Another week and yet another incident allowing football fans to again see just how silly the FA operate, or in this past weekend’s case, fails to operate. Reminiscent of a clumsy, bumbling teenager attempting to un-hook his first bra strap aged 16 because of their historical callowness, the FA possess neither the ability to make an unpopular decision or the ability to re-write their own rules thus allowing common sense to prevail.

On Saturday, attempting his best George St-Pierre impersonation, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney bludgeoned Wigan’s James McCarthy proper elbow to the head style during United’s eventual 0-4 away win. The issue, even more vital than the incident itself (which was shocking and ridiculous by definition), was that referee Mark Clattenburg in fact witnessed the infraction yet deemed his actions in only awarding Wigan a free kick “appropriate”.

It’s at this point where we begin to pick up the pieces, attempt to reassemble them and form coherent thought over the whole matter. While the three parties involved – Rooney, Clattenburg and the FA – are all guilty in some shape or form, it’s the sum of the absurdity that assigns the Rooney-Clattenburg incident as one of the most laughable ever.

By Clattenburg’s own admission, the 35-year-old witnessed Rooney throw a haymaker of an elbow to the head of McCarthy yet somehow failed to deem the action violent conduct which would have witnessed the 25-year-old England striker miss massive matches the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool away this week and a third - likely a home FA Cup tie Vs. Arsenal.

Because Clattenburg blew a call that could have severely injured a Premier League player, the FA, under their very own laws, are left powerless to defy Clattenburg’s initial opinion. When viewed as a simple mathematical equation, football fans and head-scratchers the world over are left with something resembling this:

Wayne Rooney’s elbow + Mark Clattenburg’s eye = FA fail

At best and when given the benefit of the doubt, Clattenburg may have witnessed only half of the incident because of the fact that it did in truth happen off the ball which only places the proverbial ball in the court of the FA to use common sense. United fans and Rooney devotees may scoff at these sentences but when the red-shaded glasses are removed from their eyes, they’ll see an obvious infraction of rules resulting in a violent offense which should have led to a three match suspension.

Just because the referee didn’t witness the incident in its entirety doesn’t mean it failed to transpire. It’s for this very reason, and because of the power of video technology, that the FA must soon consider at minimum a tweaking of rules and at maximum an overhaul or risk even more ridicule from the world football community.

Full disclosure: I’m a Spurs fan.  Have been for round about six years, which just so happens to be just before the last time Mark Clattenburg took charge of a Manchester United v Spurs fixture at Old Trafford.  For any who needed their memory jogged (or who weren’t fans at the time):

Look, Tottenham didn’t deserve to win on Saturday.  They were undone by the same problems that have plagued the entire season to date.  Falling behind early, a few naive moments in defense, poor set piece defending.  While they generally pass the ball well through the midfield, striker play has been awful, for the most part.

That said, Spurs shouldn’t be forced to beat the referee as well.  Old Trafford is tough enough to begin with.  Some might remember Spurs going into halftime with a 2-0 lead at this fixture two seasons ago, before Howard Webb called an incorrect penalty on Gomes, after which point the floodgates opened and United won 5-2.  Getting back to Clattenburg, I also remember him taking charge of a Spurs-United match at White Hart Lane two or three years ago, and it sticks in my mind because Paul Scholes got away with three bad and cynical fouls without being shown any card at all.

Needless to say, when I saw who the referee was for this match, I went in expecting an uphill battle.  Nani’s goal has been discussed ad nauseum on here, on pundit shows, and everywhere else so I’ll be brief when I get to it.  I’m more concerned about the other incidents in what was a very clean match with few other talking points at all.  But close examination does provide some enlightening details, in my opinion.  Here’s a short rundown – by minute – of all the other incidents in the match (I’ve tried to put away my lilywhite colored specs to do this, please cut me a little slack!):

1′st minute – Nani goes up for a 50/50 ball with Benoit Assou-Ekotto, clean play but Nani decides to roll around on the pitch for a few seconds and make an appeal to Clattenburg.  A pretty tame moment, but bares mentioning for all that happened later…

2′ – …including because of what happens in the next minute.  Nani, now popping up on the opposite side, attacks Alan Hutton.  There might’ve been minor (incidental) contact with Hutton, but not even close to being a foul.  Nani then loses control of the ball as it goes out for a goal kick, takes 3 more steps and dives with no one around him.  He then puts out his arms to appeal for God-knows-what.   At this point Clattenburg should’ve at least given Nani a telling-off to stop all the complaining and play-acting (a yellow card for this sort of crap should be the way forward IMO), yet does nothing.

