Some things are just coincidental and some things are not, there is more to them, it is not just luck that has led to a rather unlikely outcome or occurrence. Today Howard Webb referees yet another big Manchester United game. Today Martin Atkinson does not referee yet another Manchester United game. Both are meant to be amongst our best referees, so why is one regularly refereeing Manchester United games and the other not?
Sir Alex Ferguson was completely out of order with his attack on Martin Atkinson after Chelsea beat Manchester United last season, amazingly it is now almost a whole year since Martin Atkinson refereed a Manchester United game. For anyone who has not read up on the PGMO, Mike Riley and the completely hidden world of Premier League referee selection, I would suggest you read some of my series of articles on this topic 1,2 and 3.
As I write this the Manchester United-friendly Webb has catalysed an unlikely recovery from a 3-0 deficit against Chelsea, and two of these goals were dodgy penalties, one was soft and the other the most blatant of dives. It is not the first time that Webb has changed games for Manchester United.
It is highly likely that the PGMO's referee selection process is being influenced by certain clubs and this is having an effect on the outcome of football matches, this is exactly what happened in the Italian match fixing scandal. The odds that Atkinson's repeated absence from and Webb's repeated presence at Manchester United games is down to pure chance must be one in many many thousand.
It is both sad and depressing that the game in this country is so likely to be so utterly bent. It is also rather pathetic that the media in this country are so silent on this topic, they seem completely disinterested, they just don't want to investigate and analyse the hidden workings of the PGMO. It is no coincidence that the PGMO and Premier League have failed to answer any of the simple questions I have asked them about the inner workings of the PGMO, their silence tells the story for me.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I say that when Webb plays in an united game its unfair because their opponents are playing with one man short.
ReplyDeleteOoooh WHAT A SHAMEFULL WEBB. This could eventually kill the credibility of the English game. It cant be a coincedence that it happens year in year out! You stink Master Conman Webb!
ReplyDeletewatch the game chelsea should have won, the penalties looked doggey, wouldn't supprize me as fergie usually get what he wants
ReplyDeleteManchester United became the first Premier League team to score 4 consecutive goals from the penalty spot.
ReplyDeleteThe dishonesty of Premier League referees is disgraceful. There's no other way to say it other than that English referees stole the 2007-08 league title from the Arsenal 'foreigners'. Do people remember the series of games beginning with the disgraceful tie against Birmingham in February 2008 when Martin Taylor shattered Eduardo's leg? Game after game, Arsenal were denied blatant penalties while highly dubious penalties were awarded against them. It is statistically highly improbable that this could have happened with honest refereeing. Nowadays, Arsenal supporters have come to expect as a given that the majority of even stone-clad penalties will not be given to Arsenal. And if the refereeing seems somewhat less biased against Arsenal nowadays, it's only because they don't perceive Arsenal to be a title threat anymore and, moreover, the other teams have progressively become as 'foreign' as Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteI do remember this. It's a joke that we have suffered this injustice. I don't want to discredit fergies achievements. However, there is a certain sway in thier favour. Look at the 90's and how long they went without conceding a pen at home
DeleteThis paranoia will destroy you
ReplyDeleteI hope one day this conspiracy is blown open.
ReplyDeleteToo many fortunate decisions for man utd over the years, it can not be down to luck or coincidence. Fed up of hearing pundits say it evens out over the season, it does not.
It will never be proven. The United controlled media will continue to ignore the real issues
ReplyDeleteWho cares. a draw suits arsenal
ReplyDeleteChelsea giving up a three nil lead, I should be feeling good but My overriding emotion is one of injustice. I've thought it for ages and today's display from H Webb only confirms things, the EPL is bent, corrupt, wrong, rotten, call it what you want.
ReplyDeleteAll Uniteds titles are based on 2 things -
ReplyDelete1. Outspending other teams
2. Referee decisions
Still... They are in the Europa Cup!
'Cos they can't outspend Europe and they can't get the referee decisions.
And a few seasons back Riley himself refereed 49 games in a season. In the 41 that didn't involve Man U he awarded just one penalty. In the eight involving Man U he gave 9 penalties ALL to Man U. I'm sad enough to have done the maths and the odds are such that I should have more chance of winning the lottery jackpot twice!!
ReplyDeleteSadly the media have no interest in exposing this charade because they all want it to continue. No coincidence that Match of the Day has moved to Salford!!! Did anyone hear the BBC presenter yesterday afternoon state at full time that they were going over to the Premiership "game of the day" at QPR pmsl
Just because we're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get us!!!
2 disgraceful penalties. One disgraceful referee. Football is corrupt. We all know it.
