Untold Ref Review: Manchester United 1 – 0 Fulham.
This article is part of a series stretching over several seasons in which a team of referees analyse the work of refs in Premier League matches.
Our figures show that when we analyse the errors made by refs there are consistent trends which do not “even out” through the season, as some commentators would have it.
Today’s referee is Michael Oliver -
| MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Michael Oliver (2012-03-26) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | |||||||
| Min | Type | Foul from | On | C/NC | Comment | Weight | |
| 3 | OTHER | Dempsey | Carrick | C | pull | 1 | |
| 3 | OTHER | Rafael | Frei | C | push | 1 | |
| 4 | OTHER | Evra | Duff | C | push | 1 | |
| 7 | OTHER | Evans | Pogrebniak | NC | Held him down with his hands so he couldn’t jump for a header | 1 | |
| 11 | OTHER | Evans | Pogrebniak | NC | Jumped in the back, not given | 1 | |
| 22 | OTHER | Carric | Dempsey | C | Trip | 1 | |
| 25 | OTHER | Valencia | Frei | C | Push | 1 | |
| 27 | OTHER | Young | Duff | NC | pulled the defender back, not given | 1 | |
| 27 | OTHER | Dembele | Young | NC | Was an obstruction but only because of the not given foul on Duff | 1 | |
| 30 | OTHER | Carrick | Pogrebniak | C | Trip | 1 | |
| 34 | OTHER | Evans | Pogrebniak | C | Jumped in the back | 1 | |
| 34 | OTHER | Giggs | Dembele | C | Sliding tackle on the man | 1 | |
| 34 | YELLOW | Giggs | C | Ref had no option, correct card | 2 | ||
| 36 | OTHER | Rafael | Frei | NC | Push not given | 1 | |
| 39 | OTHER | Duff | Giggs | NC | Trip not given | 1 | |
| 41 | PENALTY | Kelly | C | Appeal for handball but was moving his arm away from the ball, correct non call | 3 | ||
| 42 | GOAL | MU | C | Correct goal | 3 | ||
| 44 | OTHER | Young | Duff | C | push in the back | 1 | |
| 46 | OFFSIDE | MU | C | correct decision | 1 | ||
| Period 2 | |||||||
| Min | Type | Foul from | On | C/NC | Comment | Weight | |
| 50 | OTHER | Kelly | Young | C | Trip | 1 | |
| 57 | OTHER | Ferdinand | Pogrebniak | C | Trip | 1 | |
| 61 | OTHER | Giggs | Diarra | C | Trip | 1 | |
| 67 | OTHER | Valencia | Dembele | C | push | 1 | |
| 68 | OTHER | Dembele | Young | C | pull | 1 | |
| 72 | OTHER | Valencia | Riise | C | came in a bit late | 1 | |
| 73 | OTHER | Evra | Duff | NC | High foot not given | 1 | |
| 73 | OTHER | Evans | Pogrebniak | NC | Got man and ball, is a foul | 1 | |
| 74 | OTHER | Evans | Ruiz | C | sliding tackle | 1 | |
| 74 | YELLOW | Evans | NC | Was late, only got the man, was almost the same as Giggs. Should also have been a yellow | 2 | ||
| 82 | OTHER | Hughes | Evra | NC | Wild tackle missed the player, advantage given but immediatly lost, should have gone back | 1 | |
| 82 | OTHER | Evra | Ruiz | C | clipped his ankle | 1 | |
| 84 | OTHER | Scholes | Dempsey | C | Stamp on his leg with his studs | 1 | |
| 84 | YELLOW | Scholes | NC | Should have been a yellow card at least, that was a nasty kick | 2 | ||
| 86 | OFFSIDE | MU | C | correct | 1 | ||
| 89 | PENALTY | Carrick | Murphy | NC | Carrick kicks the left foot of Murphy, ref gives nothing. Was a penalty | 3 | |
| 89 | YELLOW | Carrick | NC | Was a promising attack, could have had a clear shot on goal | 2 | ||
| 89 | OTHER | Hughes | Young | NC | looking for a foul and went down when Hughes came too close | 1 | |
| 91 | OTHER | Javier | Hughes | C | push in the back | 1 | |
| 92 | OTHER | Rafael | Duff | C | assumed correct | 1 | |
| 93 | OTHER | Ruiz | Young | C | No replay but I wonder if it was another nice dive, but I will give the ref the benefit of the doubt | 1 | |
This was a typical Old Trafford performance from the ref. In case of doubt, give the decision the Utd way. And so he did this with a great consistency during the game.
