Lambert charged £8,000 for Chelsea post match comments

[cheltenhamlion]

He also said something about the decision being different if it was down the other end.

Factually correct but its that which copped him for a fine.

[Clampy]

He also said something about the decision being different if it was down the other end.

Factually correct but its that which copped him for a fine.

Most likely the case.

[cheltenhamlion]

That said, would a fine have applied in the same circumstances to Sralex?

Read the new H+V to find out...

DW - Check your emails. Can you run all that?

[dave.woodhall]

That said, would a fine have applied in the same circumstances to Sralex?

Read the new H+V to find out...

DW - Check your emails. Can you run all that?

Probably not.

[cheltenhamlion]

Leave the bit about his iffy son out...

[Percy McCarthy]

That said, would a fine have applied in the same circumstances to Sralex?

Read the new H+V to find out...

DW - Check your emails. Can you run all that?

Probably not.

Thank fuck for that.

[cheltenhamlion]

Nice!

[usav]

He also said something about the decision being different if it was down the other end.

Factually correct but its that which copped him for a fine.

To be fair, it's not factually correct because it is a hypothetical statement.

[MoetVillan]

I dont mind putting some cash in to help out Lambert.  I think he has been unfairly fined and as a few posters have put, this will only stop when the FA man up and start making comments like officials do in Cricket, Rugby etc.  And he did fuck up (Friend) on two potential match result changing incidents.

"Thems the rules" holds no water for me, the rules are wrong

[Surrey Villain]

He had better refuse to do a post-match interview after Saturday's game - the ref is Mike Dean!

[SamTheMouse]

I understand the FA's stance here. They have to uphold the authority of referees, otherwise the game will just become a free-for-all and nobody will have any respect for the man in the middle. You might well argue that's already the case, but I think allowing people to slag off refs willy nilly would only make things worse.

I also don't see the point in making them explain their decisions. Most referees make so many mistakes - even during a single game - that every account of themselves they gave afterward would basically be an abject and humiliating mea culpa. Remember, these guys aren't competing, they're just trying to enforce the rules and they don't get paid 20 grand a month or more to do it.

Their job is made incredibly difficult by the cheating wankers they have to officiate. Maybe they could be made to explain themselves after the game, but far better to start by introducing draconian retroactive punishment for players who try to hoodwink them.

[MoetVillan]

Sam, fair points, but what if the refs have made mistakes.  Peoples jobs/careers depend on some of the decisions, and you cant expect people in (last time I looked) a country where we have freedom of speech to just sit there and take it.  If the Ref has made a mistake, which to anyone out there that understands right from wrong knows happened in the Chelsea game, it looks pretty fucking terrible to fine a man with the current philosophy

"Mr Lambert, you spoke out against the refereeing decisions correctly, but we dont allow you to do that, so we are going to fine you £8k"

Fucking shambles.  Plus it isnt even transparent, take a look at some of the comments managers have made over the last year and prove to me that they have all being fined the same, and consistently pulled up on the same things.

If the manager refuses to give an after match interview he is in trouble, if he refuses to comment on a decision because he doesnt agree with it, its just as bad as speaking out.

And if the ref comes out and says "Listen, when I was officiating I saw this and that happen" then at least you take it on the chin, better that than sitting there (like I am) boiling away with anger because I think he is a Sky4 loving official

[Concrete John]

I understand the FA's stance here. They have to uphold the authority of referees, otherwise the game will just become a free-for-all and nobody will have any respect for the man in the middle. You might well argue that's already the case, but I think allowing people to slag off refs willy nilly would only make things worse.

I also don't see the point in making them explain their decisions. Most referees make so many mistakes - even during a single game - that every account of themselves they gave afterward would basically be an abject and humiliating mea culpa. Remember, these guys aren't competing, they're just trying to enforce the rules and they don't get paid 20 grand a month or more to do it.

Their job is made incredibly difficult by the cheating wankers they have to officiate. Maybe they could be made to explain themselves after the game, but far better to start by introducing draconian retroactive punishment for players who try to hoodwink them.

The thing is respect needs to be earned rather than given.  A ref coming out and fronting things up after a game would help this.  As it stands, they make wrong decisions and just walk away, which winds everyone up.  I don't think they'd be asked about every decision, just the major ones.

I do believe they have leanings, subconsious though they may be, towards the 'bigger' clubs.  Perhaps having them explain decisions afterwards would help even this out after a while?

[SamTheMouse]

The thing is, when they came to explain their decisions afterward, we know they'd say one of two things:

- either "this is what I saw and I stand by it"
- or "this is what I saw and I was wrong".

If they say the former, it's not going to placate those of us who disagreed with the original decision, and if they say the latter, they're inviting yet more opprobrium. So you're effectively asking them to say that a) they're biased or b) they're incompetent.

I suppose there is a possibility that they could say c) "I got it wrong but it was because Suarez dived, the little twat", in which case it might have the welcome effect of concentrating everyone's attention on the offending cheat. But I doubt it.

[Concrete John]

Possible, but personally I'd have more respect for them if they had the guts to say something rather than hiding after a game.