ReplyDeletebeing saying it years the wife just thinks i am a sore loser even barca winning arsenal last year van the man getting send off messi does the same thing nothing it kills me knowing its happing
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't buy it that serious media is be Manu led. If anything, I think media are biased towards Liverpool. Guardian or Torygraph would almost certainly follow up suspicion of corruption. If you, or anyone else, has collected data which points in the direction of corruption, why not contact both these papers with your findings?
ReplyDeleteYou don't buy it that Man U are backed by the media. Hmmmmmmm didn't Sky TV execs have to sell their shares in Man U because of a conflict of interest. They gave their shares to their wives instead of putting them back on the open Market like they were supposed to. Look at every Sky TV ad showing Man u scoring goals (never show them conceeding though do they)
ReplyDeleteMike Dean - his last 11 games involving Arsenal - not a single win for the Arsenal. Impossible I say.
ReplyDeletere: 19:28, and what's ManU Riley's reward for, among all the other travesties, gifting Man U a penalty after Rooney dived to stop the Invincibles undefeated run at 49 games? Why, he's now General Manager of the Professional Game Match Officials, of course. And what happens to Massimo Busacca, he who inexplicably, ludicrously, and highly suspiciously sent off Van Persie in March when Barcelona was in the position of being eliminated from the Champions League? He's now FIFA Head of Referees of course. What a f*ing joke.
ReplyDeleteNEWSFLASH:
ReplyDeleteThe entire world is "bent".
Untold Arsenal have been hammering this for years. Have built up quite a body of evidence.
ReplyDeleteSince we're on the subject of the Premier Leauge being corrupt aand infested with bent managers, officials and in all probability players too, (possibly even ballboys..) Am I the only person wondering when Harry Redknapp is going to go to jail? Correct me if I'm wrong, but is'nt this what the law of the land says should happen to corrupt tax-dodging bastards?
ReplyDeleteI never wanna hear old whisky nose complain that they couldnt buy a penalty,three off the last four have been absolute gifts from one inept ref to another.Howard Webb should never ref a ManUtd game again, it is a total disgrace.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting that in the last 2 years, Arsenal's record when Dean or Dowd referee is:
ReplyDeleteW-2, D-6, L-7.
Now this is considerably worse than Arsenal's average over the same period in the league.
W-31, D-15, L-16.
The two wins were 3-1 over Leeds in the FA cup last year and the 2-1win against Norwich.
Strangely, when Dean or Dowd are refereeing it is impossible to get decent odds on Arsenal losing, but one can get 3-1 on them winning, so the bookmakers are well aware of this bias.
Best piece I remember. Stay with it kid.
ReplyDeleteIn he Finnish Arsenal side was quite a nice remark:
ReplyDeleteArsenal fan: we don't need Batman, we've got Robin (sent by the way a Finn):
Man-fan: We don't need Spiderman, we got Webb
The Refereeing has been beyond poor this season, and results are being decided on a regular basis by the officials - some which are blatant.
ReplyDeleteWith a reluctancy to even discuss Video evidence, and more money in the game than ever, only a fool would rule out the high possibility of corruption. We know FIFA and the like are far from whiter than white.
After watching many games this season on the evidence I have seen, I would have to say the league is more likely yo be corrupt than not.
Dowd bets on the outcome of games.
ReplyDeleteIt is the only explanation for the 4-4 at Newcastle last year, the sending off and penalties awarded.
As long as you can bet at any point in a game it will never change.
Someone hack his bank account please.
with what I have seen so far in the PL, I wonder whether it is not high time referees became continental. ie, instead of covering the epl matches alone, europe's refs would be pooled, then criss-crossed into the whole continent. that way, chnaces of local managers and/ or football clubs developing dodgy relationships with refs become more difficult. the media on the other hand is more difficult to control due to it vested interests nature. anyone who closely follows news in this country and beyond will have long noticed they all sing from the same hym book. whereas in the third world the media is government owned and controlled, in this country it is privately owned and controlled but ironically then controls both government and the news agenda.
ReplyDeleteThe standard of refereeing is now the lowest ever. Should not top referees be recruited from abroad?
ReplyDeleteHoward Webb was not only awful but he ruined what should have been a big game where you let the play flow. He turned it into a non contact sport for Fergusons benefit!It was also a poor advert for the Premier. Where have the real Man u and Chelsea gone?
English nationals are well taken care of by the officials. Most obviously, the fact that Rooney isnt red carded more often for his temper-tantrum tackles is amazing. He spent half the match screaming at webb, if it was a foreign player, he wouldve been carded for dissent early on.
