If you haven't seen the Chelsea penalty then you'll wonder why, when you see it, it will become clear.

What a cunt!

Yep what an *******, he never even had the bottle to come out and say he made a mistake.

The worst peformance by a referee I have ever seen. I've noticed he has been ****e in the past (he gave the pen to liverpool against sheff utd last season) but today he bettered hinself. Keith Hackett, eventhough being the dumbest bastard alive, has to take action and relegate Styles to the conference.

Its sticks in throat that at long last we outplay Chelsea and manage to score the goal, they get the draw by possibly the worst refereeing decision for years!

Add into that the 'sending off of Essien, we all saw him give Essien the second yellow to then say it was or Terry who he had already shown the yellow to, terrible refereeing!

**** happens, Arsenal for the league

Can't wait to get a replay of this.

I have computer AND television problems so I'm just screwed right now.

For me Chelsea vs. Liverpool is the best sporting event. And it's the only games I enjoy also on replay even when I know the score.

Rob Styles is from the bad part of Hampshire.

**** happens, Arsenal for the league

aint gonna happen

Honestly Chelsea probably might have got an equalizer without the bull**** penalty. The ref lost control of the game in the 2nd half.

The Blues attacked very nicely once Pizarro came on to start the 2nd half. Shawn Wright Phillips played his ass off today. He is what a complete package jermain Pennant could be. Fast as hell AND able to cross properly into the box. Pennant cant seem to manage the latter.

Ryan Babel has a load of potential for Liverpool. quick and has a wicked hard shot. A point is a point though . Ill take it as a Red fan, no matter how controversial it may be.

Honestly Chelsea probably might have got an equalizer without the bull**** penalty. The ref lost control of the game in the 2nd half.

The Blues attacked very nicely once Pizarro came on to start the 2nd half. Shawn Wright Phillips played his ass off today. He is what a complete package jermain Pennant could be. Fast as hell AND able to cross properly into the box. Pennant cant seem to manage the latter.

Ryan Babel has a load of potential for Liverpool. quick and has a wicked hard shot. A point is a point though . Ill take it as a Red fan, no matter how controversial it may be.

Not sure which game you watched mate but although Chelsea came back into the game in the second half they certainly didn't deserve the draw.

Match Stats

Shots (on Goal) and Percentage play

Liverpool 19(8) 56%
Chelsea 8(2) 44%



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/6941876.stm

I thought it was a good performance from Mr Styles. Although he could have sent Finnan off for his nasty challenge on Malouda.

Sad to see Mr Styles has been banned from officiating next week.

Styles said: 'All referees enter into matches hoping not to make any mistakes but understanding that they may happen, what none of us want is for any mistake to potentially affect the result of the match.'

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=455023&cc=5901

What game were you people watching? Yeah the penalty was a ****ty decision but other than that he spent the whole game penalising chelsea players for no reason.

Oh and Torres is a diving little cunt aswell

Styles said: 'All referees enter into matches hoping not to make any mistakes but understanding that they may happen, what none of us want is for any mistake to potentially affect the result of the match.'

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=455023&cc=5901

Yep, he has been banned from refereeing for next weeks fixtures and will lose x amount of points from his accumulative score which is like a league and could mean he is relegated into the Championship.


This and many other decisions made this weekend solidify my view that we need Video Referees. That way the pressure isn't just on one man.

Yep, he has been banned from refereeing for next weeks fixtures and will lose x amount of points from his accumulative score which is like a league and could mean he is relegated into the Championship.


This and many other decisions made this weekend solidify my view that we need Video Referees. That way the pressure isn't just on one man.

I think for things like penalty decisions and whether the ball has crossed the goal line and important decisions like that then a video referee would be good. Not for everything though, as it would spoil the flow of the game.

What game were you people watching? Yeah the penalty was a ****ty decision but other than that he spent the whole game penalising chelsea players for no reason.

