the net where it rebounded off the stanchion and back into play. Webb enigmately waved play on despite the protests of the Palace players. Palace went on to lose that game too!

5/ GRAHAM POLL – Australia v Croatia 2006

Graham Poll's long and distinguished refereeing career will be remembered predominantly for his highest-profile error.

Poll has never been a stranger to controversy and his critics were given plenty of ammunition when he messed up on the biggest stage of all – the World Cup.

Poll had been tipped as a possible World Cup final referee – but his tournament ended in the group stage with his famous three-card trick.

After booking Croatia's Josip Šimuniæ, Poll then failed to send the same player off when he booked him a second time and only showed him red when issuing a third yellow card.

6/ STEVE CREIGHTON - Millwall v Peterborough 2009

Last season Millwall beat Peterborough 2-0 at The New Den thanks in part to a thrice-taken penalty. Gary Alexander twice saw his spotkicks saved by Joe Lewis but each time assistant referee Steve Creighton ruled the England Under-21 keeper had come off his line. Winger Dave Martin made no mistake third time around.

However on watching the video footage you will notice that yes the goalkeeper Lewis does come off his line, not once, not twice but on all three occasions. Yet Creighton did not flag the third time.........the only time the penalty was actually scored!!!!!!!!

Ref-ing Mad? Well Now You Can Do Something About It!

Another shocking refereeing performance is a 'handy' excuse when your down the pub with your pals, after your team has lost, but as handy as it may be, nowadays it has become a more regular & genuine cause for complaint amongst almost ALL football supporters.

Now YOU can do something about it! And shortly I will tell you how!

Why would you want to bother in the first place I can hear you saying?
What difference will it make?
You can't change the result?
You can't get the game replayed?

Last Saturday I was at Selhurst Park to watch my team play host to Ipswich Town in a Championship League game. The 4-1 reverse suggests Palace were well beaten BUT the performance of the referee Mr. Penton from Sussex was awful, dire, atrocious, diabolical, calamitous........the list of expletives could go on & on!

Now I realize every supporter of every football club has got MANY a hard luck story they could instantly recall if asked, that involved a refereeing decision that changed a game, cost your team points, perhaps promotion or relegation, even administration!

To swallow these travesties of justice can take some doing as a fan & I am simply pointing out a recent one that affected me & more importantly MY club!

In just 90 minutes the referee awarded Ipswich a free-kick following a clean ball winning tackle made by a Palace defender that Town scored directly from, a second goal that looked suspiciously offside, a third goal where during the build up the ball quite clearly went out of play & the resulting cross led to a goal. And to put the icing on the cake, at 2-1 down Palace midfielder Nicky Carle was unceremoniously tripped from behind in the penalty box. A penalty & a red card should have ensued, but nothing was given.
Sound familiar?

To emphasise the point here are a small selection of comments left by Palace supporters on the messageboard of their own fans website holmesdale.net following the game.
(Warning: Some strong language now follows!)


'Over and above the fact that the team were utterly devoid of any creation or desire yesterday, the ref was totally shocking. It took him 5 minutes to decide we'd actually scored (because he was no where near the play), he missed the penalty and several other decisions were so blatantly wrong even some of the players from both teams were left scratching their heads. The man was a joke.'

'The game is rotten to the core. Decisions can't be challenged, speaking out brings charges of bringing the game into disrepute, rules are openly flouted with impunity and criticism is silenced.
Football is f*cked, my friends. Get used to it.'

'Mr Penton is clearly a blind, incompetent w**ker who shouldn't be let loose on an under 7's game, let alone an important match like yesterday's. The tackle on Carle was one of the most blatant penalties I've ever seen in 35 years of watching football and, in the context of the game, robbed us of at least a point.
As others have said and I commented at the time, the defender should also have walked, which would have given us a great chance of what seemed like, at 2-0 down, an unlikely win.
And as Lombardo said, it was a fantastic move which deserved a goal at the end of it. I hope Mr Penton is happy with his act of daylight robbery, the useless pri*k.'

'A couple of weeks ago I saw the worst penalty in 40 years of watching football that was given against Exeter v Brentford. Amazing how, for such a culturally important sport not to mention the thin line between success and failure, that decisions rest with one man who hasn't even played the f*cking game.'