ReplyDeleteIt's blatant, and it happens in many walks of life now. But let's stick to football. Why no video evidence as per rugby, where you can also hear the official's comments and explanations. If you allow video you can't fix. Fact.
ReplyDeleteLet the world know that the media is being ran by the satanists, those of the freemasons, and Man U being devils, are favoured accordingly, led by Sky! Let those with ubderstanding read and know.....
ReplyDeleteNo-ones mentioned yet that there are new rules about managers commenting on ref decisions, essentially banning them from making public complaints.
ReplyDeleteAfter AVB was fined for complaint about ref decisions here's what he said.
"Conspiracy theories can lead to bans and lead to you calling us cry babies, and we're not. But it keeps happening."
In the recent arsenal Leeds tie, we were being routinely fouled by Leeds. Clattenburg didn't however produce a card till the 42nd minute, even though it was clear to all that Leeds had come out with a game plan of breaking up our play with fouls. When a team comes out intent to do this, it's the refs job to discipline the team to stop the use of this tactic.
DeleteWenger has complained for a long time about the need for refs to give our players greater protection, because for whatever reason opponents seem to use this tactic against us on a regular basis, and the fact that refs haven't done anything about this just encourages them to do it.
Compare that situation with the protection ManU get?...
Two Penalty for united tell the whole story, hes the twelfth man in united colours, what a shame!
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised the red faced got away with a draw after being 3 goals down. The reason ?The ref of course.
ReplyDeleteTake the 2nd penalty. Welbeck went down but he used his foot to have contact with the Spurs defender.Webb could have seen it but chose to give the penalty.
For all his dominance in the epl,the red faced constantly has a struggle in the cl.The cl refs aint his men and are far better than the best epl ones.
That is why I am confident if the red faced were to meet barca in a future cl final,he will lose again.
Try as he might even with Ronaldo in his prime,he will finish 2nd best.Soon he dominance in the epl will end. All good things must come to an end.
we should be happy chelsea dropped 2 points we need to finish 4th and who cares chelsea got screwed over
ReplyDeleteto add insult to injury the commentator was calling it a true premier league classic but sure it was as over the years we have seen referees especially Webb and Riley turn it around for Man Utd.yesterday i felt fed up with this league of special favours
ReplyDeleteThe comment about Riley are spot on.It hurts especially the 2004 Campbell tackle on the ugly bull dog. He maybe a good player but he gets 1 for looks out of 10.The red face d went on to win 2-0.
ReplyDeleteI tell you what. I think the FA are in cahoots with the refs to perpetuate the red faced dominance.
That is why Wenger to a certain extent is corrct about refs not being partial to Arsenal.I always believe and still believe the gunners are playing against 12 players and two Anti Arsenal linesmen. You never know.
Soon the epl will like that isn Scotland and Spain. Arsenal will be like Villareal or sevilla.
The comment about Riley are spot on.It hurts especially the 2004 Campbell tackle on the ugly bull dog. He maybe a good player but he gets 1 for looks out of 10.The red face d went on to win 2-0.
ReplyDeleteI tell you what. I think the FA are in cahoots with the refs to perpetuate the red faced dominance.
That is why Wenger to a certain extent is corrct about refs not being partial to Arsenal.I always believe and still believe the gunners are playing against 12 players and two Anti Arsenal linesmen. You never know.
Soon the epl will like that isn Scotland and Spain. Arsenal will be like Villareal or sevilla.
Im a Liverpool fan i was directed here to read this by a friend, and i must say i do agree with what alot of Arsenal fans are saying about teams going to Emirates with nothin except breaking up your players and play with bad tackles that go unpunished, I have thought for years the standard of refreeing in the English Leagues has been shockin, Video evidence is needed and Howard Webb is a disgrace. We should all Email the FA and let them know how we feel.
ReplyDeletethey say it evens it's self out over a season but they fail to add in Man U's favour
ReplyDeleteThe referee's cannot be questioned it is like saying the same for a number of issues like Fred the Shred.
Don't do as I do ,do as I say.
Not allowed an opinion these days even if when it is our hard earned money that is being removed by slight of hand
Before the match kick started and saw Web as the ref of the day i just gave Man U the match coz i new what would be the out come. theft by Man U is done broad day light and no one comes up to complain. Its a big shame for premier league. The league will remain tilted towards the Mancs not until a probe is done....!!
