Terrible refereeing in Glory versus Victory

didn't some asian big wig somewhere complain about the refereeing standards of the A League? remember reading something like that a while ago. i agree that they should be made professional and have to conform to a standard, to protect our players and to raise the standards of the players.

The issue is the autocracy of Gary Power. He is the only person these days who can judge and appoint referees. Gerard Parsons may not be good enough for A-League, but Power likes him. Others may be consistently better, but do not get a chance. Unless Power is replaced and an independent panel of assessors replace him, nothing will change and the only way for referees to ever be appointed to A-League will be to get Power to like them.

Fuss Sorry about the lnik try the new one story below.. but in todays SHM... http://www.smh.com.au/sport/a-league/optimism-as-mariners-set-course-for-bright-future-20100817-128ic.html Optimism as Mariners set course for bright future Michael Cockerill August 18, 2010 CENTRAL Coast Mariners are in the process of shaking their ''unfashionable'' tag and, when the dust settles, new chairman Peter Turnbull believes the club with a reputation for over-achieving will be one of the most successful and stable in the country. It has been a frenetic six months for the Mariners following their worst season but, just two rounds into the new term, pessimism has been replaced by optimism as enormous progress is made on and off the park. A revamped Central Coast side has an early share of the competition lead, there are signs the crowds are on the way back, and Turnbull is hailing new boss Graham Arnold as ''the best coach in the country'' and remains confident the club's $40 million Centre of Excellence at Tuggerah will eventuate regardless of the outcome of this weekend's federal election. ''These are exciting times for the club, no doubt about it,'' said Turnbull, a property developer who has been major stakeholder for the past four years. ''The first five years of the A-League have been a roller-coaster for the everyone, not just the Mariners, but we're confident that the programs we're now putting in place are here to stay. The foundations were started by Lyall Gorman [former Mariners shareholder and now the boss of the A-League], and we've built on them. We intend to be a strong club, a successful club, for the next 50 years. That's what it's all about.'' Arnold has rebuilt the side, which slumped to eighth last season, bringing in nine new players and focusing on an evolution of style. The early signs are encouraging - a win and a draw in the opening two rounds - and while the attacking side remains a work in progress, the impending inclusion of Argentine playmaker Patricio Perez after his fitness problems should be a catalyst. It's also likely the Mariners will sign an attacking guest player before Christmas. Locally, the word is out that the Mariners are working to become more entertaining, and last weekend's crowd of more than 8000 for the visit of Adelaide United was a significant show of faith. ''We thought it was a good crowd for a Sunday afternoon, when a lot of local catch-up games were being played,'' Turnbull said. ''We've handed out 4000 junior memberships, and it showed us that our community initiatives are working.'' Turnbull has been impressed by Arnold's enthusiasm for his new job after a decade working with the national teams. ''We know we've got the best coach in the country - he's the perfect fit at the perfect time,'' Turnbull said. Arnie is going to prove how good he is this season.'' But perhaps the most crucial factor in securing the club's future is the Centre of Excellence. The Labor Party has pledged $10m towards the project, while the Liberal Party last weekend dipped its toes into local football by pledging $3m towards an upgrade of nearby Pluim Park.

Last weeks Reds v Jets game was just as woefully reffed by Senor Parsons. He is fast overtaking Matthew Breeze as the worst ref in the A-League.

Midfielder You have me intrigued ... but your link leads to an error.

Fuss Just an aside have a read of this article http://www.smh.com.a...0817-128ic.html

Pretty interesting topic (the handballs) I had to admit it had me a bit baffled and I didn't realise why they were occuring. Mister Footballs post makes some sense to me but I have never noticed it. I'm guessing Vidic would do it on a regular basis (use his arms as a distraction rather than handball) so next time I see Man U on the tele I will try and watch him closely to see if it's true. Bit hard though as defenders don't get a lot of camera time.

Yes Burns is a hard player but I thought Grant Brebner got away with the worst foul of the night and Adrian Leijer was lucky not to get a couple of yellow cards too. The foul and free kick count was heavily in Victory's favour, so the ref saw more Perth fouls than Victory's. Surprisingly Kevin Muscat stayed out of the trouble - must be getting old and conservative. I guess if you were at the game sitting in the middle of the MV fans you would quickly have to form the opinion that the ref was crap and totally against Victory. :)

Mr Aussie Rules - here is some news. Teams throughout history, regardless of code have gone out of their way to bend the rules and gain advantage. Hawthorn bent the rules to such a massive extent in the 2008 GF that the AFL were forced to make a rule change. I can't see what you are trying to prove by highlighting something you saw in the last World Cup. If you don't have anything to contribute that is on topic then don't bother. You are just wasting everybody's time.

MF What are you on about? You comments don't make sense and your analysis is shoddy, which is not surprising since you admit - quite often - you didn't actually watch the full game of any football match during the WC. I recall your mentioning, you only switch on for the last 15 minutes! I watched the full game - start to finish - for 61 out of the 64 matches and I can tell you your observations are not factual. Unbelievable! Surely, with 2 weeks left in your AFL season you have enough to discuss and analyse about AFL? I mean you have annual Rule changes to ponder, online questionnaires to fill out and, of course, the most awaited and controversial event each year ... ... which lucky AFL stars will be named in the only "Australian team" that never actually plays a game!

