When I am coaching young referees I will on more than one occasion refer to the process of decision-making which is to ‘SEE, RECOGNISE, THINK and ACT’.
NEVER, NEVER GUESS!!
Experienced referee, Jonathan Moss, 51, was the official for the Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers game on Saturday.
The VAR for this match at Stockley Park, with the lifebelt at the ready, was another experienced referee in Andre Marriner, 50.
The result of this game hinged on what was a guess by Moss. He was not well-positioned when the ball was crossed into the penalty area by Bernardo Silva.
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Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho had a raised arm when the ball struck him, but Moss was some distance away when he pointed to the penalty mark.
I watched the instant replay and it was clear that the ball had struck the player’s armpit not his arm.
This was an easy call for Marriner to make, and I expected him to advise Moss to visit the pitchside monitor because the decision was a clear and obvious error resulting from a guess.
His colleague for many years, having had more than one look, decided to compound the error by supporting the call.
This was an unacceptable decision by two referees who frankly need to start collecting their pensions and making way for some younger colleagues.
Wolves cannot blame bad refereeing for the game’s first big moment of controversy though.
Raul Jimenez should be docked his wages after having let his own fans down by receiving a yellow card and, within seconds, a second one for delaying the restart.
It left Moss with no option other than to raise the red card and point to the dressing room.