'Thing that annoyed me about it was the fact he gave them a freekick, which resulted in their first goal, when Clint Hill slid in from behind and clearly got the ball. Yet when an Ipswich player slides in from behind and clearly doesn't get the ball, we get f**k all. Can't help but think if it was outside the box he would have given it as a foul.'

'By the way did anyone notice that on their 3rd goal the ball CLEARLY went out for a throw in right next to the linesman but he did not see it!! Really annoyed cos otherwise we could have continued to fight back...'


So there we have it..........a group of very unhappy fans!

Now here is what WE as football supporters can do in an effort to clean up the game. We exercise OUR rights & using the particular example described above, do so by demanding that all match officials:

* Meet a standard above & beyond the current one in place.
* That they should be held accountable for their errors of judgement.
* That they should have to stand up & explain the reasons behind their decisions.
* And if necessary introduce new technology, if it will help cut out some of the
abysmal errors of judgement that occur, all too frequently week in, week out.

Now you & I know that this is not going to happen because of a few dodgy decisions made by a Sussex official in South London on a wet afternoon in January. Yes, you can write to the Football Association & complain, but I know you will be lucky to get your grievance even acknowledged.

However, The Independent Football Commission(IFC) was for six years (2002-08) an integral part of football’s self-regulatory system.
The IFC has now closed & has been replaced by the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO).

The Independent Football Ombudsman was established at the beginning of the 2008-09 season & has a clear remit to receive & adjudicate on complaints from football supporters & participants which have not been resolved by the football authorities, and to raise any policy issues which have been highlighted by those complaints, directly with The FA, Premier League & The Football League.
The creation of an Ombudsman will maintain a position as the independent and final arbiter of football complaints.

Here is a piece of text from their website regarding complaints:

The IFO is the final stage on complaints involving customer issues. An individual, a group of individuals or an organisation who feels aggrieved at the service received from a provider should, in the first instance, take that complaint to the provider. That will usually be the football club which provided the service, but it could be one of the Football Authorities if they were responsible for the service (for example, the FA in the case of England matches).

Each club and each Authority has a customer charter which should explain how a complaint can be registered and how it will be dealt with. If the service complained of rests with a club and it fails to satisfy the complainant, then the complainant can revert to the appropriate Football Authority (for example, to the Premier League if a Premier League club is the subject of the complaint). If, thereafter, the complainant remains dissatisfied, he or she can appeal to the IFO. In addition, if the relevant Football Authority has not responded substantively to a complaint within six weeks of receiving it, the Authority will either refer the matter to the IFO for consideration or will explain to the IFO why further time is required to deal with the matter.

Where the IFO receives a complaint prematurely, ie where it has not gone through the earlier stages described above, the IFO will refer such complaints to the relevant body for consideration.

I am bringing this to the attention of ALL football fans fed up with ANY aspect of 'the beautiful game.'
If enough supporters took the time to air their grievances to the IFO then maybe, just maybe they will be forced to review the complaint in question, whatever that may be!

If 'X' number of thousands of supporters stood up for change then perhaps something might be done. Don't just air your issue(s) with your pals, on messageboards or keep it to yourself.......write a short paragraph on the subject (be it referees, ticket prices, stadium facilities......etc) in the 'complaints' section on the IFO's website.

Here is the link to the site & good luck!
Link

Remember, football needs football fans. Without us there would be no game in it's current format. Clubs would go out of business, it would become a semi-professional game at best, supporters would lose interest, people would lose their jobs.
It's time for the supporters to have their say & help make a difference.

The 'Goal' That Never Was & The Top 5 'Genuinely Good Goals' That Got Away!

As the shenanigans of 'The Stuart Atwell Circus' left Watford this weekend, Steve Coppell the Reading manager has renewed the campaign for video technology, after blundering officials awarded his team a 'phantom' goal during their fixture with Watford at the weekend (20 September 2008).

Coppell was as puzzled as Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd, the players and the fans when the officials awarded Reading a goal after the ball clearly went wide in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road in their Championship League clash.

While they were waiting to see whether the officials would give either a corner or a goal kick, they were amazed when referee Stuart Atwell awarded Reading a goal after after he received a signal from his linesman Nigel Bannister, indicating that a goal had been scored. This put Reading one up.

