The Referee!

[ayrshireblue]

Pretty much every decision he made was spot on today stop looking for excuses when tge reason we lost is obvious

He got the red card and the penalty right. However, Denilson was on a yellow and got pulled up for two handballs later in the game without a second yellow. He should also have yellow carded Song for his first foul and he too should have been sent off for a second foul. Clattenburg got those big decisions wrong.

[ayrshireblue]

Pretty much every decision he made was spot on today stop looking for excuses when tge reason we lost is obvious

He got the red card and the penalty right. However, Denilson was on a yellow and got pulled up for two handballs later in the game without a second yellow. He should also have yellow carded Song for his first foul and he too should have been sent off for a second foul. Clattenburg got those big decisions wrong.

[mcfc/wire]

Pretty much every decision he made was spot on today stop looking for excuses when tge reason we lost is obvious

I also think he got most things right today . Red card was right and the penalty was right . Just one of them days for us im afraid .

[The Original Special One]

Pretty much every decision he made was spot on today stop looking for excuses when tge reason we lost is obvious

If I was looking for excuses I would have mentioned the result... but I didn't!

He was fucking apalling today and it's not the first time. As I said to an Arsenal mate after the game, they might still have beaten us with a decent ref, I would have just liked the oportunity to try.

Regardless, he is a joke and should be retired.

To be fair, both the red card and penalty decisions were correct ones.
No argument on that score

[King Kev]

So because the penalty and red card could have been right we just ignore all his other mistakes!!?

[david yearsley]

Pretty much every decision he made was spot on today stop looking for excuses when tge reason we lost is obvious

He got the red card and the penalty right. However, Denilson was on a yellow and got pulled up for two handballs later in the game without a second yellow. He should also have yellow carded Song for his first foul and he too should have been sent off for a second foul. Clattenburg got those big decisions wrong.

Agree - on another day they might well have been down to 9 - fucl it - I´m fed up going on about it now - gonna go into full on pessimistic mode next week to avoid any disappointment !

[blues-clues]

Disappointed we lost but really dont feel we were robbed by refereeing mistakes. Cant think of any that really changed the course of the game. No ref ever gets every decision right but that was not a particularly error strewn game. Proud of the way the lads handled themselves but they ran out of steam at the end having tried like heroes to get back on terms. We have played much worse than that and won games this season already.

[roblues]

Let me begin by saying that I am proud of the way we battled, we gifted them a second goal which effectively ended the game but over all I don't think this will affect our season too badly. However, when I heard the whistle I was hoping for a bit of common sense like the common sense used in the Carling Cup final last year.

I got this from the FIFA laws of 2006, but they may have been updated since.
"A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences: [...] 4. denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area); 5. denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick"

Chamakh kicks the ball towards Joe Hart and is then fouled. If Boyata did not make the challenge, the ball would have been in Hart's hands. That is not, in my opinion, an obvious goalscoring opportunity. He did dive in, and was stupid to do so, but I'm not convinced it had to be a red card.

Anyway, not sure why I felt the need to post this but it's out of my system now and I can let it go. Onwards and upwards, the more physical sides will still take points off Arsenal over the season so let's focus on winning the next three and see where we are then. I would love to be concise with my posts...

[bernabias_right_boot]

Let me begin by saying that I am proud of the way we battled, we gifted them a second goal which effectively ended the game but over all I don't think this will affect our season too badly. However, when I heard the whistle I was hoping for a bit of common sense like the common sense used in the Carling Cup final last year.

I got this from the FIFA laws of 2006, but they may have been updated since.
"A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences: [...] 4. denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area); 5. denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick"

Chamakh kicks the ball towards Joe Hart and is then fouled. If Boyata did not make the challenge, the ball would have been in Hart's hands. That is not, in my opinion, an obvious goalscoring opportunity. He did dive in, and was stupid to do so, but I'm not convinced it had to be a red card.

Anyway, not sure why I felt the need to post this but it's out of my system now and I can let it go. Onwards and upwards, the more physical sides will still take points off Arsenal over the season so let's focus on winning the next three and see where we are then. I would love to be concise with my posts...

If Boyata hadn't gone to ground the ref wouldn't have had to make the decision. Inexperience on the boy's part, imo. Boyata will learn from that mistake and we will be stronger as a team because of today.