17′ – William Gallas receives the first yellow of the match for a foul on Javier Hernandez.  The foul occurs near midfield, was not malicious but a fraction late, and was Gallas’ first foul of the match.  Extremely harsh on Gallas, and of course now he has to be careful for the rest of the match.

21′ - The linesman makes a mistake in Spurs’ favor, as the ball goes over the touch line before Bale crosses to win a corner.  Although the cynical side of me thinks that the only refereeing  mistakes likely to go in Spurs’ favor in a match like this are the objective ones (was the ball out of play, who was last to touch it, etc), rather than the subjective ones.

30′ - Younes Kaboul makes a silly rash challenge on Hernandez which earns United a dangerous free kick and himself a yellow card.  Which then led to Vidic’s goal.  No complaints here, Kaboul’s defending in this instance was poor.

40′ - Park Ji-Sung fouls Aaron Lennon in Spurs’ half of the pitch; a slide tackle from behind while Lennon was away on a counter.  Considering Lennon’s pace, the space in front of him, and the lack of United defenders back, it’s obvious Park knew what he was doing.  Clattenburg doesn’t think this warrants a yellow however.

45′ - Michael Carrick fouls Assou-Ekotto from behind while he’s attacking in United’s half.  Not a dangerous foul though, and didn’t deserve a card in my opinion.  However, after Clattenburg whistles for the foul, Rio Ferdinand kicks the ball 50 yards up the field in frustration.  I was under the impression this constitutes an automatic yellow, just like taking your shirt off after a goal.  Guess not.

84′ - The Nani “goal”.  For video, analysis, and discussion of the incident here’s the Gaffer’s post on the subject.  I found an article in the Wall Street Journal of all places which pretty much sums up my viewpoint on the incident.

What I do feel the need to mention is why on earth Rio Ferdinand was allowed to take part in the discussion between Clattenburg and the linesman (Simon Beck) after Beck raised his flag when the goal was scored.  And yes,  I realize that it isn’t that dissimilar to the protests Tom Huddlestone made to the referee after his goal was originally disallowed two weeks ago at Fulham.  But surely players shouldn’t be allowed to take part in decisions which are supposed to be made by the officials alone.  It hurts the ability of the referees to do their job, and the integrity of the game, so that people like me can watch on TV and make an argument that something sinister is going on.  Since there’s no culpability of the officials after the fact, one never truly knows how a decision is reached.

Finally, after the goal was given, and all the Spurs players protested for the better part of a minute, Luka Modric was given a yellow card after Clattenburg had had enough.  I thought that as captain, Modric was entitled to an explanation of his decision to award the goal (especially as Ferdinand – the opposite captain – was allowed to confer before it was given) ?

All in all, an appalling display by the referee.  3 yellow cards to Spurs, 1 of which was deserved (Kaboul) ; none to United, who deserved 3 (Park, Ferdinand, and Nani for persistent play acting).

This is all an account of what my eyes have seen in one match, and isn’t meant to project what happens in all matches of this sort.  But for marquee matches between two top teams, there’s only a pool of four or five generally recognized “elite referees” which do most of the big matches (of which Clattenburg and Webb are two), and at least with recent United-Spurs matches, they consistently get big decisions wrong, and in favor of the so-called “bigger club”.

So what do you think?  Am I just a whining Spurs fan?  Is there a shred of truth there?  Are there other good examples in recent history of major decisions going in favor of the Uniteds and the Chelsea’s when they shouldn’t have?  Are there major changes needed in the way matches are officiated, and the officials assigned to them?  Please share in the comments.

Referees never have an easy job, but they don’t make their life any easier when they make costly mistakes in heated Premier League games. A perfect example of this was in Saturday’s game between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City when Craig Bellamy was making a run down the left wing.

In the incident, Bolton defender Paul Robinson stuck his leg out and completely missed the ball and knocked Bellamy’s leg. Bellamy then fell to ground. Then the viewers, supporters, commentators and myself were shocked to see that instead of awarding a free kick in Manchester City’s favor, referee Mark Clattenburg blew his whistle and gave Bellamy a yellow card for diving. Not only a yellow card, but it was his second yellow card of the game and Bellamy was sent off.

This was a contentious decision on so many different levels. One, Robinson missed the ball and fouled Bellamy before “Bellars” fell down. Two, Bellamy dived. He could have easily kept on running and could have stayed on his feet to cross the ball into the box but he chose the easy option which was to dive and to get a free kick on the edge of the penalty area for City. Third, and this is the big one for me, the decision by Clattenburg is inconsistent with how referees in other matches call the game. We see these types of dives happening throughout the game where players would rather dive to get what they consider a fair call than to stay on their feet. If all referees throughout the Premier League are going to yellow card players for these type of dives, then that’s fine. But it needs to be consistent across the league.

