More players and managers should speak out publicly about their views of the officials. Let's face it, there is barely a game goes by when there isn't at least one shocking decision. Usually it is quite a few bad ones. If the industry risked censure by criticising every time it happened something might be done. Then again, probably nothing would happen at all. The referees association would close ranks and the offending official would get his next match the following Saturday. We all know it is a hard job but sometimes, like last night, they get game changing decisions wrong. Then they don't come out and apologise. Funnily enough, I was watching that Huddersfield match from our Premier promotion season against Huddersfield a couple of weeks ago. Tom Cowan threw it straight in at the Kop end but referee Gurnam Singh awarded a goal. Sky tv pictures clearly showed Steve Davis going up for it but missing it. Dave Watson hardly made an effort to stop it thinking it was a foul throw. At half time the reporters stopped the ref in the corridor and asked him why he had given it. He was certain that Davis had got a glancing head to it. The Sky man said their evidence showed no contact. Singh just shrugged it off. No apology, nothing. But at least he was prepared to be interviewed at half time about it. Refs nowadays would not allow that.
When he was working as a policeman in West Yorkshire, he used to do shuttles in the car park in front of everybody trying to show off.
I'm still waiting for Gary '********' Willard to be held to account for blatant cheating but I won't hold my breath. They're a protected species and can do no wrong, even when their actions contribute significantly to relegation.
I'm sure he refereed Arsenal v Man Utd the week after and was praised by Gary Neville saying "he knows its a mans game and he let the play flow". Doesn't sound too much like Mr.Willard to me.
All managers and supporters are biased...referees are not.. they just make mistakes. Until we have a robot making the decisions, that's how it is.. give it a try and see how easy it is (or not). (Speaking from 23 years experience).
On 28 March 1998, Willard was involved in "astonishing scenes" at Oakwell Stadium after the end of the Barnsley versus Liverpool match in the Premier League, which finished 2-3. He had occasion to send off three players from the home side - Darren Barnard, Chris Morgan and Darren Sheridan - in the second half, causing play to be suspended for five minutes after Willard had been chased by an interloper. He had to be given a "police safety escort" off the pitch after the game.[7] It has been commented that Willard had to withdraw from Premier League appointments after what turned out to be his last ever match in that competition due to fitness problems,[8] but he continued to referee for FIFA into the following season, once having the misfortune to mistakenly issue three yellow cards to FC Lausanne-Sport's Eduardo Magnin before sending him off during their home game against Celta Vigo in the UEFA Cup in September 1999. The English referees' chief at the time, Philip Don, stated that Willard had not taken any Premier League appointments due to "personal reasons".[9] That final Premiership game was West Ham's 4-0 win over Middlesbrough at Upton Park on 16 May 1999.[10]
I don't agree, I think referees are sometimes influenced by who is in the game they're refereeing. It might not be cheating but it isn't being fair.
It's a good job Brian Howard picked himself up after being hacked down in the box at Anfield, and within a few seconds spanked in the winner, otherwise Martin Atkinson would have been Willard revisited for not giving us an obvious penalty.