Midfielder Love your passion - this is the rivalry we need within the HAL! I must admit my views on CCM are based on their behaviour during the past 2 seasons. Your are right in saying they played some very good football - particularly in Year 3 when they lost to Newcastle in the GF. PS: Of course, at the "blue side of Olympic Boulevard" our capitano never ever bends the rules or does anything remotely thuggish ;-)

MF Excellent call and obversation ... but the refs are quite bad... It happens at a young age ... one of my boys at 12 becaame a junior ref and kept playing... they must have thos he was OK because by the time he was 16 he was the ref at U 14 state league matches ... and the linie for all age state league matches... he was one of a group of 8 boys ... then they told him to stop playing on the wekend and just ref... he told em to stick it and was then given womens junior games on Sunday morning ... so he stopped... Meaning I guess is the problem is with those running and training our junior ref's. They are all well meaning honest folk... but by saying to young boys stop playing robs ref's of actual experience .... this in my opinion is were to start... as an aside all the boys stopped because they all still wanted to play ... they were all lost to the game...

CCM one of the more stylish teams?

Fuss Grow up and look at what is happening... talk about tarred with a brush ... the Mariners this year have a mid field with 4 players weighing in at 60 Kl's ... they have signed 12 new players and let 11 go... I don't mine people having a go when it is deserved ... go back to Hal 1, 2 & 3 ... we were one of the more stylish sides... yes in Hal's 4 & 5 things went back a tad... but even in Hal five we signed Travis & weeMac... Suggest you look at the current make up and look at last Sundays game... As for Perth ... it can happen ... I recall a famous game in Hal 3 when SFC under Kossie kicked the daylights out of us when Matthew Breeze was the ref .. To this day the worst performance I have ever seen in any code .. we had four players carried off ... two more on the park covered in blood and bandages ... that match actually cost the mariners the grand final IMO because of the injuries....So it is not uncommon for it to happen... when Terry Butcher was at SFC also they played hard... Fuss .... as I said don't mine people saying things but hate people who just say things off the top of their head and there is no evidence to back up the call ... just mindless calls. OK OK Mariners rant over... But more to the point is the standard of the refs... I think it is the biggest issue FFA have... many are not up to the task... the assistance are often out of position... many games are decdided by the poor standard of the ref... I did not see the MV V Perth match ... but I accept what people are saying.... IMO refs should be made full time or sent to Europe or something to increase there skills ... it is scareie in many ways how poor they are ... and when things are let go how bad they can get... Last year I was playing in a match when in the first minute a player from the other side made a poor tackle ... two of our players started to complain one quite hard .. he got his first yellow card he kept complaining got his second yellow and was off.... the the ref turned to the player that made the tackle and issued him a red card... called the captains together and said no nonsense... The best game I have played in from their... we meet in the finals and the ref was the same ... everyone remembered and their were no issues... IMO this is what should happen. in the A-League the ref's need to put their stamp down.. the skillful players need to be protected ... but not to the point of if an air brush hits them they fall down as if hit by a tank... As an aside in the Inbreds V Mariners game on the weekend... the ref called each time a player went down, and always to the player on the ground... it worked both ways and both sides milked some soft frees ... it is not a simple issue... but certainly our ref's are not up to being in charge of the level of the A-League as I see it...

I presumed on the night he was trying to "let the match flow" but if that's the case it has to be said he certainly over did it, was bizarre seeing Brebner gettin booked for an obscure off the ball incident while a plethora of lunging tackles were never penalised for a foul let alone booked for reckless challenges Should never officiate an MVFC match again IMO that's for sure

I've now observed it at two WCs running, the best against the best. A defender doesn't wake up one morning and start trying to get his hand to the ball in the box. Furthermore, what I've observed (from both WCs, and we're talking about top defenders here), is that the idea is either to: 1. unobtrusively snick the ball, the tiniest change in trajectory will cause the attacker behind him to misjudge the ball, because he'll only be one or two metres behind; and/or 2. put the attacker off by the defender having his arm/hand blur the attacker's vision of the ball - and if you are quick enough, there is probably no obvious infraction of you don't touch the ball. These are difficult maneuvres to pull off with split second decision making involved - so I am saying to you that they are not happening in a vacuum, but are becoming part of the accepted armoury of the top defenders, and quite likely, they are training for it. It's a bit like pretending to go up for a mark in aussie rules to block your opponent from going for the mark, to shield your team mate who has front position. Let me tell you - that is a very, very difficult maneuvre to pull off in match conditions - it's not just something you do on a whim - and it's exactly the same sort of thing with defenders using their hands. This is the sort of thing obervers with a keen eye for the game will pick up - I'm disappointed in you Art. I should add that this sort of maneuvre is very different to what both Suarez and Henry did, which can be more of a spur of the moment thing (and let's be honest, Suarez was hardly subtle!) - what I am describing here is very subtle, but it's there if you have an eye for these things.

How is it a phenomenon if has occurred on a few occasions in an event that happens every 4 years. In the meantime, tens of thousands professional games will be played around the world before 2014. Your job is to watch at least 1000 games. That's a nice sample and tell us how many times you see this phenomenon. Can't wait for the report :)

There were examples this year and in 2006, and you aren't recalling the attempts. It's a new phenomenon, it' becoming far too regular to be a random occurence.

So, 2 Serbs get penalised correctly for handball in the penalty area. Both incidents were punished and the goal they conceded against Ghana effectively knocked them out of the tournament. In high stakes games players do stupid things. And in this case they damaged their sides chances of progression. So, again, what's your point, exactly?

Thanks for that important, yet, somewhat disturbing, bit of information Wolfie.