What do you think? Should Bellamy have been sent off? Did Robinson foul Bellamy, or did Clattenburg make the wrong decision?

I wonder why Sir Alex Ferguson waited until tonight to say what he said, when he had every opportunity to do so last week. Then again, he always has had a knack for waiting until the points were in the bag before opening his mouth (see Kevin Keegan and Rafa Benitez).

Fergie waited to damn Chelsea out of the title race until after Manchester United saw Fulham show up in kit only. Rooney came off the bench to finish off the 3-0 victory, then Sir Alex finished off Chelsea’s title chances in his post match presser.

Now I think it’s a little bold for Fergie to claim that Chelsea sacking Scolari plays right into Manchester United’s hands. However he’s right. Chelsea sacking Scolari showed the instability at the club, and the fact that Manchester United are now ten points clear of fourth speaks volumes.

This title is truly a two horse race. That could end quickly should Manchester United beat Liverpool on March 14. It’s weird that Sir Alex mentioned 1997-98 when Manchester United blew a twelve point lead to Arsenal, but it’s always good to remember the past. It helps prevent you from slipping up.

Other Stories
I’ll start with more Manchester United news. The shut out streak continues for one Edwin Van der Sar. 1,302 minutes…that’s just simply sick.

We can also thank the Daily Mail for this one. They are already starting the countdown to a Manchester United quadruple, 100 days away. While I don’t think anyone is beating Barcelona in the Champions League, and Inter is going to give Manchester United everything they can handle in the round of sixteen, there is nothing wrong with this kinda talk. If gambling is your thing, 16-1 are the best odds you can get on the Quad.

How often will we hear of talk that Mark Hughes is not getting along with Elano and Robinho before the season is over? I don’t think this is the last.

I guess Petrov’s comments have stirred up Aston Villa a bit. Now Gabriel Agbonlahor thinks it would signal Villa’s intent if Gareth Barry put pin to paper on a new contract.

Looks like we will be seeing Mark Clattenburg back as a referee after all. He won his appeal and will start again in April, after 8 months out overall. How fast after he makes his first bad call will it be before fans start chanting about being paid off?

March looks to be the time Chelsea can expect Michael Essien back.

Harry Redknapp now appears set to be interviewed by Revenue and Customs over the whole bung scandal.

Liverpool have put in a request to not have a Champions League tie on April 15, the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, should they make it to the quarterfinals. Hopefully UEFA will approve.

Fabio Capello will be at the opening of Sir Bobby Robson’s Cancer Trial Research Centre with a check for 75,000 pounds. Here hoping Sir Bobby can kick cancer for the fifth time.

And finally, Luton Town will have at least one good day in their season of hell…a trip to Wembley. They will face Scunthorpe United in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final.

I wonder if Manchester City are ready to cut their losses with Robinho at this time.  After the impromptu vacation he took last week, all Manchester City seem willing to do is fine him two weeks wages. To that I say ‘big deal’. Do you think Robinho cares about missing a couple hundred more thousand quid when he got to have his fun? Now granted Manchester City did not have a game last weekend, but to just take a hike from training is a joke. Sadly though, it doesn’t seem to scratch the surface with the trouble Robinho could possibly cause.

Tonight it is being reported that Robinho has been arrested and bailed over an alleged sexual assault charge. The incident happened a few weeks ago and the arrest was just recently made. The incident in question happened in a Leeds nightclub.

When does it get to a point where Manchester City just say to hell with it and cut their losses with this player? Just the allegation of a sexual assault is a pretty harsh one indeed, even if he isn’t guilty. It makes a club question if having a player of his caliber is worth all the trouble just to have around. For a club that is still not safe for next season this is the last thing they need. It’s another distraction that only takes away from survival in order to build for the future. At this point, it’s only in Manchester City’s best interest to sell Robinho in the summer, he just isn’t worth the headache he has caused this season.

Another guy who at this point isn’t worth the headache is Andrei Arshavin. Depending on who you want to believe, Zenit and Arshavin are at an impasse with regards to a bonus payment that came about from resigning his contract back in 2006. While at the same time, Wenger has come out and said no deal has been made over Arshavin and there are even some who are saying that Wenger isn’t all that bothered if this deal gets done or not.

And at this point, why would Wenger want to spend a few sleepless nights about it? For a transfer that has been talked about since before the January transfer window opened, it’s almost shocking at how slow this all has been. Wenger may have finally gotten to a point where he just threw his hands up and has gone ‘if it happens it does, if not, who cares’. If that is the case I applaud him. Wenger doesn’t need this headache to get in his way of guiding Arsenal back into the top four.

