Mark Halsey takes the early lead in the Graham Poll Memorial English Referee of the Year 2008 race. In the 24th minute of the Ipswich Town - Portsmouth FA Cup tie, Halsey sent off Liam Trotter for a one-footed challenge that did not even connect. Well, just look at it here
The offense happens at the 1:04 mark, with a couple of clear replays showing the minimal contact.
Halsey's Wikipedia page has taken a slight beating after the incident. Here is the offending paragraph, preserved for posterity:
Although regarded as one of the country's 'elite' referees, he is a complete disgrace. His last match was the FA Cup match between Ipswich and Portsmouth where in the opinion of all in attendance and all of the football analysts who saw it afterwards, he wrongly sent off Liam Trotter for a "lunge" on Pedro Mendes who then proceeded to roll around on the floor like the cheating foreigner he is.That might seem harsh on Halsey, but even the BBC match report calls him out on it. Halsey blew it, and should have to pay some price for it.
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1 comment:
Just as you write this, Alan Wiley got an equally-shitty call against Burnley.
Red card for Kyle Lafferty against the gooner twats... 50/50 challenge on the sideline and Wiley pulls red for the undergod. Un-fucking-believable.
At least Fulham's behind again.
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