Why failure to hear 115 charges is powering fury at incompetent referees

Chris Kavanagh's clear and obvious mistake was a gross human error - but until those 115 charges are finally heard fans will be tempted to believe darker, completely unsubstantiated reasons...

Hello,

Happy Sunday,

Or it would be if Chris Kavanagh hadn’t spoiled our weekend.

Quite simply the referee from Greater Manchester made a huge mistake in handing a ludicrously soft second yellow card to Declan Rice.

Let’s get it straight, referees make mistakes, just like players make mistakes, just like managers make mistakes, just like supporters watching on make mistakes.

Because, despite so much technology in and around our daily lives, we are mere humans, and we’re not perfect. I think even PGMOL would agree with that.

But the furious reaction to such an evident error - one that could cost Arsenal greatly in nine months time, given Mikel Arteta’s side lost the league last term by a mere two points to a side backed by trilionaire moneybags fuelled by vast petrochemical dollars channelled from a sovereign wealth fund - was utterly ferocious and unforgiving in its intensity, myself included.

Boos ring out at the final whistle at Arsenal on Saturday, as Greater Manchester referee Chris Kavanagh leaves the pitch. CREDIT:

Layth (@laythy29)

We want to believe the league is clean and not tainted by corruption in any way, shape or form.

As a journalist who covers it on a daily basis I have a responsibility to say, right here, and right now, that I genuinely believe it is clean. It has to be.

Just as I don’t believe any official is ‘crooked’, ‘corrupt’ or any other loaded accusation posted this weekend across social media by an ever-growing number of fans across the world, without displaying evidence revealing otherwise.

However, many fans clearly have serious misgivings about the veracity of the Premier League right now.

The whole edifice is now being questioned by frustrated supporters, who, previously, would have fumed, but mostly accepted Greater Manchester referee Kavanagh simply made an honest, if absolutely appalling, mistake.

And I believe that is mainly due to the festering carbuncle that relates to the number 115.

Of course, as any hack who knows the mighty tome, McNaes Essential Law For Journalists - the bible for anyone studying journalism, not to mention a sine quo non in any pressroom worth its salt - the UK’s strict libel and defamation laws are there for a reason.

To protect the innocent from malicious rumour, gossip and heresay, not to mention to prevent the spread of factually incorrect articles, without any basis in truth or evidence.

So, before we go any further, we have to state that Manchester City strenuously deny any wrongdoing, and there is no suggestion from this platform that any wrongdoing has taken place by the club, or anyone associated with the club, over the years in question, relating to any, or all of 115 charges they face.

Now, let’s simply deal with the facts we do know.

…….

What are the 115 charges against Man City?

• 54x Failure to provide accurate financial information 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 14x Failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 5x Failure to comply with Uefa's rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18.

• 7x Breaching Premier League's PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18.

• 35x Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations December 2018 - Feb 2023.

In total, City have been charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations.

City were eventually charged by the Premier League in February 2023 for the 115 alleged breaches that had taken place over the course of nine seasons.

Yet we’re still no nearer finding out whether they are guilty because the case has still not yet started.

Speaking in August, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said about the process: "When the case has been heard there will be a decision published and all the questions you would like me to answer will be answered as part of that process."

When asked why there was such secrecy surrounding the timeframe and why the league could not be more open, Masters replied: "Quite simply, it's not within our rules to be able to do so.

“What we do is we publish charges when they are made and we publish decisions when they are made.

“The bit in between is managed by an independent panel and they're very clear that they want that process to be confidential."

And for that reason, the entire credibility of the Premier League - and officials such as Kavanagh - is at stake, until the relevant bodies finally address those 115 charges against Manchester City.

……..

Match of the Day

Great analysis on Declan Rice’s sending off from Match of the Day on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Worth the licence fee alone for Danny Murphy and Joe Hart. In fact I’d pay double for such incredible insight.

…….

Mr Mackay’s refereeing

Speaking of Saturday evening TV, after such a hectic month, culminating in racing to Arteta’s Friday presser, prior to covering the U21s at Meadow Park, before a 2am finish in the early hours of Saturday morning, charting the arrival of Raheem Sterling (more on that next week) before a 6am start, at the launch of the new season Gooner Fanzine, I got back after the Brighton game far earlier than I would have, had I wondered over to the Swimmers on Grafton to catch up with old season ticket holder pals who’d been boozing al day, once I’d finished with Arteta’s post-match press conference.

But even former party animals need a quiet night. So I went home and flicked on the TV. Imagine my delight when the Porridge film popped up on BBC2. Ronnie Barker’s Fletch is one of the great characters in British comedy, backed up by a superb cast. Including the sadistic prison guard, Mr Mackay.

In the film, for reasons far too convoluted to explain here, HMP Slade (which I found out was actually the now shut St Albans prison) played a football match.