Other Stories
The Premier League has it’s sights on a favorite site of many football fans. The Premier League is going after myp2p.eu. Now if I’m myp2p.eu, I say screw it. All they do is link to games, not host them on their website. Go after the people behind the link, not the guy who links them, it’s counter productive. While I’m thinking about it, doesn’t this just seem like a repeat over what happened with 101greatgoals?

While Craig Bellamy is denying he went on strike at West Ham United, he makes mentions of the allure of helping to build the Manchester City project? You mean the project of staying in the top flight?

Speaking of Craig Bellamy, he could be the reason that West Ham United will never sell again to Tottenham. Or as long as Scott Duxberry is in charge of transfers.

It looks like the BBC is in a bidding group of one over the Premier League Highlights in the UK.

Good old ‘Butters’ as I call him (Mark Clattenburg) has been sacked as a referee due to a breech of contract.

More reason why the Sunday Times may not have to fork over any money to Roman Abramovich. A German investor is looking at forming a group to purchase Chelsea.

Been a busy day for Kenwyne Jones. First he signs a four year deal with Sunderland, then hits the game winner against Fulham.

The fine for calling Martin Atkinson a ‘Mickey Mouse referee’, 500 quid. Joe Kinnear must have that in petty cash.

For someone who hasn’t had the best relationship with Amr Zaki, Mido seems a little too excited about having an all Egyptian partnership at Wigan.

Will the Robbie Keane saga ever end this season? If FIFA will allow it, Manchester City and Tottenham lead the chase to pick up the Liverpool striker.

They’re the men in black that you love to hate, but someone has to do the job. Here’s EPL Talk’s guide to the Premier League referees for the 2008/2009 season (click on the referee’s name to view his photograph):

Martin Atkinson. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. On August 13, 2006 he took charge of the FA Community Shield match at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Liverpool and Chelsea.

Stuart Attwell. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. Youngest ever Premier League referee at 25 years of age.

Steve Bennett. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. Bennett was involved in some controversy when he refereed the Manchester United versus Liverpool Premier League encounter on March 23, 2008. He sent off Liverpool’s Argentine Midfielder Javier Mascherano for a second bookable offence.

Mark Clattenburg. Premier League ref since 2004. Age 33. He became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of only thirty, reaching this distinction earlier than any English referee in living memory.

Michael Dean. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 40. He was originally appointed to referee the 2006 FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium on May 13, 2006, but the Football Association took the unusual step of replacing him with Alan Wiley after concerns were raised about his ability to be impartial towards Liverpool, who are based near Dean’s home town in the Wirral.

Phil Dowd. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. He was heavily criticised by Wigan’s then manager, Paul Jewell, and their owner, Dave Whelan, following his performance in the club’s Premiership match with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on February 11, 2007.

Chris Foy. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. On February 3, 2008, Foy removed the Fulham mascot, Billy the Badger, from the playing area for breakdancing on it during their 2-1 home win over Aston Villa.

Mark Halsey. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. His first match in the EPL was the 1-1 draw between Wimbledon and Coventry City on August 14, 1999.

Michael Jones. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. Age 40.

Andre Marriner. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. He was given his first Premiership match on 13 November 2004 – the 4-0 home win by Charlton Athletic over Norwich City.

Lee Mason. Premier League ref since 2006. Age 36. His first ever match in that league as man-in-the-middle came on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa,

Mike Riley. Premier League ref since 1996. Age 43. During the first half of the home match against Newcastle on 30 April 2007 Kingsley Royal, the Reading club mascot, was sent from the field by the referee for standing too close to the pitch.      

Keith Stroud. Premier League ref since 2007. Age 38. He was ‘trialed’ for the Premier League, being given the match on March 17, 2007 between Middlesbrough and Manchester City at the Riverside Stadium.

Rob Styles. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 44. On August 19, 2007, Styles refereed the Premier League game between Liverpool and Chelsea, where a controversial penalty was awarded by him to Chelsea Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was quoted as saying that the decision was ‘unbelievable’. “That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty” said Benítez after the 1–1 draw.

Steve Tanner. Premier League referee since 2007. Age 37. On January 1 2008 he was added to the FIFA list of referees, replacing Graham Poll, allowing him to referee in international and continental competitions.

Peter Walton. Premier League ref since 2003. Age 48. His first ever Premiership match in charge was the 4-3 home win by Wolverhampton Wanderers over Leicester City at Molineux on 25 October 2003.

Howard Webb. Premier League referee since 2003. Age 37. Refereed at Euro 2008 but was not selected to referee the knock-out stages.

Alan Wiley. Premier League since 1999. Age 48. He took charge of the FA Cup Final on May 13, 2006 when Liverpool played West Ham United at Wembley.