Honest Mistakes Games 10 and 11
I outlined a framework to assess the impact of Honest Mistakes in the SPFL..
Today, we cover the games from match days 10 and 11 – 23th and 27th October 2021. This takes us to the end of the first round of fixtures.
Reminder
I am indebted to the Yorkshire Whistler for providing expert judgement of these key potentially game changing moments and providing an unbiased assessment of the correct decision.
I do not always agree with his conclusions mainly because;
a) I am biased;
b) I do not know the Laws of the Game intimately as he does; and
c) I do not have experience of refereeing football matches.
You may also relate to those constraints. Be honest!
As described in the framework, where an in-game decision is deemed incorrect, there is an Expected Points impact for the “wronged” team and this is indicated.
I’ll keep a running tally.
Here we go.
23/10/21 Motherwell vs Celtic
Incident 1
Date 23/10/21 Referee Nick Walsh Game Celtic vs St Johnstone Game Minute 76th
Incident Kane fouls Carter-Vickers and there is a mass confrontation Outcome Foul to Celtic; YCs to Kane and Carter-Vickers Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - Sportscene Saturday 2021/22: 23/10/2021
At 50m 24sec
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict For the record, referees refer to these isolated incidents involving multiple players coming together as ‘mass confrontations’ (or MCs)
MCs are probably the most difficult key match incidents for referees to deal with, as there are so many people involved and separate incidents/actions occurring simultaneously. The referee and both ARs are trained to take up different viewing angles to each other. They need to recognise which players are instigators and which players are the ‘peace keepers’ and when order is finally restored, an effective refereeing team will come together on pitch (or in the professional game using their mics) to share what has unfolded.
As a refereeing team you would be expected to prioritise and remember the names/shirt numbers and confirm any acts of violent conduct first that require a sending off and then confirm any acts of unsporting behaviour with cautions. Imagine trying to memorise everything you are seeing unfold in just a few seconds, whilst emotions are high, tempers are flaring and you’re in the middle of all this trying to restore order! MCs are a real test of a referee’s abilities.
Kane knows what’s he’s doing when he goes to ‘play’ the ball under CCVs body. The ball is trapped and the Celtic player can do little about it. Any opposing player that goes to kick the ball without letting the prone player regain his feet, knows there will be a reaction from the opposing team mates as their player is perceived to being ‘kicked whilst down’.
That being said, any footballer playing competitive football will not simply allow an opponent time to their feet when the ball is in such close proximity and can be seen and ‘played’
So, we now know what triggered the MC and Kane is rightly shown the yellow card for ‘unsporting behaviour’. I feel CCV is harshly also shown a yellow card as you review his actions and by the time he is back on his feet, players from both sides are already swarmed around him and he has no space to act aggressively or retaliate.
I believe the CCV yellow card comes back to how the referee deals with the MC. There is a general perception within the refereeing community that there must be some sort of sanction shown to at least one player from each side when a MC has occurred. Otherwise, how can so many players come together, in what appears to be an unsavoury moment and not one player is penalised in the aftermath. If this happens, the referee becomes more at risk of losing control of the game and players may choose to ‘reprimand’ the opposing team off their own backs.
For that reason, the most common sanction in the aftermath of any MC is at least a caution a piece, sometimes more.
Verdict - Correct on field decision to award initial free kick and YC shown to Kane. Questionable but expected YC also shown to CCV for reasons listed above.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
Incident 2
Date 23/10/21 Referee Nick Walsh Game Celtic vs St Johnstone Game Minute 79th
Incident Furuhashi challenged in the box Outcome Penalty to Celtic Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - Sportscene Saturday 2021/22: 23/10/2021
At 51m 07s
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Kyogo just gets to the ball before Gordon who is caught on the wrong side of his man. The ball bounces up and Gordon seems to catch Kyogo before any contact is made with the ball.
Verdict: Correct decision. Gordon’s timing is slightly off, not helped by being wrong side of his man. Penalty kick correct decision.
Also, extra kudos for the referee recognising and remembering to sanction the Kyogo shirt pull by Ambrose in the build-up play. An excellent advantage applied and sanctioned correctly at the next stoppage in play. Something that can sometimes be forgotten when a significant amount of time and further match incidents may have unfolded between the ‘advantage played’ incident and the next full stoppage of play.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
24/10/21 St Mirren vs The Rangers
Incident 1
Date 24/10/21 Referee Steven McLean Game St Mirren vs TRFC Game Minute 44th
Incident Power challenges Hagi Outcome Penalty to TRFC Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: 24/10/2021
At 9m 7s
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Hagi tries to evade the challenge of St Mirren’s defender Power and is adjudged to have been fouled.