No, what game did you watch? Check the stats mate, I think you will find that he booked a ****load of players from each side and had a ****ing shocker hence he's in the **** with his bosses.
Outside of the pen whats sticks in my mind is the double booking for Essien again in Chelsea's favour, Stiles lost complete control and Liverpool easily deserved the win.

Your point about Torres I agree with as he is a diving little twat although nearly all the foreign players start off like that then get to grips with our league. Remember Drogba, Ronaldo and even Henry in the early days.

Anyway **** it, we are top of the league!

he also appeared to book essien twice without sending him off.

he was in communication with the 4th official so why can't they get involved with decisions like that?

he also appeared to book essien twice without sending him off.

he was in communication with the 4th official so why can't they get involved with decisions like that?

They've said that it was a mistake as he left the yellow in his hand after booking terry then raised the card again to indicate for the freekick. That's bollocks! Stiles just lost control and didn't know what the **** he was doing, but wont admit that he made a cunt of himself. He obviously raised the card and pointed it directly at Essien.

Stiles lost complete control. Everytime a player said something to him he just drew for the yellow card then BRAP.

Yep, he has been banned from refereeing for next weeks fixtures and will lose x amount of points from his accumulative score which is like a league and could mean he is relegated into the Championship.


This and many other decisions made this weekend solidify my view that we need Video Referees. That way the pressure isn't just on one man.

Video Referees? This is football. Maybe you want to go even more septic and call it soccer and play it in quarters.

If there had been video referees, Liverpool might have got 3 points at the weekend but they also wouldn't have won their Camp League match against Chelsea a couple of seasons back.

Video Referees? This is football. Maybe you want to go even more septic and call it soccer and play it in quarters.

If there had been video referees, Liverpool might have got 3 points at the weekend but they also wouldn't have won their Camp League match against Chelsea a couple of seasons back.

And your point is?

Therefore the correct decison would have been made?

Of course I want it to go into four quarters, I mean you can tell that by the fact I think we just need to use technology to assist the sport cant you?

And your point is?

Therefore the correct decison would have been made?

Of course I want it to go into four quarters, I mean you can tell that by the fact I think we just need to use technology to assist the sport cant you?

So you'd rather have not won the Champ League and got 3 points on your way to 3rd or 4th spot in the Premiership this season.

You could have video technology for the ball crossing the goal line but it wouldn't work for anything else.

awful decision - every right to feel aggrieved. It is the game though, Liverpool get plenty of bad decisions their way n all.

Just last week the free kick Gerrard scored from was never a foul, so from a villa fan's point of view that ref is a c**t as well.

video technology should only be used for over the line decisions IMO. The refereeing of fouls is a crucial part of the game; removing that from the refs control is akin to neutering a prize bull.

So you'd rather have not won the Champ League and got 3 points on your way to 3rd or 4th spot in the Premiership this season.

You could have video technology for the ball crossing the goal line but it wouldn't work for anything else.

Obviously I see your point but we would have gone to penalties, we may have won we may not have but in the long run it would work out fairer, it would also stop the blatant diving in the box that all teams are guilty of including Liverpool.

awful decision - every right to feel aggrieved. It is the game though, Liverpool get plenty of bad decisions their way n all.

Just last week the free kick Gerrard scored from was never a foul, so from a villa fan's point of view that ref is a c**t as well.

Agreed, however there is a huge difference between Gerrard running over a trailing leg and receiving a free kick outside of the box and Malouda throwing himself at Finnan to stop stop Finnan defending the ball and receiving a penalty!!!
Besides a free kick leads to goals say 30% of the time where by penalties lead to goals say 85% of the time?

video technology should only be used for over the line decisions IMO. The refereeing of fouls is a crucial part of the game; removing that from the refs control is akin to neutering a prize bull.

