Heavy rain on Friday night left the pitch resembling a marsh on Saturday and I found it heavy going, despite having shed a few pounds in the past week in the first phase of what is going to be a lengthy battle to reduce myself from pocket battleship size to sleek ocean-going yacht.
The match was reasonably uneventful between two teams which obviously included several players playing against their good mates. In fact two of the midfielders were constantly play-fouling each other off the ball and appealing for the other to be sent off. I had a word with them to go and mark someone else as it was getting difficult to concentrate.
I turned down several penalty calls, mostly because I am sure no foul was involved. One incident would have brought the away team level but just as the attacking player was allegedly pushed, three players crossed between me and the incident and I couldn't see it.
Perhaps my positioning was poor. but these things happen. Players - understandably - do not worry about blocking the ref's view; it's up to the ref to get himself in the best position to watch the ball, but inevitably there are moments when the ref is unsighted.
It even happens that an incident can happen when the referee blinks. It's difficult to control blinks and they do have a habit of happening just as a hand flicks out or a foot taps an ankle.
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