Liverpool were on the receiving end of some harsh refereeing decisions over the Christmas period, and now, it seems like the tables are turning, but even when decisions go the club's way, they still seem to be contentious!
According to Anfield legend Jamie Carragher, referee Mark Wilson made the wrong decision in granting LFC a penalty against Stoke City. He told Sky Sports:
"The main talking point is the penalty and, for me, I don't think it is.
First, it was a handball by Sterling, and when I first saw it, I didn't think it was a penalty. Having seen countless replays now, still don't think it is.
"There is the slightest contact but football is a contact sport and I'd be disappointed if I was Marc Wilson".
I totally disagree with Carra here. For me, this is a stonewall penalty:
* There is definite contact in the box by the defender.
* Wilson goes in for the tackle and makes absolutely no contact with the ball.
* The contact seems minimal, but when a player is travelling at speed, a nudge can is all it takes to disrupt momentum and throw a player off balance.
But for Wilson's nudge, Sterling wouldn't have gone to ground. I've been in exactly the same situation in games, and when you're running a defender, this type of challenge is perfectly capable of sending a player sprawling.
It's a fine line, though. There are players (i.e. Gareth Bale) who take advantage of this type of situation, and his the deck cynically and deliberately with the slightest touch, but I don't believe Sterling is that type of player, and this looks genuine.
Regular visitors will know that I always highlight diving by LFC players, but in this case, it's not a dive (IMO).
Author: Jaimie K
According to Anfield legend Jamie Carragher, referee Mark Wilson made the wrong decision in granting LFC a penalty against Stoke City. He told Sky Sports:
"The main talking point is the penalty and, for me, I don't think it is.
First, it was a handball by Sterling, and when I first saw it, I didn't think it was a penalty. Having seen countless replays now, still don't think it is.
"There is the slightest contact but football is a contact sport and I'd be disappointed if I was Marc Wilson".
I totally disagree with Carra here. For me, this is a stonewall penalty:
* There is definite contact in the box by the defender.
* Wilson goes in for the tackle and makes absolutely no contact with the ball.
* The contact seems minimal, but when a player is travelling at speed, a nudge can is all it takes to disrupt momentum and throw a player off balance.
But for Wilson's nudge, Sterling wouldn't have gone to ground. I've been in exactly the same situation in games, and when you're running a defender, this type of challenge is perfectly capable of sending a player sprawling.
It's a fine line, though. There are players (i.e. Gareth Bale) who take advantage of this type of situation, and his the deck cynically and deliberately with the slightest touch, but I don't believe Sterling is that type of player, and this looks genuine.
Regular visitors will know that I always highlight diving by LFC players, but in this case, it's not a dive (IMO).
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Author: Jaimie K
I would agree Jaimie that it was a penalty. In a way similar to the one Valencia got for United a few years back in the dying minutes of the game at Anfield (tho there was a stronger diving claim in that situation). Nor do I agree with Carra it was a handball. It's a PC comment from him and in fairness there's pressure on him to avoid being branded a Liverpool pundit.
ReplyDeleteThe defender was an idiot to challenge Sterling as he cut in towards goal, that was a foul outside the box and as a result a penalty inside the box, It wasn't an outrageous challenge but defo a penalty!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think the ref was necessarily wrong to give the penalty so I voted yes but had it been given against us I wouldn't be too happy either. I agree that there is contact and he doesn't seem to go for the ball. If he doesn't touch Sterling, he will get past him so penalty, yes. On the other hand, you see this ten times per weekend and it doesn't always result in a penalty so Stoke are unlucky here. The handball, not even worth discussing. He jumps up and his arms go up too. He doesn't intentionally move his hand to the ball.
ReplyDeleteHope Sterling does not pick up a 'Young' reputation. Wild deflected shots going in ,Dubious penalty decision. The kind of cocktail which made us sick for the time immemorial. and finally winning a match through second half performance.,I think tables have turned big time for us. One comfortable home game and derby at home .I think we can create a buffer out here.
ReplyDeletePlayers unavailable yesterday, Sakho, Agger, Flano, Enrique, Allen etc...........yet we still keep winning.
ReplyDeleteIf Sterlings Hand is raised its handball, the ball was controlled by his action giving the advantage to Liverpool. That's life when you support Stoke.
ReplyDeleteI think Carra is quite often a bit harsh on Liverpool, probably to distance himself from any bias and that's perfectly understandable. There's clearly not much contact, but there is contact nonetheless, and Wilson gets nowhere near the ball. For me, it's a penalty, but it's not so clear cut that I would've been outraged had it not been awarded. As viewers we have the opportunity to watch and analyse these incidents over and over again to reach a verdict, The referee gets one look on which to base his decision and this was probably a trickier one to call in a split second. Could have easily gone either way. Perhaps we're due that little bit of luck that was so totally absent from the Man City/Chelsea games.