This is a matter of opinion, referees already wear earpieces and are in contact with their fourth official, the fourth official has easy access to a monitor therefore if a referee is not 100% sure he could quickly ask the opinion of his fourth official. Hence making the game fairer.
This would take seconds, currently it takes longer for the official to settle the aggrieved players down!
This then would negate the reason for diving in the box etc but will I agree take some of the power from referees but the game is about football not referees isn't it?
So it if it neuters them so what the game becomes more even and the age of the celebrity referee will disappear!

A couple of things.

First, decisions in the penalty box are more crucial than outside in general, accepted, but if it leads directly to a goal, then it is just as important. If I was a villa fan I'd have been just as furious last saturday (you're far too generous on gerrard - he dives, he looks for the freekicks as much as malouda did on sun).

You're right on the second point, it is a matter of opinion. i just think it would take too long to look at various angles and make a decision that is much better than the one at the time. I guess this argument comes down to how important you think the referees are in the game. I think they are crucial to the atmosphere, whether you use the phrase "celebrity ref" or not (personally i think the phrase is nonsense, I couldn't name one ref who behaved anything like a celebrity).

What we should definitely do is retrospectively ban players for diving - you can use the technology for that without affecting the game too much. Pires, gerrard, vieira, etc too many guys have got away with conning refs in this league.

A couple of things.

First, decisions in the penalty box are more crucial than outside in general, accepted, but if it leads directly to a goal, then it is just as important. If I was a villa fan I'd have been just as furious last saturday (you're far too generous on gerrard - he dives, he looks for the freekicks as much as malouda did on sun).

You're right on the second point, it is a matter of opinion. i just think it would take too long to look at various angles and make a decision that is much better than the one at the time. I guess this argument comes down to how important you think the referees are in the game. I think they are crucial to the atmosphere, whether you use the phrase "celebrity ref" or not (personally i think the phrase is nonsense, I couldn't name one ref who behaved anything like a celebrity).

What we should definitely do is retrospectively ban players for diving - you can use the technology for that without affecting the game too much. Pires, gerrard, vieira, etc too many guys have got away with conning refs in this league.

Firstly OW, I stated that Liverpool are as guilty as any other in regard to diving, Gerrard is no exception. I haven't blamed Malouda??? I blamed Stiles for not noticing such a blatant dive, hence the title of this thread?

Most players look for free kicks, again Gerrard is no exception, the Malouda incident was exceptional due to the fact he never played the ball nor did he attempt to play the ball.
This led to a direct scoring opportunity unlike a free kick.

As for celebrity referee's, I can name two off the top of my head from recent years, Graham Poll and Collina. Poll especially made the games he refereed about him.

BTW my point about celebrity referees was not that we have them as such (although there have been the odd couple) but more that referees should blend into a game not appear to be the start and end point of the match therefore becoming celebrities, see my point?

fair point on the liverpool players, i just get an inkling sometimes that your love for the 'pool is tinting your view, but not really here -

As for Poll, i never felt he was a celebrity ref - in fact when i watched the program on him after he retired i was surprised at what he really looked like, cos I'd never really paid much attention. He has engaged a lot more with the media now, but he has retired, no doubt in part due to the treatment he got from some managers, which is ****ing despicable in my book. Mourinho, warnock and co are the real problem. If I was Poll and he'd said those things to me, I'd be tempted to either A) kick his head in or B) refuse to referee the game.

fair point on the liverpool players, i just get an inkling sometimes that your love for the 'pool is tinting your view, but not really here -

As for Poll, i never felt he was a celebrity ref - in fact when i watched the program on him after he retired i was surprised at what he really looked like, cos I'd never really paid much attention. He has engaged a lot more with the media now, but he has retired, no doubt in part due to the treatment he got from some managers, which is ****ing despicable in my book. Mourinho, warnock and co are the real problem. If I was Poll and he'd said those things to me, I'd be tempted to either A) kick his head in or B) refuse to referee the game.


Fair play OW, I'm sure I do have a bias view of the club I have grown up supporting but that I think applies to every supporter of a team. Although I do try to be balanced!

