Sport
Howard Webb admits key mistake was made in the refereeing during Arsenal vs Manchester City
Eyebrows were raised after Chelsea player Gusto was sent off for similar conduct.
Veteran referee and PGMOL chief Howard Webb has admitted that a key mistake was made during the refereeing of the game between Arsenal and Manchester City over the weekend.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited head, who refereed in the Premier League and various international tournaments for over a decade, was speaking on the latest episode of Match Officials Mic’d Up: the new show which digs into officiating and VAR controversies of top-flight football matches.
While the latest edition covered various decisions from recent football matches — including breaking his silence on the highly controversial VAR error and subsequent leaked audio from the Spurs vs Liverpool the week prior — one instance they also chose to focus on was Mateo Kovačić‘s potential sending off,
The Croatian midfielder, who signed for City this summer, brought down Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard with what Webb dubbed “clearly a poor tackle”, going on to say that “if a red card had been given by Michael Oliver on the day it would have been a very straightforward check complete”. Instead, he only saw yellow.
As the 52-year-old attempts to explain to former England striker and co-presenter, Michael Owen, the angle and position of the foot in relation to wear it lands on Ødegaard’s ankle was slightly different to that of Chelsea’s Malo Gusto, who saw a straight red after VAR overturned an initial booking just the day before.
Insisting that the video referees at Stockley Park didn’t see enough to correct the first official in this case and didn’t want to risk “re-refereeing” the game, he ultimately said he could see why the first decision stood despite protests in the stadium.
However, as anyone who watched the game will know, just 15 seconds later, Kovačić put in a similarly poor challenge on Declan Rice and despite a chorus of home fans chanting “off, off!”, as well as Gary Neville saying “he’s in trouble” during the commentary, the 29-year-old still somehow stayed on the pitch.
Here’s the second mistimed tackle just moments later:
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When asked by Owen if he thought he was lucky to stay on after this second rash lunge almost immediately after the previous one, Webb said that although by the laws of the game “the VAR obviously can’t get involved with second yellows… he was an extremely fortunate player to stay on the field.”
Arguing the other side a little and reassuring his belief that Michael Oliver is “one of the best referees in the world” at present, he did go on to say that the ref will no doubt go back and review his own decision in this case and that he was obviously trying to avoid “a negative impact on the game by overreacting”.
At the start of this new Premier League season, rule changes included referees being told to be more lenient when it comes to challenges and, where possible, to refrain from stopping play for some challenges in order to let the play run more freely.
It was the only incident that arose during the game either, as a touchline tiff also occurred just after full-time with stadium footage shedding new light on what exactly happened.
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Featured Image — Sky Sports Premier League (via YouTube)
Sport
Tragedy as two superbike riders die in ‘catastrophic accident’ at Cheshire event
Daisy Jackson
Two riders have tragically died in a ‘chain reaction’ accident at a superbike race in Cheshire.
Owen Jenner, 21, and Shane Richardson, 29, both died of their injuries following a crash involving 11 riders.
The ‘catastrophic accident’ occurred yesterday at the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship superbike race at Oulton Park in Cheshire.
The race was immediately stopped so that trackside medical services could attend to the 11 riders who had fallen.
Due to the ‘extreme severity’ of the incident, the rest of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship event was cancelled.
Two riders lost their lives and another has sustained significant injuries and remains in hospital.
Owen Jenner, 21 years old, was treated trackside and taken to the circuit medical centre , but died from a catastrophic head injury.
Meanwhile Shane Richardson was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with severe chest injuries, but died prior to arrival.
Another rider, 47-year-old Tom Tunstall, has also been transferred to hospital with significant back and abdominal injuries.
Five further riders were transferred to the circuit medical centre with minor injuries – the remaining involved riders were uninjured.
The Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board and MotorSport Vision Racing are investigating the full circumstances of the incident in conjunction with the Coroner and Cheshire Constabulary.
Cheshire Police said in a statement: “Police are investigating two deaths on behalf of the coroner following a multiple collision at Oulton Park this afternoon (Monday 5 May).
“Emergency services were called to the scene following the collision which resulted in two riders being fatally injured and another with serious injuries.
“Due to the severity of the incident and ongoing medical intervention, the remainder of the event was cancelled.
“The two riders who sadly died have been named as Owen Jenner (21) and Shane Richardson (29).”
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Featured image: British Superbikes
Sport
Ole Gunnar Solskjær says just three players have spoken to him since leaving Manchester United
Danny Jones
Club legend and ex-Manchester United player turned manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, has revealed that just three of his former players have been in touch since leaving Old Trafford.
Solskjær was sacked from the role as Man United head coach back in November 2021 after having been given the job permanently following an impressive winning run as interim manager.
The practically perfect start back at the helm of the club – where he starred as the ‘super sub’ during his playing days – was followed by a big slump, and the final decision was ultimately made in the wake of a 4-1 loss to Watford.
However, the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’s’ popularity among the players and the fans alike was never in question, so it’s come as somewhat of a surprise to many fans that Solskjær has said only a specific trio of United players have got in touch with him since his dream job came to an end.
At least two of the names read out might not surprise fans, as not only was then-club captain Harry Maguire one of his first statement signings, but so was Bruno Fernandes, who now has the armband, and both have remained key players and leadership figures pretty much ever since.
Speaking to BBC Sport on the senior duo, Ole said, “For me, Harry has always been a leader and a fighter”, and never had any doubts about him deputising for him on the pitch, before going on to label both the centre-back and Bruno as “top human beings.”
As for the third, although Victor Lindelöf looks set to leave the club this summer, he’s actually been a long-serving squad member, having joined back in 2017 and been a seemingly popular figure around the dressing room, even if injury problems have sometimes hampered his minutes.
He also went on to discuss other matters regarding the club, including confessing that it’s “hard to watch” United amidst their present struggles, both under previous manager Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim – even with a potential Europa League trophy consolation on the cards.
The retired striker also stated that he found the decision to let midfielder Scott McTominay go more than surprising, especially given the incredible performances he’s put on display since moving to Serie A.
Now the boss at Besiktas, the 52-year-old has won 50% of his games so far, with the Turkish side on course for a third-place finish.
For context, he only took the job back in January.
What did you make of Ole’s revelations then, Reds? And, more importantly, how do you look back on his time in charge at the Theatre of Dreams?
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Featured Images — soccer.ru (via Wikimedia Commons)/BBC Sport