'I was in the stand at the time and I haven't seen it since. But when the whistle went I wondered what it was for as I couldn't see a foul,' Coppell said. 'Everyone trooped back to the centre and then it became obvious that the referee had given the goal. But after speaking to Noel Hunt after the game it became clear that the ball went out of play wide of the goal.'

Coppell said the incidents strengthened the argument for the introduction of cameras and goal-line technology to help officials decide whether the ball had gone into the net and crossed the goalline.

But he dismissed the suggestion that, after realizing the officials' blunder, Reading should have then let Watford equalize.

'Let's get this clear. The responsibility is not with the opposition to right a wrong,' he said. 'It is up to the officials to get it as right as they can.'

Boothroyd said it appeared the mistake was by the linesman rather than the referee.

'I've never seen anything like it. It's like a UFO landing, a mistake like that,' he said. 'I've been to see the referee and, in fairness, he's only going on what the linesman says. He's working in a team and if someone comes in his ear telling him it's a goal then I suppose he's got to give it.'

Watch it here:
Link

There is a growing list of instances where the wrong call has been made over whether
the ball did or did not cross the line and here are some of the most famous genuinely good goals that got away.....!


1/ Clive Allen - Coventry v Crystal Palace, September 1980.

Allen, playing for Palace in those days, collected a free-kick passed square to him by Gerry Francis and lashed it goalwards, the ball arrowing into the far corner of the net. Only this thunderbolt hit the stanchion behind the goal & rebounded out with such ferocity that the referee did not even see that it had gone a good three feet over the line.

'They called my free-kick at Coventry the goal that never was & soon after that they got rid of the stanchion at the back of the net,' Allen said. 'We were 2-1 down at the time so it would have been an equaliser — but we lost 3-1. We went on a bad run after that & that certainly contributed.'

2/ Pedro Mendes - Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, January 2005.

Tottenham were holding United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford with just over a minute to go. Roy Carroll raced from his goal in an attempt to pump the ball back into the Tottenham penalty area, but after a bit of head tennis the ball fell to Pedro Mendes some six yards inside the halfway line. Spotting Carroll haring back towards his own goal he let fly. The goalkeeper regained his ground in time to make what should have been a routine catch, but inexplicably spilled the ball behind him, where it bounced once before he scooped it back out, the ball having been an estimated two feet behind the line.
'Carroll has been denied the most embarrassing moment of his career, that is a travesty,' said commentator Alan Parry at the time.
It certainly is a decision that Mark Clattenburg, the referee & in particular Rob Lewis, his linesman, will want to forget.

3/ Jonathan Howard - Middlesbrough v Chesterfield, April 1997.

Chesterfield, of Division Two, looking to cause a huge upset, raced into a two-goal lead in this famous FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. Still ahead 2-1 and trying to weather a comeback from Middlesbrough, Jonathan Howard appeared to have given them some breathing room when he fired a shot that rebounded down off the crossbar. David Elleray, the referee, was unsighted and did not award a goal, though replays later showed it was several inches over the line. The match ended 3-3 with Middlesbrough winning the replay 3-0.

4/ Tommy Black - Crystal Palace v Leeds United, February 2003.

Trevor Francis, the then Crystal Palace manager, was absolutely livid when referee Dermot Gallagher disallowed a Tommy Black ‘goal’ that would have given his side a 2-1lead over Leeds United in an FA Cup fifth-round tie at Selhurst Park. Gallagher decided the ball had not crossed the line, but again replays proved otherwise & what made it even more galling for Palace was that Michael Duberry, the Leeds defender, actually clawed the ball back into play using his hand. The visitors went on to give Terry Venables an undeserved 2-1 victory on his return to a former stomping ground.

5/ Gerry Taggart - Bolton Wanderers v Everton, September 1997.

Bolton were denied their first ever victory in the Reebok Stadium when Stephen Lodge, the referee, failed to spot Gerry Taggart’s looping header fall six inches behind the line, before it was cleared by defender Terry Phelan. The match finished goalless, and the two sides finished level on points at the end of the season. Bolton were relegated on goal difference, whilst Everton stayed up.

