A&H

Leeds vs Soton

B

Brian Hamilton

RefChat Addict
Observer/Tutor
Rubbish game. Rubbish result. Some dubious decisions by the referee. OK, all that is out of the way... on to my question.

Before the game, during the warm up, Richard Wild, Assistant Referee, suffered an injury meaning he couldn't take any further part. He was inconsolable and visibly distressed. Does anyone know if this was supposed to be his last game? He looked like he was a "senior" official or maybe he was just looking forward to such a high profile game.

The 4th official warmed up and looked like he was going to have to take his place. Then as the teams came out, they had a new Assistant who happened to be a mate (also a huge Leeds fan). He seemed to be laughing off the grief he got from the crowd about a couple of decisions. I'm sure he had a brilliant day.

So anyone know if Richard was due to retire from the professional game today or was he just annoyed about missing today's game?
 
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You're saying a Leeds fan (who obviously is a qualified ref and I'm sure did everything to the best of his abilities) filled in on a game in which Leeds could have gained automatic promotion to the Premier League? Probably a good thing Ipswich took care of business.
 
cwyeary said:
You're saying a Leeds fan (who obviously is a qualified ref and I'm sure did everything to the best of his abilities) filled in on a game in which Leeds could have gained automatic promotion to the Premier League? Probably a good thing Ipswich took care of business.
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Very good, wouldn't want to be in that position (well, I'd do it but I'm not sure I'd hand about after!)
Brian Hamilton said:
So anyone know if Richard was due to retire from the professional game today or was he just annoyed about missing today's game?
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I'm not entirely sure but if he was that upset over an injury that's the only explantation I can think of.
 
Oh wow just checked who it was, great lad and he'll no doubt be at that level soon enough.

Does seem weird to allow such a change in those circumstances however they probably had the choice of using a ref to act as AR who probably hadn't done the job in years so liable to making mistakes through poor positioning, or an active football league AR.
 
I must be the only one who can't actually find anything about this online with the exception of this forum. Sounds like he did well from what I've heard though.
 
Gabriel said:
I must be the only one who can't actually find anything about this online with the exception of this forum. Sounds like he did well from what I've heard though.
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That's because no one knows who is his or didn't pay enough attention to what was going on. Local press spotted the change but weren't and remain aren't aware of the replacement.
 
cwyeary said:
You're saying a Leeds fan (who obviously is a qualified ref and I'm sure did everything to the best of his abilities) filled in on a game in which Leeds could have gained automatic promotion to the Premier League? Probably a good thing Ipswich took care of business.
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What I'm saying is a fully qualified and experienced match official, whose integrity is unimpeachable, filled in when needed because someone got injured. He made no controversial decisions, got it in the neck from Leeds fans for a correct decision which actually led directly to the winning goal for Southampton. But you make it about his integrity and a situation which didn't happen, if you want.

I was asking about the injured person.
 
Brian Hamilton said:
What I'm saying is a fully qualified and experienced match official, whose integrity is unimpeachable, filled in when needed because someone got injured. He made no controversial decisions, got it in the neck from Leeds fans for a correct decision which actually led directly to the winning goal for Southampton. But you make it about his integrity and a situation which didn't happen, if you want.

I was asking about the injured person.
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I don't think he was trying to put a negative spin on it. He was just pointing out that whether correct or not, if he disallowed a goal for Southampton which put Leeds up and Ipswich in the play-offs there would have been controversy. Thankfully that didn't happen.
 
I hadn't heard anything about him retiring, not that I necessarily got to hear about such things these days. A bit of research shows he is 49 but has only been an EFL AR for 10 years.

Once it became apparent that he was struggling I suspect there would have been a lot of phone calls going on between Leeds, the officials and PGMOL. PGMOL absolutely would not have wanted a Leeds supporting assistant on such a game, and would have pulled out all the stops to get someone else there quickly. Don't think anyone doubts the replacement AR's integrity or professionalism, but if it was 2-2 and a last minute Southampton goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside there would be outrage all over the game (assuming of course Ipswich hadn't hammered Huddersfield, I'm talking theoretically). But if they couldn't get anyone by kick off they would be left with some irrefutable facts ...

- Leigh Doughty won't have held a flag for at least 6 or 7 seasons, let alone used one.
- There would be no option to delay the kick off as all games have to kick off at the same time on the final day.
- They can't ask the away club if they were OK with it, as would usually be the case, as Southampton really had no skin in the game. The team that could potentially be affected were about to kick off hundreds of miles away.

So, off the back of this, a Leeds supporting PGMOL AR was probably the best possible outcome.
 
RustyRef said:
There would be no option to delay the kick off as all games have to kick off at the same time on the final day.
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Talking 2015/16 here but on the final day of that PL season Man Utd vs Bournemouth kicked off over 48 hours later than the others due to the code red bomb alert, so it isn't completely impossible, although I do understand there is a difference between a suspected explosive and a match official injury.
RustyRef said:
a Leeds supporting PGMOL AR was probably the best possible outcome
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100%
 
RustyRef said:
I hadn't heard anything about him retiring, not that I necessarily got to hear about such things these days. A bit of research shows he is 49 but has only been an EFL AR for 10 years.

Once it became apparent that he was struggling I suspect there would have been a lot of phone calls going on between Leeds, the officials and PGMOL. PGMOL absolutely would not have wanted a Leeds supporting assistant on such a game, and would have pulled out all the stops to get someone else there quickly. Don't think anyone doubts the replacement AR's integrity or professionalism, but if it was 2-2 and a last minute Southampton goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside there would be outrage all over the game (assuming of course Ipswich hadn't hammered Huddersfield, I'm talking theoretically). But if they couldn't get anyone by kick off they would be left with some irrefutable facts ...

- Leigh Doughty won't have held a flag for at least 6 or 7 seasons, let alone used one.
- There would be no option to delay the kick off as all games have to kick off at the same time on the final day.
- They can't ask the away club if they were OK with it, as would usually be the case, as Southampton really had no skin in the game. The team that could potentially be affected were about to kick off hundreds of miles away.

So, off the back of this, a Leeds supporting PGMOL AR was probably the best possible outcome.
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He was on Leeds defence in the 1st half and Soton's in the 2nd. Wasn't really needed in the 2nd if I'm honest. It was a truly mind numbing experience watching professional footballers trying to not get injured while making sure they got a place in the starting line up.

I hope Richard is ok.
 
As a town fan Id have been happy with him, us refs know we are impartial to the core, despite what some team managers think!
 
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