Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Baggies boss wants refs respect
Albion boss Tony Mowbray urges referees to show players more respect and claimed some officials are too ‘pally’ with top stars.
Mowbray broke his silence on Tuesday’s Rob Styles controversy at the Hawthorns, after Paul Robinson’s red card against Manchester United was overturned by the FA.
The Baggies manager believes the FA’s ongoing ‘Respect the Referee’ campaign must work both ways.
He said: “I like referees who have a bit of respect for the players. We talk about ‘Respect the Referee’ but I like it to work both ways. The best referees can communicate with the players. We have a few in the league who can do that- but there is a few who are not so good at it.
“They are on the periphery of the industry and some of them find it difficult to work with superstar footballers. They are not sure how to handle the personalities and it is almost like a falseness comes over them.
“Sometimes they are in awe of players and at other times they are too ‘in your face’ and aggressive towards them. There are too many who don’t manage the football match. There are too many times when the game seems too big for them.”
An FA disciplinary panel took less than an hour to overturn Mr Styles’ decision to dismiss Robinson for a foul on United’s Park Ji-Sung.
The tough-tackling left-back will now be available for the trip to Hull and next week’s meetings with Burnley and Newcastle, after initially being banned for the games.
The FA decision reopened the debate over Hampshire official Style’s performance on Tuesday, which was derided by spectators.
Mowbray added: “It is almost as if some referees want to be the friend of the stars. It is ‘Frank this’ and ‘Frank that’, and yet he doesn’t know the names of any of our players, so it is too easy to brandish a card.
“I thought Mr Styles had a difficult night on Tuesday.”
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Rob Styles lost all control on Wendnesday and the yellow cards ought to be looked at too. How come referees are unaccountable for their actions?
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Well done TM You have stated what most of us felt tues night Lots of fans left 15 mins early not with any disrespect for our team but the childish antics of that fool STYLES the last and final straw was .the yellow card for Morrison I have been watching football for over 50 years and never witnessed anything so disgusting
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Brierly you mean Tuesday !! and yes totally agree the yelows should be looked at also.
Boing Boing lets tame the tigers.
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Fair play Tony. Am in100% agreement.
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My reply from FA
Dear Sir
Thank you for your email regarding Rob Styles performance in the West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United fixture, we are sorry you were not happy with the decisions made.
As you may be aware we receive numerous queries and complaints referring to individual referee’s decisions and their overall performance. Unfortunately we are unable to send a response for each individual incident. There is not a formal mechanism for individuals to complain about referee’s performances and decisions but please be assured we take all complaints seriously and welcome all constructive feedback. We also report back regularly to Professional Games Match Officials, the body which employs all the referees, to ensure that they are fully aware of all the feedback we receive.
I thought it would be helpful for you to know the process undertaken by Professional Games Match Officials to monitor, scrutinise and improve the referees performances throughout the season.
Please be assured that the performance of the referee in this fixture, together with all performances by the Select Group Referees, will be reviewed with him in detail in a number of different ways. There is constant monitoring of referees’ performances, with a view to improving their performance from week to week. Referees are appropriately criticised if it is felt that decisions were wrong.
The referee’s technical performance in a match is assessed by the Independent Assessor, and their overall handling of the match is reported on by an Independent Match Delegate, who is often a former player, manager or coach. These reports focus on the referee’s control of the match, the way that he deals with key incidents as well as the way he communicates his decisions. These reports are shared with the referees on both a formal and informal basis. The aim is to help the referee to improve his performance, taking into account the scrutiny of each performance.
I do hope the above helps clarify how we are constantly trying to improve and maintain standards of refereeing.
Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of your views.
Kind regards,
Communications Department
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1 BH.
You beat me to it. I was going to say that we should appeal the yellows on the grounds of a lack of neutrality, citing the manner in which United players were treated compared to the way Stiles reacted to our players. I haven’t received an acknowledgement that my Email was received yet, has anyone else?
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5.. Lukey boy
I happen to know that the assessor on Tuesday said that Styles had a good game and the sending off was warranted. It just shows that even the assessor are out of touch.