Mr Mackay was referee. It was wonderful TV. And certainly far more interesting than watching West Ham vs City, once Erling Harland had scored, at any rate.

And, as I posted on Twitter, I’d have taken Mr Mackay’s refereeing over a certain Mr Kavanagh’s officiating all day long…

………

MY OFFICIAL MATCH REPORT

Arsenal 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion: Report by Layth Yousif  

Controversy reigned in North London on Saturday lunchtime when referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Declan Rice shortly after half time.

The £105m England international saw red for the first time, in his 245th Premier League appearance, after being handed a ludicrously soft second yellow card for ‘blocking the restart’ following a tangle with Joey Veltman.

The 24-year-old former West Ham midfielder also received a violent kick for his troubles, yet culprit Veltman, was only handed a yellow. Home fan ire was amplified when Kavanagh ignored Joao Pedro booting the ball away in the first half in similar circumstances. 

The contentious decision from referee Kavanagh saw Brighton equalise moments later through Joao Pedro, who followed up David Raya’s block from Yankuba Minteh initial shot, after outmuscling Gabriel.

Speaking after the match, the incredulous Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.”

Earlier Arsenal took the lead through Kai Havertz, after the striker latched onto Bukayo Saka’s through ball, to lift the ball nonchalantly over the onrushing Bart Verbruggen and into the net to make it 1-0 seven minutes before the interval.

However, despite the best intentions of Arsenal’s ten men to find a way through the Brighton backline, including Saka narrowly failing to get on the end of a sweeping move, a point apiece was the final outcome.

The point ensured both sides continued their good start to the new season, even if Albion’s 31-year-old manager insisted Rice deserved to be sent off, saying: “It was a red card. He shoots the ball away. He was wasting time,” before he added: “You can’t compare situations,” when asked why Pedro wasn’t carded. “Please, don’t compare two different situations,” he concluded. 

With such furious talking points provided by this match, the wonder is not that we’ll be talking about them for the rest of this weekend, but for the entire international break too.

……

On the whistle Player Ratings: Arsenal 1-1 Brighton 

David Raya: 7/10 - An excellent save from Yankuba Minteh on 13 minutes but could he have done more when parrying the same player’s second half shot that led to Perdo’s equaliser. Excellent second half save from Yasin Ayari, who replaced the injured James Milner early on

Ben White: 6.5/10 - A fierce drive deflected off Lewis Dunk’s arm early on, but PGMOL decreed the Brighton defender’s arm was in a ‘natural position’

Jurrien Timber: 5/10 - Outjumped by Yankuba Minteh when the Albion No17 tested Raya. Substituted late on. Needs to find his form and rhythm after so long out 

William Saliba: 7/10 - Solid 

Gabriel: 6/10 - Should have done better when jockeying with the lively Minteh prior to Pedro’s leveller.

Declan Rice: 10/10 - Scandalously sent off by such an inept referee for the first time in 245 Premier League appearances. We look forward to seeing every player in every game booked for such a soft infraction. But they won’t. Because English refereeing is appallingly inconsistent

Thomas Partey: 6/10 - Battled hard but would have liked to have seen Mikel Merino make his debut in his place. Ah, the vagaries of the football injury gods…

Bukayo Saka: 6.5/10 - Started with lively intent, including his assist for Havertz’s opener. Narrowly failed to get on the end of a flowing move

Martin Odegaard: 6/10 - Picked up a knock in the first half after some agricultural challenges by the visitors. Substituted in the maelstrom after Rice’s red card and Albion’s equaliser

Leandro Trossard: 6/10 - Started after his goal off the bench at Villa last weekend but sacrificed when Arsenal were reduced to ten men

Kai Havertz: 7/10 - Excellent finish for his goal

Substitutes: 

Riccardo Calafiori: 7/10 - Replaced Trossard after Rice’s sending off

Gabi Martinelli: 6/10 - Swapped with Odegaard on 74 minutes 

Alex Zinchencko: 6.5/10 - Came on for Jurrien Timber with ten minutes remaining  

……..

DAILY LIST:

I - My wonderful partner is at a music festival today (I didn’t have the energy after the summer I’ve had…), and all the young people are busy doing young people’s things before university/college/school starts, so, in an exceptionally rare treat, I am currently sat in my pants in the front room, flicking between Premier League football and Test cricket eating Doritos and about to crack open a few beers.

Wonderful. Simply wonderful

…….

PS:

A massive well to Freddie Cardy on his superb coverage from the Southampton press box after his trip to the south coast to cover Arsenal Women vs Saints for the Gooner Fanzine. And kudos to brilliant sports photographer Suzy Lycett for the superb shots taken during the game for the Gooner.

More on this next week, as we ramp up our coverage still further of women’s football - but in the meantime, ‘chapeau’ to Freddie and Suzy.