When I posted this thread I was still seething with anger at the injustice of it all but the harsh truth is that this will happen again both for us and against us.

It doesn't help that I have my own history with Stiles going back to the Tranmere v Southampton game a few years ago, where by he let Aldridge field 12 players. I was there that night and it was chaos so......

As for Poll, ask any of my neighbours from the Blue side of the City to comment on his ability and they will tell you story after story whereby Pol turned the game into the Graham Poll show. In fact last season I went to watch Everton v Arsenal in the Carling Cup and he played up again therefore is all about personal perspective!

Graham Poll has to be one of the most poorest referees i've ever witnessed. I've seen him referee internationally, i've seen him referee on the television and i've seen him referee at Hillsborough. Some of the poor judgements, some of the incompetancies and some of the just pure mistakes that have occurred under his un-watching eye are a travesty.

A terrible official.

As for Collina- i always felt comforted when he was refereeing. Firm but always fair, you knew you were going to have a well regulated match.

At least Malouda never dived, unlike Gerrard who we all know likes to take a dive once in a while.



And this is ****ty news for any team that gets relegated into the championship next season lol.

At least Malouda never dived, unlike Gerrard who we all know likes to take a dive once in a while.



And this is ****ty news for any team that gets relegated into the championship next season lol.

Ermmm, Ok, so Malouda didn't dive then?

I take it you think that Stiles is on his way down then, you could be right.

Graham Poll has to be one of the most poorest referees i've ever witnessed. I've seen him referee internationally, i've seen him referee on the television and i've seen him referee at Hillsborough. Some of the poor judgements, some of the incompetancies and some of the just pure mistakes that have occurred under his un-watching eye are a travesty.

A terrible official.

As for Collina- i always felt comforted when he was refereeing. Firm but always fair, you knew you were going to have a well regulated match.

Best referee around at the time, agreed.
He was definitely a 'celeb' ref though. I mean he was a TV star in Italy, starred in movies and went to other countries to referee celebrity versus footballers type games.

colina may have been a celebrity, and most certainly the warm regard england fans hold for him is at least partially due to the fact that english teams played well and got good results when he refereed, and his decisions happened to support our teams in those games (not implying he was biased, just chance).

I always though Poll was a good ref - he had excellent communication with the players (which probably hurt him in the world cup where the language barriers came in) and liked to see the game played the way it should.

in fact, I get really pissed off that we're focusing on referees here - it is the clubs, players and managers that are at fault - almost entirely - for "refereeing errors" and the poor state of sportsmanship in the game. We need to be much harsher on players who go to ground easily and managers who insult referees.

I'd ban Mourinho from the touchline for the whole season - he acts like a complete c**t.

That Malouda play is kind of weird. As a defender you know you have to play the ball, if the ball rolls by and there's contact, well it has to go against the defender. I'M NOT SAYING THE CALL WAS A GOOD ONE. It just wasn't half as bad as I expected given that it was two days later when I caught it.

I have no ****ing clue what Malouda was trying to do, that's the really perplexing thing about this. Not to say Finnan's play was justified. At the end of the day he ****ed it up too. You HAVE to touch the ball and if you do there's no way the call can go against you.

That Malouda play is kind of weird. As a defender you know you have to play the ball, if the ball rolls by and there's contact, well it has to go against the defender. I'M NOT SAYING THE CALL WAS A GOOD ONE. It just wasn't half as bad as I expected given that it was two days later when I caught it.

I have no ****ing clue what Malouda was trying to do, that's the really perplexing thing about this. Not to say Finnan's play was justified. At the end of the day he ****ed it up too. You HAVE to touch the ball and if you do there's no way the call can go against you.

Ah **** that Malouda probably should have been carded. You can even give a red for that, it's not diving it's reckless play.

