Chelsea v Aston Villa Pre-Match Thread

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Stuart Atwell is the ref apparently.

The choices are incompetent or dodgy.

We seem to get him a lot considering he's probably a fan of one of our local rivals, and he always finds spurious ways to fuck us over.

Comes from Nuneaton but apparently a Luton fan.

We’ve covered this before but that’s a myth put around initially by Luton supporters because he allowed a “phantom” goal against Watford.

His family are well known in Nuneaton because his father was head of the refs for the amateur league and were season ticket holders at Cov.

It cost Forest a few bob.

Nottingham Forest have lost their appeal against a £750,000 fine for a social media post criticising video assistant referee Stuart Attwell.

They were fined by the Football Association in October for an "attack on the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale".

Forest complained on X about three penalty decisions that went against them during a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton on 21 April 2024.

Forest's post said they had "warned" referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) that Attwell, who was the VAR for the match, was a fan of relegation rivals Luton, but that "they did not change him", adding: "Our patience has been tested multiple times."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4g7zye2kqvo

[Crown Hill]

Yea was just saying how it started.

He never comments one way or the other other on who he supports (as with most refs) so that how it took root.

I don’t think he should be allowed to ref Villa games.