ReplyDeleteVery soft penalty, yes there is contact but enough to send Sterling to the floor? Not for me. However the view from where the ref was standing did make it look worse than it was so i can see why it was given.
ReplyDeleteCertainly wasn't a dive, the larger Stoke defender hasn't matched the pace of Sterling and as such he's made a hash of his tackle, contact made with player, no contact with the ball, penalty! Albeit I agree a soft one.
ReplyDeleteI've also got to disagree with Carra here. Would that challenge have resulted in a free kick outside the box? Of course it would've. Therefore it constitutes a penalty. The problem is consistently giving these kind of things as referees all abide by a completely different set of rules it seems. The defender made no contact with the ball and have Sterling a slight push in the back. Which whilst running at speed is more than enough to put a player in the ground. Definite penalty no questions asked. However soft the challenge it was still a penalty.
ReplyDeleteIt was a penalty , Sterling was past him when he was tackled unfairly , foul is a foul and just happened inside the penalty area so its a penalty.............good call .
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I don't understand is why does the player always have to go to ground for it to be a penalty. You can foul a player without them falling over. It happens all the time during the course of a game outside the box and either advantage is played or the ref calls a foul. Why not inside the box? Surely it's to the teams advantage to award a penalty in most situations if they are fouled but don't fall over.
ReplyDeleteCarra is an everton fan anyway..he was a blue when he was young...so he'll talk bad about liverpool en I'm not surprised..he's now losing my respect on him
ReplyDeleteAgree on penalty - it was soft in the sense that there was no bludgeoning tackle that Ref's normally need to give a penalty - it was more of a technical penalty because the defender took out Sterling's left hip if you look closely - and that takes out his left leg - hence penalty. It was not shoulder to shoulder,
ReplyDeleteOff the topic - what is going on with Glen Johnson?!?!? One of my favourite players in the past but it looks like that he just stops thinking when he gets the ball! He runs 5 feet forward, turns 180 deg and passes backwards. Gone are the days when he would put the hammer down and run past ppl or even make the 1-2 and bomb down the wing.
Age catching up or given up due to contract situation? Its a shame - i thought he had another 2 years in him and a few medals to win with us.
he just runs like a Chicken Graham - similar style to Arjen Robben - hands everywhere! hahahahah!
ReplyDeleteWhen Cisokho almost tripped that guy they were awarded a free Kick on the edge of the penalty box so it is only fair for Sterling to fall when he was touched.
ReplyDeleteYes, but I think if Moses gets injured our season is over....
ReplyDeleteI think it was a penalty but a very soft one. I've seen this being done countless of times and nothing is given. It depends on the ref to be honest, although it should not be.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! you always hear commentators saying "if he had gone to ground, it would have been a foul"
ReplyDeleteIt either is a foul or isn't, regardless of going to ground.
I think a penalty was the right decision. the defender doesn't win the ball, he just bumps Sterling out of the way, not shoulder to shoulder. There may not have been a lot of contact, but take in to account Sterling probably weighs the same as a bag of sugar, and when he is running at speed, it wouldn't take much to knock him off balance.
ReplyDeleteyou have to remember the size of sterling as well. he is half of what hamman and carra is. the defender didnt actually touch the ball! Without sounding biased i thought it was a pen then and still do after the replays. the handball is clearly accidental - but to me it looks as if it catches his elbow?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a pen for me, call it soft or hard the contact was there, dont know why people deny that, maybe because its epl, in any other league the ref would of given it as well. I really dont like carras new job, all season hes been talking good things for everton martinez barkley, and anti liverpool at times, even neville is more pro liverpool. Hes going to godison park as well watching them etc. I think carras showing his real face, that he always been a toffee. Really disappointed with him. Every new show they do its worse than the other.
ReplyDeleteLOL.
ReplyDeleteMoses is our lucky star.All these are happening because of his presence in dugout.
ReplyDeleteI love how you completely ignore the handball in the build up. Bell end.
ReplyDeletewhich jaimie :) ?
ReplyDeleteI understand football is a difficult game to win if you can't stamp on people..
ReplyDeleteIt was not a dive, but it was very soft. Anywhere else on the pitch I've seen them go either way. Most referees would give a free kick, others would brush it off. I've rarely seen them given as penalties. Either way, it was technically a foul. And if it would be a free kick, it can certainly be a penalty then.
ReplyDeleteIt was not a dive. Wilson right leg knocks Sterlings left foot in front of his right. At that speed there is no time to get the left foot out of the way of the right, the left foot stops the right and with his momentum...gravity happens. Sterling falls on his hip immediately with no spring pressure from his right leg. The hand on the back is balance to make sure the strike from the leg goes where it is supposed to go. Soft foul but because Sterlings left foot trips his right, Mr. Newton says he's going down.
