LONDON: Managers under pressure become increasingly desperate. After drawing two games in a week to drop to sixth in the table, Arsene Wenger finally finished blaming referees and turned his gaze on the media.
“The referees get away with you, with the English press always, no matter what they do,” he said.
This was bizarre. Wenger appeared to be hinting at a conspiracy by referees, or at least mass ineptitude on the part of referees, abetted by the press’ reluctance to talk about it. Specifically he seemed rattled by the fact that not only had two (well, one, in truth) controversial penalty decisions gone against his side, but the fact that Tottenham’s opener the previous night had been offside. “You have watched the game last night,” he said. “You couldn’t read a line about it today.” Every single match report mentioned it.
The idea that we should discuss refereeing decisions even more than we do now is abhorrent. Refereeing stories are easy. Journalists love writing them. You ask one manager what he thinks about the penalty/ red card/ offside decision, then you ask the other. There is instant controversy. Twitter whips itself into a lather. The comments section overflows. There is traffic. There is buzz. And nothing changes. Nobody learns anything. There is nothing more boring than discussions about refereeing decisions.
Take the two most recent incidents to which Wenger was referring. At West Brom, Calum Chambers was penalized after Kieran Gibbs’ cross struck his arm which was raised, away from but in front of his body. Was it intentional? Almost certainly not. Was the arm in an unnatural position? No. Had it not been there the ball would have hit Chambers’ chest. Do I think it should have been a penalty? No, but I understand why the referee Mike Dean did. From his angle, he saw the arm away
from the body and presumably — we do not know because referees are forbidden to explain such things — thought it was out to the side. So it was unfortunate but hardly a scandal.
Wenger’s more specific rage was directed Anthony Taylor for the penalty he awarded Chelsea after Hector Bellerin had kicked Eden Hazard’s heel. Here, it was hard to see any ambiguity. One player had kicked another in the penalty area. It was a slightly unusual incident in that players rarely kick the bottom of one another’s boots, but he did kick him: Penalty.
From what I can glean from social media, it seems I am in the majority in both cases: the one at West Brom should not have been given; the one against Chelsea should. But it hardly matters. Most Arsenal fans will be certain both decisions were wrong; most West Brom and Chelsea fans will be sure the penalties their sides got were correct. Nobody ever yields in such disagreements; nobody’s mind is ever changed by what
phone-ins and social media companies laughably call “the debate” around them.
Sane people retreat from any discussion, and the stage is left for the spittle-flecked zealots to rant away into an increasingly weary darkness.
This is the modern world, in football as it is in politics. Far more productive would be to acknowledge that there are grey areas and that referees, being just as human as Wenger’s defenders, occasionally make mistakes.
“He saw what he wanted to see,” Wenger said of Dean after the West Brom game, a comment that has, understandably, brought an FA charge.
To allege conspiracy not merely impugns Dean — who may be a little over-fond of the limelight but whom nobody has ever seriously accused of corruption — but undermines the integrity of the game as a whole.
More than that, it makes Wenger look foolish. If there were a
conspiracy, why did Jack Wilshere escape a second yellow card for a clear dive on Wednesday? Against Tottenham, it may be remembered, Mike Dean allowed two Arsenal goals that were marginally offside, the first of them coming from a free-kick that probably shouldn’t have been given.
Arsenal are struggling this season, playing fitfully and reliant on two players who are out of contract in June. There is no conspiracy; there is just a team that, once again, seems to lack the mental capacity to apply itself consistently.
Arsene Wenger’s ‘conspiracy’ talk is hiding flaws in Arsenal side
Arsene Wenger’s ‘conspiracy’ talk is hiding flaws in Arsenal side
Al-Qadsiah victory over Al-Khaleej tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- Brendan Rodgers’ side now sit fourth on 43 points, four behind league leaders Al-Hilal
- Points dropped by Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli on Monday blow the title race wide open
RIYADH: Matchday 20 of the Saudi Pro League concluded after what was arguably the most dramatic week of the season, both on and off the pitch.
Monday saw the winter transfer window come to a close with late twists — most notably the transfer of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal — alongside the highly anticipated clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. While all eyes were on that fixture, Al-Qadsiah quietly continued their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Al-Khaleej, extending it to 10 matches.
With the campaign now beyond its halfway point, there is no telling who will become champion come end of the season. As things stand, Al-Hilal sit top with 47 points, followed by city rivals Al-Nassr on 46 points. In third place, Al-Ahli on 44 points, with Al-Qadsiah just behind on 43.
Al-Qadsiah’s win was anything but easy, however. Under Brendan Rodgers, one-goal victories had previously only come against against heavyweights such as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad. Games against Al-Riyadh, Al-Fayha, Al-Hazem and Al-Najma — all in the bottom half of the table — were won by two goals or more.
Giorgos Donis’ Al-Khaleej presented a different challenge. Finding themselves in the upper mid-table this season thanks to stellar performances from the likes of Giorgos Masouras, Joshua King and Kostas Fortounis, it was never going to be easy for Al-Qadsiah, even in the absence of Fortounis due to injury.
It seemed like the flurry of games finally took its toll on the Knight of the East, with stars Julian Quinones and Musab Al-Juwayr looking fatigued. In the 38 days since Rodgers took charge at Al-Qadsiah, the side have played 10 matches, with five more to come in the next 23 days.
Despite 18 attempts at goal, only one came to fruition. A through ball to Quinones in the 41st minute was squared to Mateo Retegui, who finished into an open net to score the only goal of the game.
Al-Qadsiah didn’t sit back for the remainder of the game, prompting Al-Khaleej to take advantage of the spaces in behind the wing-backs to launch their own offence. Saudi national team centre-back Jehad Thekri was repeatedly left exposed, but backup goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar did his best to prevent Al-Khaleej from finding an equaliser.
Despite being the week which saw the title race tighten to just four points between first and fourth, this was the second-lowest scoring Saudi Pro League matchday in history, with just nine goals across the nine games. None of the 18 teams were able to score more than one goal, with half the sides going goalless this round.
Elsewhere, just minutes away at E’GO Stadium, Al-Ettifaq managed to secure a valuable 1-0 victory against this campaign’s surprise package Al-Taawoun, after a 71st minute strike from Georginio Wijnaldum.
Meanwhile, Al-Kholood ended their streak of 18 games without a draw by grabbing a point in a 0-0 draw against Damac. The point for both sides was enough to see them end the round outside the relegation zone; Al-Kholood in 14th with 16 points and Damac in 15th with 12.
Saudi Pro League action returns on Thursday, with Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal continuing their title charges against Al-Hazem and Al-Okhdood respectively. Friday will feature the game of the round, with Al-Nassr welcoming Al-Ittihad at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