ReplyDeleteoh and i forgot to add that even in every day life manure fans are on lookout for freebies.they don't even pay debts and cant buy rounds even in pubs.one confessed a fortnight ago how he rode in a bus for over 200km and the conductor forgot to collect his fare.he was a very happy man as he showed us an unpaid for bus ticket.they behave like they have a right to everything
ReplyDeletenowadays it is easy to know the outcome of an important EPL match - depends on who the ref is
ReplyDeleteI think this is being blown out of context. Chelsea got lucky in the first half when the scores were 0-0, it would have been easy as for Webb to give them a penalty then and United would have been in for a win rather than a draw. Its ridiculous that one team is being harassed about having a ref for a 12th man when every week there are dodgy refereeing decisions being awarded to teams. City got a break with their penalty over the weekend which was similar to United's second but you don't get anyone having a go at them. Stop whining and have a look around, United are in the spot light because their a good team, but plenty of teams get the rub of the green, only difference is, those decisions don't make a difference to their Title charge.
ReplyDeleteThe most obvious ones which everyone has mentioned are the Campbell/Roo Unbeaten PK and yesterday's. Yesterdays as scandalous as it was pales into insignificance compared to the ball Roy Caroll clawed back from 1.5 yards into the goal... oh dear! The other one is last season against Westbrom where G Nevile conceeded what looked a clear PK and sending off, United should have been 2 down... You all know the rest. Who remembers when Blackpool was leading 2-0 against Utd last season too.I am Nigerian and an Arsenal fan,those who are happy that it gives us a chance to catch Chelsea up are not seeing the larger pic, without all these bad decisions against us down d years maybe our 2008 campaign (The manufactured PK against B'ham) will have seen us win d EPL, maybe we will even be in 2nd place now. I also remember the game @ OT in 2010 where Arshavin scored a screamer, then Rooney fell over Almunia's leg (PK awarded), then like Chealsea we started to panic @ d thought of Refs bias and Diaby scored an OG... i can go on and on.
ReplyDeleteRafa Benitez was @ pains to point out that the about 3 games that Utd gets awarded (PKs given to them and those against rivals in games like the Newcastle 4-4) was the reason for the d 2point difference in the end, but the media by not backing his facts painted him like a malcontent and sore loser.
EPL has become arrogant about the success and marketing of its game, very soon it will all go burst. " Lies travel fast, but the truth will catch up eventually".
Agree 1000% one thousand % with Mr. Imbuya.I have always believed the FA and refs have a vested interest in perpetuating MU's hegemony or dominance.I remember the hatred against Liverpool in their heyday aint so wide spread.Maybe it' sbecause of tje digital age.
ReplyDeleteAgainst Sunderland,Martin will adopt a similar stance to the Leeds game.If he were to cause a Eduardo casualty,so be it.Then it's up to the refs.The thing can we trust these guys?
Having said that that,is it not clear the red faced/nosed cannot carry over his dominance to the cl?
The refs of course.He can dominate in England,with the help of the FA and refs,but thankfully not in in the cl.Even if he were to get the world's best players he will still lose to Barclona if the meet tomorrow Feb7 2012.The cl refs area different class from the epl guys who will do his bidding.
As for the the red faced/nosed he will never win another cl trophy
unless he gets the help of the refs.Not for the next fifty years if he is still around.
Flash back 2003.DUnn was hauled down by the MU goalie. Being the last man he should have been sent off.The ref gave him a yc.To rub salt into the injury,the gk saved the penalty.If fans care to list incidents like these,it would run into hundreds if not thousands which hep Mu to win trophy after trophy.
ReplyDeleteBtw would any fan be able to inform gooner fans what happened to the erratic ref.
I tell you what after reading all the comments.Once upon a time there was a big man whose nose was as red as a rose. His face was as red as the burning sun.You know what.
ReplyDeleteHe was the greatest manager in English football.He would win trophies galore and matches seemingly lost but he would still win or draw.
I am writing this thirty years from now. Truth be told. He was aided by the English FA and refs.How did we know these?
A whistle blower of course. His conscience was pricked when a blatant penalty was denied to ,you guess it,Arsenal.
Soon an inquiry is held . This is England not Spain or Scotland where only two teams can win trophies withot help from the respective associations and refs.
Needless to say the inquiry conducted by the FA cleared the rf or rn if you like.
6 February 2012 13:50
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
"Im a Liverpool fan i was directed here to read this by a friend, and i must say i do agree with what alot of Arsenal fans are saying about teams going to Emirates with nothin except breaking up your players and play with bad tackles that go unpunished, I have thought for years the standard of refreeing in the English Leagues has been shockin, Video evidence is needed and Howard Webb is a disgrace. We should all Email the FA and let them know how we feel."
Simple solution is to cancel your sky sports subscription and watch the matches at a pub when you get the chance.
Their bias has year after year has made me go off football in a big way.