Ref Review: Manchester City fortunate whilst Arsenal had both good and bad luck at the Emirates

After a week coaching the next generation of officials in San Diego, youaretheref.com‘s Mark Halsey returns to cast his eye over another set of questionable decisions from last weekend’s Premier League action.

 

Andre Marriner (Burnley vs Manchester City)

It has to be a penalty for me on Jeff Hendrick if the assistant isn’t going to blow for offside. Andre’s been praised a lot in recent weeks but he’s had a tough couple of games now and Burnley will feel hard done by.

The assistant should certainly be flagging for offside, Match of the Day showed the sun was hampering his view and I’m actually surprised assistants don’t choose to wear caps because the sun can actually be a really big issue at this time of year.

Maybe Andre just needs taking out of the limelight for a little bit, he’s had a really good month or two but after a difficult game between Manchester United and Arsenal maybe he didn’t warrant another televised match this weekend.

Lee Mason (Leicester City vs Middlesbrough)

Lee Mason has had a rough few weeks and his game management was once again quite poor on Saturday. He cautioned a few too many players as the game went on which wasn’t necessary but I think he’s actually got the penalty decisions correct.

The ball has struck Calum Chambers’ hand for the first incident and there’s a clear push from Marten de Roon on Wes Morgan in added on time, whilst both could be classed as harsh I don’t think you can blame Lee for giving either.

Kevin Friend (Swansea City vs Crystal Palace)

Kevin’s had a really good game, he’s managed it really well because those kind of games aren’t easy to officiate. I remember being in charge of Portsmouth 7 v 4 Reading and it’s not easy to handle it.

Kevin’s perhaps another one now who deserves a bigger game, he’s not had much of a chance this season and again it comes down to trust from the PGMOL.

Michael Oliver (Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur)

I think he’s done well has Michael, it certainly wasn’t a tough game to manage compared to the match at Stamford Bridge last season.

He may have let one or two decisions go a bit lightly, there were certainly a few challenges that could have warranted a caution but overall Michael’s done a very good job.

Mike Jones (Arsenal vs Bournemouth)

Mike’s not had the best game here, like Michael he’s let a few things go and got a few decisions wrong. I think it was Laurent Koscielny who certainly should have been cautioned and Alexis Sanchez is lucky to be on the pitch.

He’s committed a careless and reckless offence and we can’t just keep letting those kinds of decisions slide at the top level. The penalty for Bournemouth was also very harsh, he’s not in the best position and it’s actually Callum Wilson who has initiated the contact and then gone down.

Jon Moss (Manchester United vs West Ham United)

Jose Mourinho’s obviously struggling at the moment, he’s had a few tough results at home and to be honest he can’t have any complaints about being sent to the stands again.

You can argue that Paul Pogba is avoiding a challenge from Mark Noble but Jon does the right thing, you can’t really blame him for cautioning Pogba – he’s done the right thing. Mourinho’s response was completely unnecessary and he will surely get an improper conduct charge from the FA if they’re being consistent. [Mourinho has since been given an improper conduct charge]

 

You can follow Mark at @RefereeHalsey