World Cup Exit - The Shame of it!

2nd July 2006


To whom it may concern,


Is there a Supreme Being up there?

Before I even open a newspaper this morning or before Sven’s 10.30am final & farewell press conference and after throwing all my toys out of my pram following our miserable & scandalous dismissal from the biggest sporting showpiece event in the world, I have only one word left, ‘WHY?’

Why to not one but numerous questions?
I want to be objective, but feel like I saw a conspiracy theory second to none in the Portugal versus England World Cup quarter-final game yesterday.
Even before the tournament began one can ask several questions beginning with that dreaded three lettered word.
Why did Sven pick a squad with only 4 strikers?
Why did he pick only 4 when he knew 2 were injured or recovering from injury & a third in Walcott that had never even played a senior game for his Premiership club.
Defoe & Johnson probably don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
These are all issues that the nation is acutely aware of & have been scratching their heads ever since the day the squad was announced. So moving on….

What is Sven’s obsession with David Beckham? Why does he favour Beckham so much? Why does he never drop him or god forbid substitute him?
Can someone enlighten me please?

Beckham is not a great player anymore. He is in the twilight of his career. He contributed to 50% of all our tournament goals but nothing else. His free kick versus Ecuador was magnificent but it was his first set piece goal in a competitive match for England in three years! He has such a hold on what goes on (& off the field) we don’t know if any other player can strike a decent free-kick, because we never see anyone other than Beckham get the chance.
Beckham as skipper? Beckham an automatic choice to start?
I wont even bother to delve deeper……every supporter has their own opinion on Beckham.
My overall feeling is that he is the Anna Kournikova of football.

Losing hurts but why so much?
Not because of another quarter-final defeat, or even on going out on penalties-for the sixth time in a major tournament?
Nor because we are a nation of bad losers. Losing is a habit & the England football team has turned this country’s passionate supporters into gibbering wrecks, that continually end up consoling themselves with habitual quantities of alcohol, in comfort not in celebration.
I’m sure my Blood type is ‘L’
L for lager that is!
It’s an all too familiar story!

This country is full of people suffering from total disillusionment and in football they see a temporary route to escapism where reality can take a back seat & therefore allowing themselves the ‘luxury’ of putting the mundane misery of this fractured state to bed for a couple of hours.

Why is a referee of a nationality, in this case Argentinean, chosen to be put in control of a football game involving another nation of which there is a history of political tension.
No human being on this planet is free from total impartiality.

The scourge of the Portuguese football nation is now upon us. Give up on your holidays to the Algarve, don’t buy Mateus Rose, and boycott Port and Sardines.

It is not a win at all costs competion.
Negativity, spoiling, diving, spitting, feigning injury, abusing opposing players verbally & physically & the constant pressurising of officials on a national stage is unacceptable.

If Portugal goes on to lift the trophy, the World Cup tournament itself will be de-valued and the competition should be disbanded!

As for Cristiano Ronaldo may he choke on a well-hidden sardine bone.
I am not a Man Utd fan, far from it, but that is not the issue. He has proved himself to be a disgrace. He has a cheating mentality, is a troublemaker & a man who clearly thinks well above his station.
He created problems at his club this season in the shape of Ruud van Nistelrooy. Ferguson, foolishly or not sided with Ronaldo & Ruud was put on the bench to stew.
He has according to the press, been talking up a move to Real Madrid apparently using Man Utd as a stepping stone.
Currently in terms of trophies lifted in recent times he is clearly misguided.
How can any Utd fan want him back at THEIR club? He has taken the game into the gutter.
He must never be allowed to put on a Man Utd shirt on again!
He conspired to get a fellow pro sent off, and a player who he trains & shares a dressing room with on a daily basis.
Rooney must be seething, guilty or not?
I should think Manchester police will have him under house arrest on his return or Ronaldo will feel the full weight of a ‘Raging Rooney’ dealing with him in the way he used to look after himself, growing up on the streets of Toxteth.

Finally Mum’s & Dad’s to be kindly refrain from calling any future children ‘Cristian(o)’ because that is something he will never be. It’s slanderous!


Yours faithfully,

Mark L.A Ross
Mr. Angry of Bromley.