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Thursday, December 22, 2011

I'm not surprised they hate me!

Sometimes, the decisons don't even themselves out, as I found out recently.
I discovered after the match that the home team remembered I had reported them two or three years ago for an unsavoury post match incident, and my decisions during the match meant it was less than likely I would be guest of honour at their annual dinner and dance.
With half an hour gone. the ball's hoofed upfield and I'm chasing desperately as a striker bursts into the penalty area, very closely followed by a defender. I'm 25 yards away still as I see the attacker go down. But wait, the attacker deliberately stopped so that the defender would have no choice other than to collide with him. I'm not giving a penalty for that, but I reckon I'm a bit too far away to say that it was a deliberate act of simulation, so just settle for cutting the grass with my hands and signalling no penalty. Cue much grumbling and loud shouts from the home bench.
2-1 down in the second half to a bottom of the table team, the home side is on the attack and pressing hard. The ball pings around the six yard box as the goalkeeper grabs the ball. I spot a boot hitting his stomach and blow for the foul just as the ball is poked into the goal. Cue even louder shouts from the touchline, where the home support has swollen thanks to the presence of the entire reserve team, which meant the crowd was about 30 instead of the usual 10 or 11.
My popularity plummets even further when the home player I booked in the first half for dissent decides to deliberately stick his foot in front of the ball as the away team attempt to take a free kick. Second yellow and a red.
This is all too much for the manager, who curiously rants loudly and explosively when a player is being subbed. I ask him to calm down; he refuses so I send him from the field of play, much to his surprise.
On 90 minutes, I had hardly penalised the victorious away team. But, in fairness, they played the game while the home team were just plain ratty and kept offending.

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