ReplyDeleteI still think that Skrtel doesn't have many more chances before he gets that PK for his, now, routine mugging of opposing players on set pieces. He is becoming ever more blatant about it. I'm sure the ref's union watches the same videos we watch. I think the only reason he wasn't called for it against Stoke was because the ball was never going to reach Walter's(?) noggin anyway.
ReplyDeleteYour right the refs will be on to him now.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is if the player stays up and continues playing, then the ref can hesitate and see if the play is affected enough to be a clear disadvantage to the player. If the player goes down, the ref has to make an instantaneous decision. The odds are in your favor to get the call if you go down. The ref can still let play continue but usually he doesn't. Simple calculation is that the odds for a call in your favor go up if you go down. I can see that in the box because the impact is usually a PK. I don't get when players go down easy when not in the box because there is still a ball to play that you can affect and I believe the odds are still inthe attacker's favor. If the ref thinks it affects play, then he whistles. I believe that's why you will almost always see Messi try to continue play. He believes if he has the ball, the odds are always in his favor.
ReplyDeleteGlen needs a spell on the bench. Anyway he will be sold in the summer so may as well start blooding his replacement which looks to be Flanno at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThen why was Sterling shouting for the Penalty before he hit the ground? That JC said it was not was probably because of his valuable experience as a defender.
ReplyDeleteThe key is in the term 'contact sport'
I have watched that snippet about 50 times now and can find no indication he was shouting as he went down? Were you at the match? That's the only way I think you could tell.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletePenalty for sure
Hip check=penalty
ReplyDeleteWhat a silly thing to say.
ReplyDeleteCarra gave his everything for our club every game he played for.
He doesn't talk bad about Liverpool, he is fair and honest and does not have rose tinted glasses.
The same can be same for Gary Neville, he is also fair and honest when he comments on Utd,
I think the easiest way to honestly answer this one is to ask - had this penalty of been given to Stoke at 2-2, would we still be saying that it was fair? I immediately thought it wasn't a pen and had it gone against us I would of been livid.
ReplyDeleteas a Stokie really really enjoyed the game, its not often you say that when you lose, I think if we play like that all season we will have no worries. The main difference between the team was that cutting edge up top, Suarez and Sturridge when he came on looked a different class. On the penalty subject, I didn't think it was, but then again I would say that as a Stokie just as you would say it was, to which I accept, we can do all the debating in the World but it does not change anything, so we will dust ourselves down and get on with it! Anyhow best of luck for remainder of the season, hope you finish above the Manure and hope our paths cross next season. PS pack the silly "rugby, thug " etc comments in please, we have heard them all before.
ReplyDeleteOf course it wasa penalty. Otherwise what the hell was Stevie G doing picking the ball up, putting it on the penalty spot and scoring? Either way if it had been the other way round I would have been really annoyed about a stupid challenge by the defender.
ReplyDeletePK in my heart too. I am a defender and there are alot of players that would take that hit but the clever more experienced players will go to ground easier for the yellow card and spot kick.
ReplyDeleteoutrageous challenge?! he barely touched him :)
ReplyDeleteRaheem will win penalties in the future - he is quick and small and when he goes past defenders with pace and gets in the box he is easily brought down.... similar to Luis but 9 times out of 10 refs see his as a dive ....
ReplyDeletelike br said..it was soft. but a foul. if I were the ref I don't think I would have called it. also he could have called an indirect free kick, fouls in the box are not automatically pks. I may have done that, wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity but had potential and toke advantage away.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by the fact so many people are saying his wasn't a pen. It is a stonewall penalty in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSterling is leaning when Wilson touches him, so it stands to reason that it would take less for him to be knocked over.
It is officials failure to recognise this truth that contributes to diving. People know that even if they are fouled, they wont get something if they don't go down. That means players start to anticipate contact and go down accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with Carra on his statement that footbaal is a contact sport. Football is a noncontact sport, you are not allowed to tackle that ball. Rugby, AFL, gridiron etc are contact sports, football, netball, basketball etc are not.
ReplyDeleteThere was contact, but maybe not enough to go down. I'm more concerned that Jaimie has ignored the handball after his witch-hunt against Suarez after the Mansfield game.
ReplyDeleteI saw Sterling with his weight on one leg when Wilson gave him a bit of a hip check. Wasn't an belligerent penalty but penalty nonetheless.....
ReplyDeleteYep I agree. Its a problem on both sides. The officials are often completely blind at times or quite literally blinded but the constantly moving components of a football match. As such players often find themselves needing to go down under little contact as they feel they have been fouled in order to further alter the ref. This may (often rightly so) is labelled as diving and as such the officials are now even more reluctant to give fouls even when the player is rightly fouled. Its a vicious cycle that will struggle to be exited.
ReplyDeletethere is a definite media bias against suarez. English players get away with murder and so do non entities. Terry's elbow in suarez face received no attention whatsoever. Mirallas got away with the same.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the video the defenders knee and thigh do go into sterling and someone who is probably 5ft 7 and not more than 9 stone he is going to go down.