He made a great start, punishing a few small fouls and this lead to a long period with almost no fouls. Well, he didn’t give a few ones against United in that period but Fulham had understood his first calls and didn’t go in for the challenges. A great example on how a ref should start a game, but then he forgot to carry on like he started.
Manchester United appealed for a penalty for a handball, but the Fulham defender had his arm behind his body when the cross came in and the ball rolled a bit over his body and then hit his upper arm. Correct call not to give a penalty.
This cannot be said of the decision late on in the game when Carrick kicked the left foot of Murphy. It was a trip, a foul, and should have been a penalty. But this was Manchester United, this was Old Trafford. This is just how it goes most of the time.
| COMPETENCY SUMMARY – Michael Oliver (2012-03-26) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | Called | Total | Correct % | ||||
| GOAL | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| OFFSIDE | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| OTHER | 9 | 15 | 60.00 | ||||
| PENALTY | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| YELLOW | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| TOTAL | 13 | 19 | 68.42 | ||||
| WEIGHTED | 18 | 24 | 75.00 | ||||
| Period 2 | Called | Total | Correct % | ||||
| OFFSIDE | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| OTHER | 12 | 16 | 75.00 | ||||
| PENALTY | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | ||||
| YELLOW | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | ||||
| TOTAL | 13 | 21 | 61.90 | ||||
| WEIGHTED | 13 | 26 | 50.00 | ||||
| Totals | Called | Total | Correct % | ||||
| GOAL | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | ||||
| OFFSIDE | 2 | 2 | 100.00 | ||||
| OTHER | 21 | 31 | 67.74 | ||||
| PENALTY | 1 | 2 | 50.00 | ||||
| YELLOW | 1 | 4 | 25.00 | ||||
| TOTAL | 26 | 40 | 65.00 | ||||
| WEIGHTED | 31 | 50 | 62.00 | ||||
The longer the game went on, the poorer the decisions from the ref became. The penalty that was not given was the ultimate low in this game. A total score that is far below what we can expect in the EPL.
| BIAS SUMMARY – Michael Oliver (2012-03-26) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | Manchester United | % | Fulham | % | Total |
| Correct For | 2 | 15.38 | 11 | 84.62 | 13 |
| Correct For Weighted | 4 | 22.22 | 14 | 77.78 | 18 |
| Incorrect Against | 1 | 16.67 | 5 | 83.33 | 6 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 1 | 16.67 | 5 | 83.33 | 6 |
| Fouls Commited | 13 | 81.25 | 3 | 18.75 | 16 |
| Fouls Penalised | 9 | 69.23 | 1 | 33.33 | 10 |
| Period 2 | Manchester United | % | Fulham | % | Total |
| Correct For | 3 | 23.08 | 10 | 76.92 | 13 |
| Correct For Weighted | 3 | 23.08 | 10 | 76.92 | 13 |
| Incorrect Against | 1 | 12.50 | 7 | 87.50 | 8 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 1 | 7.69 | 12 | 92.31 | 13 |
| Fouls Commited | 13 | 76.47 | 4 | 23.53 | 17 |
| Fouls Penalised | 10 | 76.92 | 3 | 75.00 | 13 |
| Totals | Manchester United | % | Fulham | % | Total |
| Correct For | 5 | 19.23 | 21 | 80.77 | 26 |
| Correct For Weighted | 7 | 22.58 | 24 | 77.42 | 31 |
| Incorrect Against | 2 | 14.29 | 12 | 85.71 | 14 |
| Incorrect Against Weighted | 2 | 10.53 | 17 | 89.47 | 19 |
| Fouls Commited | 26 | 78.79 | 7 | 21.21 | 33 |
| Fouls Penalised | 19 | 73.08 | 4 | 57.14 | 23 |
The bias score is, well, what we can expect of a game at Old Trafford. In case of doubt, give United the decision and you cannot be wrong seems to be what the refs are thinking.