Bad Refereeing decisions are annoying for a whole range of
reasons: inconsistency, poor quality or pompous nature of officiating. Putting
them into an order is tough, trying to take into account magnitude of error and
magnitude of occasion.
But here to stir up some sore memories are five of the worst
refereeing decisions against the Arsenal.
No. 5
Incident: Red card
Victim: Kieran Gibbs….or was it Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
A game we’d probably all rather forget, including the
referee. Arsenal were already 2-0 down after seven minutes, and eight minutes
further along, we were a man down as well.
Chelsea work the ball to Eden Hazard, who tried to curl the ball into
the far corner. Oxlade-Chamberlain has got himself back on the goal line, and
he gets down well to his left to make the save (replays show the ball was
probably going a fraction wide). Regrettably, he is not allowed to use his
hands, so the referee points to the spot.
The official then correctly decides it is red-card offense,
but he likes the Ox and choses to send off the less charismatic Kieran Gibbs.
Is there a basic resemblance in skin tone and hair, maybe. But the ref should
pay close enough attention to correctly identify an offending player. Surely
when both players are protesting the decision, there must have been some alarm
bells ringing. Ultimately, this wrongful identity had little impact on the
game. We would have still got thrashed no matter who they sent off. But it has
to go down in history as a terrible refereeing decision.
No.4.
Incident: Red card.
Victim: Emmanuel Petit. Even he might not care anymore.
If it wasn’t for the red card, this would be a forgettable
0-0 at Highbury. However, if it wasn’t for the Petit’s sending off, we could
have got the three points, but who cares, we won the league anyway. On to the
red card. There’s a foul at the other side of the pitch, and the referee is
desperate to get to Steve Bould to give him a good old fashioned talking to.
Unfortunately for Petit, he is in the pathway of the
charging referee. While walking backwards, he holds out his hands at chest
level to protect himself against the bombarding official. Only at the faint
touch from the blonde bombshell’s hands, does the referee realise there is a
human being in his way. This provokes absolute rage. Into his pocket he goes
and out comes a red. Violent conduct is the charge. Ridiculous.
No.3
Incident: Disallowed goal.
Victim: Sokratis Papastathopoulos and our league position.
This one was made by a VAR referee, so it has an extra level
of conspiracy. Arsenal were having a stuttering start to the season and
desperately needed a good performance and result. Palace at home represented a
good opportunity to get both. Arsenal had taken a 2-0 lead after just nine
minutes. Can’t go wrong from here. But it did. By the 55th minute Palace pulled
the score back to 2-2.
Arsenal fight on to find a winner, and they get the break
through with Sokratis scoring a scrappy goal from a corner. But within seconds
the goal is disallowed for a foul from Chambers, not sure if we ever found out
who the foul was supposed to be on. Replays showed Chambers with the ball and
several Palace players kicking at his ankles. When the goal stood, there was no
complaint from anyone on either side. Yet a ref, sitting somewhere in a cave,
watching the match with the benefit of multiple replays and multiple angles,
decides it’s a free kick to Crystal Palace. Unbelievable.
No.2
Incident: No red card.
Victim: Freddy Ljunberg and the entire Arsenal and
footballing community in general.
Now, where to begin? So many to choose from. On this day,
the day our 49 games unbeaten run had the legs kicked out from under it. The
referee was the orchestrator of our downfall. United were allowed to kick Reyes
out of the game with no punishment. Van Nistelrooy had permission to rake his
studs down Ashley Cole’s leg. Rooney had the right to a penalty without being
touched. In fact, a top five worst decision could probably all be picked from
this one game alone.
Alas, Rio Ferdinand’s flattening of Freddie Ljunberg, as he
was clean through, must be the one. Purely because it was so unavoidable, so
embarrassingly obvious. There was no one within 15 metres of the pair and all
eyes were on them. No red card, no yellow card, no foul. The referee’s head
must have been pulsating, wondering how he would ever get away with that
decision. But unfortunately, nobody stepped in to stop the blood thirsty man in
black.
No. 1
Incident: Red Card.
Victim: Robin Van Persie and the game as a spectacle.
Barcelona were undoubtedly the favourites, but although the
Arsenal team wasn’t the greatest in our history, it still had plenty of quality
in the likes of Sagna, Koscielny, Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie himself. The first leg had been a nail-biting, fist-pumping
2-1 win for Arsenal. Van Persie and Arshavin had pulled Arsenal back from 1-0
down at half time, in a game where the 19-year-old Jack Wilshere stole the
show.
The stage was set for a tough game at the Camp Nou, but 54
minutes in Arsenal were holding their own. Barcelona had taken the lead, and
Arsenal had pulled it back level through a Sergio Busquest own goal from a
corner. 55 minutes in and time for the referee to step up and make a name for
himself. Having given Van Persie a soft first yellow card for brushing up
against Danni Alves, he decides it time to finish the Dutchman off.
A long ball comes over to Van Persie and he is flagged
offside. He doesn’t hear the whistle and fires a shot at goal. The ball left
his foot less than a second after the referee blew the whistle. Not good enough
for this referee, he declares it time wasting and issues the striker his second
yellow. This one really seemed personal. Had RVP done something to him in
another life? We may never know.
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