Football Diary
by Patrick O’Connor
IT was probably of little consolation to Roberto Martinez, the manager of Wigan Athletic, when referees chief Mike Riley apologised for the appalling mistakes made by officials during their 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.
Both Chelsea goals were clearly offside and at the time Martinez branded the decisions as “disgusting.”
He had calmed down somewhat by the time Riley, who heads Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body that provides officials for the Premier League, as well as co-ordinating assessments of referees’ performances, got in touch and the Wigan boss said: “It is a very honourable way to face mistakes.”
But the fact of the matter is that the errors may well cost Wigan their Premier League place and all the financial rewards that go with it.
Of course mistakes are going to be made by referees and their linesmen but the cock-ups recently have been so blatantly obvious and because of television coverage so high profile.
Indeed the Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed has written to the Football Association and Premier League seeking an immediate review, which he says is on behalf of all clubs.
He commented: “ You have to be 100 per cent right to give the decisions. At the moment people are guessing and hoping that they get it correct.”
In a statement published on the club’s official website, Al Fayed said: “The FA’s problem in addressing this pivotal situation is that it has too much power. Where else can decision-makers (referees) escape all responsibility to admit serious and blatant errors and have the protesters (the football clubs involved) fined on charges of misconduct. “
The QPR boss Mark Hughes added: “It is time for the Premier League to wake up. They have been in a coma for a long time. Lots of clubs are suffering from such stupid decisions.”
The QPR captain Shaun Derry has described the Football Association’s decision to uphold his red card against Manchester United at Old Trafford as “ridiculous”.
Derry was sent off for a foul on Ashley Young but replays showed minimal contact with Young, who was in an offside position when the ball was played.
“There was no explanation as to why it was not overturned, or any indication of why I got sent off. The whole scenario is quite bizarre,” he said.
“I don’t know what they do at the FA, but it’s not working. The e-mail we got back from the FA was one line telling me my appeal had not been successful. That’s as far as it went. “
The financial mess football has got itself into does not just impact on clubs and its supporters. A report in the Sentinel newspaper in Stoke on Trent has revealed that taxpayers face losing more than £1 million after League Two side Port Vale went into administration, as creditors look set to receive 3p for every £1 they are owed.
Businessman Keith Ryder is to spend £1.4 million to buy the football club and pay off a portion of its £2.7 million debts.
The bulk of that debt is the £1.859 million the club owes Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which is secured against Vale Park.
But the authority has now been offered £800,000 to sign over rights to the freehold, which it held as security in case the club went out of business.
That would leave slightly more than £1 million as an unsecured debt alongside cash owed to other creditors, all of which is set to be paid off at 3p for each £1 owed.