Dont get me wrong I know there are some very good assessors at the PGMO and some very good referees (two of my mates are football league referees)
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Debaggie.
I aggree,I never leave early and I left with 20 mins to go not because of our performance but because of Stiles. At one point in the second half I thought the men in white coats would come for me and feared I would either do myself damage or get banned for trying to get at him.
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Reading between the lines of the FA’s reply posted by No.5, I gain an impression that they have had more than a few complaints about said idiot Styles. I heard that Kenny Hibbitt was an assessor and I can’t believe he would have been happy with Styles’ handling of the game. (I can’t use the word ‘MATCH’, it could have been that but Styles made sure it wasn’t). I daren’t even cough now, so many muscles did I pull round the ribs yelling at that, that, er.. thing! You Villa men, report back here after your match. We shall be waiting. (And don’t let the result affect your judgement).
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I was making tackles like Paul Robinson way back in 1966 50/50 ball I say, Su Ji Park in my opinion was to slow and you knew who wanted the ball mosted it was Robbo.
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Rob Styles was a disgrace. End of.
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I haven’t heard anything off them yet and I doubt I will.
All we can concentrate on is getting behind the boys, whether we think they should be in the team or not, and doing our part for our club. After all, there’s only us and the players who will keep the club in the Prem. No-one’s ever going to give us a break.
I’m off to the pub now to meet my mates, then venturing to Hull. See you there my fellow baggie boys and girls.
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First let me say it was a game we were never going to win however The disparity in refereing between Man U and Albion can be illustrated with two incidents. The First with Giggs, who I admired during the game, held the ball whilst argueing with Styles for a blatant foul on Simpson by Ferguson. He then left the ball for Style to place for the Free Kick. No action yet when Koren, as Captain, queried the decision for a Free kick justbefore half time he was booked. The way he refereed the game bordered on corrupt.
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There has to be some rational explanation for Rob Styles and his appalling behaviour on Tuesday night, which completely wrecked what was an enjoyable match with Manchester United. Is he suffering personal problems? Was he on prescription drugs? Is he frightened for his future, as he is making so many mistakes? Was he simply scared of Ferguson’s wrath? Or has his self-obsession finally marred all judgement?
The sending off was shocking enough. But his blank, smiling face, as he booked successive Albion players in the second half made me wonder about his mental and physical state.
The non-stop talking to Manchester United players was also so bizarre that had it been in a South American country, there would have been a riot. It was as if he was sending a message to us all: This game is fixed and you can do nothing about it.
I can not recall witnessing a more unpleasant and inefficient performance from any ref’, at any level.
But I still have long-term faith that this blatant posturing will earn him a reprimand.
Can fans please write and add their complaints to The Referee’s Assocation,
1, Westhill Road, Coundon, Coventry CV6 2AD?
Telephone: 02476 8601701.
It will not right the wrongs of the match, even though Robinson has been reinstated that goal difference may still send us down. But this man can not be allowed to continue ruining the enjoyment of thousands of football fans – other than the likes of Man. U or Arsenal, of course – with such woeful performances.
Did we witness a corrupt official? I prefer to think not. But my cynicism for the game, like so many things, is growing. The FA and Referee’s Association need to reassure us that all is well with Rob Styles, both on and off the pitch.
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well said Tony! its about time you speak your mind and stop talking the soft crap! the players were treated with absolute no respect so i would have treated the ref the same! they should do their job properly and then he wouldnt be the centre of attention and risking losing his job!
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At the end of the day i have never seen the ground so hostile, Styles was on the edge of starting a riot with every wrong decision he made. Players get cards for taunting the opposition fans during the game, surely Styles should have got one, it was an absolute disgrace, i for one want to take Styles to court and make him pay back my £40 just for giving us an unfair chance all the way through
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Garth No.14 That’s the best assessment I’ve read on this topic. Without doubt the man Styles has a huge problem. I think your comment should be sent, word-for-word to the FA, requesting a qualified answer. How about it Express and Star?
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