RateTheRef

hi,

was a little apprehensive when i saw CP had been appointed for this one, but i have to admit he did a great job (as did tierney, lee betts, matt wilkes, thomas bramall and dan robathan). The game was allowed to flow as much as possible and all decisions were spot on in my opinion with just 2 YC's

always disappointing to lose a game but at least there wasn't anything controversial about it

regards,

gnr

hi,

unfussy and business like first 45 mins for the portugese ref he's done well

here's hoping for more of the same in the second half.

regards,

gnr

hi,

good game all round - for all three teams - all cards and decisions spot on

regards,

gnr

hi,

d'oh maybe, he's colour blind

regards,

gnr

Somewhat ironic that you think Martinelli may have been frustrated because of game management/time wasting/feigning injuries as Martinelli in my experience is one of the worst culprits for it. In this game he feigned injury trying to deceive the referee into awarding a penalty and he routinely goes to ground without any justification. I think a simpler explanation is that it was the conduct of a self-entitled brat with no consideration of the welfare of a fellow professional. His apology is worthless.

hi,

firstly - sorry to hear the news re: connor bradley today - let's hope he recovers well and comes back stronger

secondly - martinelli isn't my favourite player - never has been and never will be - but to single him out as 'one of the worst culprits' for 'game management/time wasting/feigning injuries' is a little wide of the mark as i don't think he's even the worst of the arsenal team (jesus and merino immediately spring to mind) let alone in the entire premier league. in fact earlier in the same match frimpong spent a good couple of minutes writhing around the arsenal penalty box with van dijk demanding the ball be kicked out of play - subsequent replays showed frimpong actually trod on hincapie's toe

thirdly, who's to say what's a genuine apology and what isn't? a lot of footballers - young, very wealthy and idolised - could be classed as 'self-entitled brats' - martinelli isn't unique in that.

finally, i expressed hope that this incident, in a high profile match, might help bring about some sensible debate on the wider issue of 'ball in play' time which in turn might remove some of these 'frustrations' - but maybe i was being too optimistic

regards,

gnr

hi,

all good so far let's hope for more of the same in the 2nd half

regards,

gnr

Do you mean he should be paid in old rope?

hi,

quite the opposite - it means someone makes a task look easy or that something appears to require little effort.

more of the same in the 2nd half - all of the major incidents dealt with superbly.

enzo rightly cautioned after entering the crowd - in fact he went so far up the terraces i thought he was getting a pie

regards,

gnr