Verdict: Correct decision. Power gets nothing on the ball and catches Hagi’s trailing left foot. The foul is committed just inside the 18-yard box so a penalty kick is the expected decision.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
27/10/21 The Rangers vs Aberdeen
Incident 1
Date 27/10/21 Referee John Beaton Game TRFC v Aberdeen Game Minute 20th
Incident Ferguson challenges Aribo Outcome Foul to TRFC (resulting in goal) Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: 27/10/2021
At 13m 4s
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Ferguson appears to lunge into the challenge from slightly behind Aribo and clearly catches the player. I expected a yellow card to be issued to Ferguson for a reckless tackle. He is committed to the tackle, off balance and catches Aribo on the side of his left shin.
Verdict: Correct decision to award free kick but incorrect sanction. Yellow card should have been issued.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
Incident 2
Date 27/10/21 Referee John Beaton Game TRFC v Aberdeen Game Minute 20th
Incident Morelos scores from a free kick Outcome Goal awarded Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: 27/10/2021
At 13m 16s
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Morelos head the ball home from the resting free kick. Straight forward enough. No infringements or offside considerations. From the footage provided it’s inconclusive if Morelos starting position is in an offside position as the ball kicked.
Verdict - Correct decision. No clear evidence that Morelos was offside as ball is played. Assistant referee perfectly placed to make decision and no appeal from Aberdeen players either (which can sometimes be an indication that a clear refereeing error may have been made).
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
Incident 3
Date 27/10/21 Referee John Beaton Game TRFC v Aberdeen Game Minute 80th
Incident Bates challenges Sakala in the box Outcome Penalty to TRFC and YC to Bates Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: 27/10/2021
At 15m 01s
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Sakala catches Bates slightly aware and gets goal side as the ball clipped into the Aberdeen box. On first viewing I could not see any foul challenge committed by Bates as Sakala is off balance when attempting to head the ball.
However, watching the footage back, in the preceding few seconds as the ball is in flight, Bates being the ‘wrong side’ of his man has two tugs on the shirt of Sakala and this enough to affect Sakala’s movement.
Verdict: Correct decision. Penalty kick and yellow card shown to Bates.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
27/10/21 Hibernian vs Celtic
Date 27/10/21 Referee Don Robertson Game Hibernian v Celtic Game Minute 53rd
Incident Porteous challenges McGregor Outcome Foul to Celtic and YC to Porteous Evidence https://twitter.com/johnwalker_1986/status/1453646944753131520?s=20
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Another one of those contentious decisions where having watched the same replay numerous times over. You can clearly make a case for a yellow card caution for the tackle as it is reckless with disregard for consequences to opponent.
You then ask yourself, is it a tackle with excessive force that clearly endangers the safety of the opponent?
For me it does not quite meet the red card definition. His eyes are focussed on the ball only, he plays the ball with his left foot coming low from the ground as it is played. As he is fully committed to the challenge his body weight as he is falling back means his left leg then has to naturally rise as he is falling backwards which is why the foot ends up higher at the end of tackle motion. His trailing right leg again, although off the ground as the falls to the floor, makes no contact with the opponent either.
Verdict: Correct decision. Not quite enough for me to feel this warranted a sending off offence.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
Summary
My thanks as always to the Yorkshire Whistler.
As always, I personally didn’t agree on all counts but I bow to, and accept neutral, expert opinion on these matters. However, I especially value the added explanation to help novices like myself understand the refereeing skills better.
Of the 7 incidents in the 4 matches, the referees seem to have got 5 out of 7 correct. The errors were minor, however. Carter-Vickers was unfortunate to receive a Yellow Card. Ferguson should have received one versus The Rangers. Neither mistake affected the Expected Points for the games.
I doubt this will meet everyone’s expectations but I refer you back to the top of the article and the Reminder section!
Expected Points Table
The Expected Points table is therefore unchanged since Game Day 9:
At the moment, based on xPts, Celtic have 1.13 less points than expected due to Honest Mistakes and The Rangers have 2.1 more points than expected. In the first 11 rounds of fixtures, The Rangers appear to have had NO big decisions go against them.
With only 2 points separating the Glasgow teams in the league, that 3.23 xPts difference is still looking important this early.
As always, a long way to go, and I expect parity by seasons end.