Liverpool FC Forum

by **marcus.c** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:26 am

No ifs and buts about it, match official Steve Bennett will have lots of accusing fingers pointing at him after his inept handling of the last Premiership game of 2004.

As Arsenal trimmed Chelsea's lead to five points after a 1-0 win over Newcastle, the talk is still lingering around St James' Park is not of the action packed contest but of the referee who stole the show.

Although neither the Magpies nor the Gunners are saints with their consistent foul play and whining, Bennett was the biggest sinner of them all with two pieces of ill judgement that helped this spectacle descend into a farce.

It was obvious to the packed stadium that Ashley Cole had blatantly handled the ball inside the box. The incident escaped the 20/20 vesion of the Orpington official, who should have been watching the play like a hawk. It is even more scandalous that the assistant referee failed to spot the England left back's attempts at volleyball !

Although rightfully aggrieved that they were denied a totally legitimate penalty, the Magpies were guilty of a spot of simulation as well. Again, Bennett who witnessed the whole sequence from point blank range, wrongly awarded the Magpies the free kick they were seeking.

But does two wrongs make a right?

Remember this is the same man who lost control of the infamous Battle of Old Trafford last Sept where all hell broke loose after Ruud theatics got Vieira sent off.

A month before that, in the Community Shield, if you can remember. He landed Sol Campbell in hot water by noting in his report the defender's retaliation even though Campbell had been hacked by Eric Djemba-Djemba. And in April 2003, the ref received stinging criticism frm David Moyes and Gordon Strachan. Moyes was furious for being banished from the touchline during a match against West Brom and was aghast when Bennett accused him of using foul and abusive language, a charge the Scotsman vehemently denied.

An equally ballistic Strachan slammed the ref for his failure to control the abrasive ex-Birmingham striker Dugarry when Birmingham beat the Saints 3-2 to preserve their top flight status.

And surprise, surprise. Bennett made it a hat-trick of three angry Scotsmen when he riled Magpies manager Souness then at Blackburn, by giving him the red card for bringing the game into disrepute even though Souey claimed there was no angry exchange of words during the 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

Bennett is not alone in this Hall of Shame. Fellow men in the muddle Graham Poll, Uriah Rennie and Mike Riley are frequent names bandied when it comes to compiling a list of Referees from Hell. Maybe the Premiership authorities ought to consider dragging Pierluigi Collina out of his retirement and make him the league's first professional referee.

There is another school of thought that believes the Premiership game has become so blindingly fast that video evidence ought to be employed to help officials make better decisions.

But with Cole's handball and Bowyer's dive obvious even to Stevie Wonder, maybe Bennett should man enough to own up to his bloopers. Then again, will this invitation ever reach him as he sits on his moral high ground alongside the rest of officialdom?

I rest my case.

Liverpool FC Forum

Blind referee dooms magpies !

Who is online