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Caution for simulation there for me. Really feel for Anthony Taylor as he, along with his ARs have had a really good night before that - now this may be all that gets discussed. It’s all well and good saying it’s not a C&O error, but I think most would agree that it is not the right decision...

I’ve experimented with several different methods this season. Since I qualified I’d always used a notebook just with the inserts that usually come with them. Last season I decided that this was taking me far too long however. I’ve tried write-on (wipe-clean) cards, stickers over the top of the...

Likewise I’ve only seen the second half and it seems like he’s doing well. Game got a bit heated at one point but it feels like he’s managed to calm it down now.

It does all feel very Americanised. If something like this ever happened with a free-to-view model, we’d have adverts all over the place, as others have mentioned. Adverts during VAR reviews, adverts during an injury break, adverts during water breaks, adverts at any time the ball is out of...

I also think we need to move past this way of thinking in which we compare every incident. Even though Nunez didn’t get a second yellow, it doesn’t mean that the Dalot decision is wrong. The two incidents are pretty much unrelated. Media likes to compare incidents all the time, even from two...

Personally I think it’s more beneficial to educate young players how to slide tackle safely, and allow them to make mistakes at an age where they are less likely to use much force at all. The alternative is to completely ban them, inevitably making them desirable to some players and creating a...

Whether it’s a derby or not shouldn’t really make a difference

I feel for MO to give a second yellow here he’s said something pretty bad.

Yes, his argument was along those lines on the red card shout in the Tottenham v Newcastle game. Based on the standard we’ve seen this season it certainly looked like a red card to me, whether or not there’s been more this season already than the last is irrelevant.

I made the mistake of looking at the Instagram comments on the Sky Sports post about this. Needless to say the vast majority of people were shocked, but there’s still a high proportion who think that the referee deserved it for ‘being a referee’. Unfortunately I think this will only really...

I’ve often found the “qualified referee” coaches are the worst for this sort of thing. I try to separate them into three categories: 1. Coaches pretending to be a referee for more apparent credibility in the conversation. 2. Much older or ex-referees who aren’t up to date on the LotG, and are...

In my personal opinion a YC, particularly in the Spurs v Newcastle game, was not only worthy of a RC, but also a C&O error. It felt a bit like the referee gave a yellow card safe in the knowledge that VAR would check anyway, which isn’t how VAR should be used.

If I’m not mistaken, powerplay is a national thing for “mini-soccer”. Once they get to U11 it’s then just regular 9v9 football.

I think whilst you could make an argument that such an act isn’t delaying the restart, the game has come to expect cautions for ‘kicking the ball away’. I think the reason Saka wasn’t cautioned is because a goal kick had been awarded anyway, and as he kicked it towards the goal a reasonable...

This is one where I’d like to see it stand but I’m just not sure how to justify it in law. If the referee gives a foul on the keeper here I think that’s generally accepted - if you watch the attacker even he didn’t think he’d scored at first.

More concerning is the fun we’re all going to have trying to assess all of this in real time.

No, I prefer to shout at someone up close. In all seriousness tone is extremely important, and different people will each respond differently to the way you speak to them. Part of refereeing, particularly at grassroots, is reading different people and judging what their response will be to your...

“with the IFAB understood to be keen to run some initial tests in the amateur game to work out the practicalities and iron out the unintended consequences of any new restrictions.” Brilliant. Laws designed for top division elite football being tested on Dave and Steve in the park on a Sunday...

Everyone seems to love Howard Webb but honestly I don’t see how he’s making anything better. Under him we’ve seen more incorrect VAR intervention, more apologies to clubs and an increased focus on referees in the media. This isn’t a case of a couple of referees occasionally making errors - they...

This is also a problem with VAR. The only situation I can ever remember of a referee going to the screen and not overruling their initial decision is in a game that Salisbury refereed last year.