Malouda kind of just jumped for no reason over the ball. There was little contact which clattered him down but it wasnt a penalty. Malouda never intentionally dived but **** knows what he was doing.

i thought it was clear what malouda was doing - he saw that it was a very close race to make contact with the ball between him and Finnan, and he decided to get his body in front as a priority, the ball coming second. I've done it and had it done to me a thousand times in games. Usually the striker will also get something on the ball in which case as a defender you have to be very careful not to make too much contact - they will go down as they are practically airborne when you make contact.

Technically it is a foul by Malouda seeing as he played finnan rather than the ball, but strikers get away with it so much. To give the decision the other way was ridiculous.

Make no mistake, he was looking for a penalty, as his chances of successfully getting to the ball and controlling it were next to nothing. At best he must have hoped to just touch it and then get the contact, but he couldn't manage it.

Sorry if i haven't explained myself very well, bad day.

i thought it was clear what malouda was doing - he saw that it was a very close race to make contact with the ball between him and Finnan, and he decided to get his body in front as a priority, the ball coming second. I've done it and had it done to me a thousand times in games. Usually the striker will also get something on the ball in which case as a defender you have to be very careful not to make too much contact - they will go down as they are practically airborne when you make contact.

Technically it is a foul by Malouda seeing as he played finnan rather than the ball, but strikers get away with it so much. To give the decision the other way was ridiculous.

Make no mistake, he was looking for a penalty, as his chances of successfully getting to the ball and controlling it were next to nothing. At best he must have hoped to just touch it and then get the contact, but he couldn't manage it.

Sorry if i haven't explained myself very well, bad day.


I know what you mean. But Malouda should have received the ball with his right foot, using his left leg and ass to shield Finnan (the ball can 'come second', but not 'not at all'), in which case the penatly would have been correct b/c Finnan let M's activity distract him. He flinched and/or bent back whereas if he had played it correctly himself Malouda would have crashed into him for an obvious foul.

Can't really fault the ref TOO MUCH b/c both players made very odd choices

i'll rewatch and reply, i only saw one replay at the time - very odd from malouda if he wasn't going for the penalty (I'm 90% certain he was)

Malouda was blocking Finnan off and trying to dummy the ball to allow it to go through to Drogba. He just did it in an incredibly unsubtle American Football style and rather than get penalized for being wreckless...he won the ****ing penalty.

Terrible refereeing. Good idea by Malouda, just incredibly clumsily executed...you'dve thought.

Malouda was blocking Finnan off and trying to dummy the ball to allow it to go through to Drogba. He just did it in an incredibly unsubtle American Football style and rather than get penalized for being wreckless...he won the ****ing penalty.

Terrible refereeing. Good idea by Malouda, just incredibly clumsily executed...you'dve thought.

Yep, exactly.

It was crude attempt to block Finnan from intercepting the ball. Why he jumped is beyond me but I don't think he was attempting to dive I just think he had a mad half second and thought I'll block the defender coming out but executed it completely the wrong way.

Styles obviously saw it as Finnan blocking him off but the clue was in the position of the ball. If it had have been in front of Malouda then I can understand why he would see that as a possible foul but because it went behind him....it was like a caricature of what you see in the 'How to referee DVD' but instead of Styles laughing and saying 'Foul on defender' he lost the plot and pointed to the spot!

Malouda was blocking Finnan off and trying to dummy the ball to allow it to go through to Drogba. He just did it in an incredibly unsubtle American Football style and rather than get penalized for being wreckless...he won the ****ing penalty.

Terrible refereeing. Good idea by Malouda, just incredibly clumsily executed...you'dve thought.

That makes more sense. The replay I saw cut Drogba out

Malouda was blocking Finnan off and trying to dummy the ball to allow it to go through to Drogba. He just did it in an incredibly unsubtle American Football style and rather than get penalized for being wreckless...he won the ****ing penalty.

Terrible refereeing. Good idea by Malouda, just incredibly clumsily executed...you'dve thought.

This is what happened IMO.

yep, it is. good work mik, i didn't see drogba the first time either.

The less said, the better!

the blind twat cost us the game!!!