RateTheRef

Quote from: Mackem ref on Mon 16 Mar 2026 17:54

Pleased to see Taylor with the Tyne-Wear derby if slightly surprised given he had Sunderland in the FA Cup 2 weeks ago!

To be honest I am not surprised Anthony Taylor has got the Tyne/Wear gig.

 Peter Bankes did the reverse fixture and I would  have been happy to see him officiate the return but given the injuries to a fair few SG1 refs other than Gillet I don't think we can raise issue with the appointment.

Bankes is reffing the Carabao Cup final at Wembley this weekend

It is a clear ‘backpass’ offence that should have been penalised. There is nothing about being under pressure / challenged for the ball to come into it. Only if the defender was tackling the attacker would anything like that be relevant - then you would say it most likely isn’t a deliberate kick to the goalkeeper. The Wolves defender was in controlled possession of the ball and deliberately kicked it to the goalkeeper.

I can only suspect there was uncertainty about whether the ball touched the Brentford attacker after being played. Otherwise, the offence is clear as day. It is AR1 (C Hatzidakis) who should have seen it and had the best view. They were poorly positioned and made no real effort to get in line with the second rearmost defender around the time the throw in was taken. Had they done so they would have had a clear view of the pass. I’ll mention here that I think this was (and often is) a common feature of this AR’s performances. They often amble up and down the touchline walking / light jogging when they perceive there is no danger and look disinterested / lackadaisical. Signals are not great either, indicating many throw ins whilst on the move. Pay attention to the basics and look the part - it helps with everything else.

VAR - It will depend on what is considered the ‘Attacking Possession Phase’ or ‘APP’. The VAR protocol on the Laws of the Game say:

11. The period of play before and after an incident that can be reviewed is determined by the Laws of the Game and VAR protocol.

…

For decisions/incidents relating to goals, penalty/no penalty and red cards for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO), it may be necessary to review the attacking phase of play which led directly to the decision/incident; this may include how the attacking team gained possession of the ball in open play

The Premier League website says:

VAR: Attacking possession phase explained

The starting point for a phase of play that leads to a goal or penalty incident will be limited to the immediate phase and not necessarily go back to when the attacking team gained possession.

Other factors for consideration will be the ability of the defence to reset and the momentum of the attack.

You often hear on the Mic’d Up show the VAR say “APP” in the build up to a goal. That call of APP is a marker for when they will look for fouls etc. in the build up. It isn’t always going to be how the scoring team came to get the ball or everything since the last restart. My guess is that the APP will have been set when the Wolves player who makes the assist for the goal picks the ball up in midfield and drives towards the Brentford half. After the backpass / release of the ball, there are a fair few passes around the back line including back to the goalkeeper again. Can’t really be said Wolves gained possession in open play / started an attack from the release from the GK’s hands.

Seems a bit unfair given the significance of a clear backpass offence, but I don’t think VAR can intervene.

Very good game, as per the above just seems like I have to save a lot as my fixtures reset back to match day 1 but on the referees merit table they have games.

Enjoyable.

Yeah he’s been excellent for us every time he’s done our gams

My first viewing of Backhouse for a few years.. wasn’t very impressed. Chucking cards around like confetti towards the end and got a few too many restart decisions wrong. Deep into injury time was the first time I’ve seen the 8 second countdown in effect since August, but O’Donnell being a left footer had no chance of releasing the ball, so should have been a Derby free kick

Wasn’t his best performance. I think he fell for a few old tricks and a couple of free kicks that were given I felt should’ve been waved away. I felt most of the cards had to be given myself.

Penalising the derby keeper for 8 seconds was a bit harsh. I don’t think the Pompey players were far away enough from him during the countdown. Just as well Pompey didn’t score at the end because I think that would have been unjustified.