Poor Colin

You have to feel sorry for Colin don't you? First game back in the big time and you get a dodgy penalty given against you when playing one of the top three clubs in the country. It was interesting seeing Rob Styles interviewed ten minutes after the Sheffield Utd 1-1 draw with Liverpool.










There didn't seem to be any contact from Chris Morgan on Stevie G as the latter burst into the Blades penalty box but having tried a shot down he went and Styles gave the penalty. When confronted with the fact that TV replays suggested there had been no contact, Style quite correctly quoted Law 12:

"A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

kicks or attempts to kick an opponent, trips or attempts to trip an opponent, jumps at an opponent, charges an opponent, strikes or attempts to strike an opponent, pushes an opponent."

He eloquently explained the two second rule he can enforce and the fact that the pen. could be given for an attempted foul - so far so much sense. Why then did he not apply that part of Law 12 that states:

Sending-Off Offences

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following (seven) offences:

denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick.

No wonder smaller clubs feel persecuted when referees can decide which parts of the Laws they will observe at any given time.




One of life's ironies is that Colin
is a qualified referee.