Premier League Review Week 34: Top referees Oliver, Clattenburg, and Taylor fall behind usual standards

Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea                                 Referee: Michael Oliver
Oliver struggled in this match in my opinion, and looked a little out of his depth in such an important fixture.
16th Minute: Oscar is bowled over by Arsenal Goalkeeper David Ospina. It looks like a penalty to me since Ospina didn't get any ball, but Oliver says no, the first of many mistakes on the afternoon.
23rd Minute: Cesc Fabregas goes down in the box after being tripped by Santi Cazorla. It looks like a penalty kick to me, but Oliver disagrees and yellow cards Fabregas for simulation.
34th Minute: Gary Cahill slides in front of Santi Cazorla and blocks a shot, but seems to use his hand in the process. Tough for Oliver to spot, but this was another missed penalty kick by the young referee.

Crystal Palace 0-2 Hull City                     Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Clattenburg is regarded by many as England's top referee, but he struggled in this bottom of the table match.
51st Minute: Dame N'Doye nets Hull's first goal of the afternoon, but Crystal Palace players protest that Robbie Brady handled the ball just before the goal was scored. Watching the replay, it looks like a clear handball. Tough to spot for Clattenburg because Brady had his back turned.
83rd Minute: Yaya Sanogo thinks he has leveled the score with a header goal, but Clattenburg signals a push by Sanogo on Paul McShane as he was going up. I watched multiple replays and it looks like McShane goes down too easily under little contact from Sanogo. Key mistake from Clattenburg.

Burnely 0-1 Leicester City                       Referee: Anthony Taylor
Taylor had a decent match, but I have my doubts about his penalty call.
58th Minute: Burnley's Matthew Taylor goes down in the box near Paul Konchesky. Taylor calls a penalty but I don't see enough contact on the play. This mistake was less prevalent, however, after Burnley failed to convert on the spot kick.

Queens Park Rangers 0-0 West Ham       Referee: Mike Jones
Jones had a good bounce back performance in this match, making a very good call on a QPR penalty appeal.
22nd Minute: West Ham defender James Collins blocks an effort from Bobby Zamora with his extended hand. Jones correctly signals for a QPR penalty kick, though Charlie Austin failed to capitalize.

Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa              Referee: Mike Dean
Dean didn't make any major mistakes in this match, but one call by his assistant raised questions in my mind.
88th Minute: Aston Villa have a breakaway stopped when Christian Benteke is called offsides. Unfortunately, replays show Benteke was onside and probably would have scored to put Villa ahead 3-2. It was a tough call, but still a big mistake by the AR.

West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Liverpool        Referee: Roger East
Southampton 2-2 Tottenham                    Referee: Jonathan Moss
Newcastle 2-3 Swansea City                    Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Stoke City 1-1 Sunderland                       Referee: Martin Atkinson
Everton 3-0 Manchester United               Referee: Andre Marriner
No controversy for East, Atkinson, Moss, Swarbrick, and Marriner. Nice work by them and their crews.

CONCACAF and OFC Champions League Finals reports

CONCACAF Champions League Final Leg 1
America 1-1 Montreal                                        Referee: Hector Rodriguez (Honduras)
45th Minute: Rodriguez gets his first taste of controversy when Montreal's Dominic Oduro is fouled from behind on a breakaway by Osvaldo Martínez. For me, this was as clear a Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity as there can be, but Rodriguez strangely opts for a yellow. Key mistake there for Rodriguez.
Overview: Rodriguez and his crew started well with a strong offside decision on a goal by America, but his inexperience showed as the game went on. His first sign of weakness was failing to send off Martínez, starting a downward spiral towards loss of control in the match. This loss of control was especially evident in the end of the match, when multiple skirmishes broke out. Looking back, I have to question CONCACAF's decision to appoint Rodriguez instead of a more experienced referee such as american Mark Geiger.


OFC Champions League Final
Auckland City 1(4)-1(3)Team Wellington         Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
14th Minute: Hauata correctly calls a penalty after Marko Đorđević of Auckland City is dragged backwards in the box by a Wellington defender. Auckland would convert to go up 1-0.

Overview: Hauata, who also correctly called a penalty in extra time, had a very good match. With the retirement of Peter O'Leary, Hauata is needed to slide in as the top OFC referee, and he showed he is capable tonight. Good work!


CONCACAF Champions League Final Leg 2
America 4-2 Montreal                                       Referee: Henry Bejarano (Costa Rica)
Overview: Bejarano wasn't perfect, but he was the referee that this match needed. He probably could have shown a couple more cards, but he kept great control on the match in a game between two teams that really do not like each other. So, since Bejarano kept this match under control, unlike the Leg 1 match, he deserves a very high mark in my opinion.

NOTE: CONCACAF report by Manuel Martinez. OFC report by Mark Bradford.

MLS Week 8 Reports: High red card tally marks tough week for referees

Chicago 1-0 New York City FC              Referee: Ricardo Salazar (United States)
Good game for Salazar, who nailed his most important call of the game.
24th Minute: Chicago's David Accam breaks free and is tackled from behind by Andrew Jacobson. Salazar correctly shows a red for Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. Nice work by the veteran MLS referee!

Colorado 1-1 FC Dallas                         Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Chapman had one tough call in the match, and it is such a borderline call that I don't know what I would do.
58th Minute: Dallas Forward Blas Perez is sent off after an altercation with Drew Moor. It is hard to tell what actually happened from the replay angle, but it is clear that Moor was on the ground at the end. My best guess from what I can see is that Perez gave a push to Moor, who responded theatrically. It depends where the push was, but I think a yellow would have been Chapman's best option.

Columbus 4-1 Philadelphia                    Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Good game from the young referee Penso. Nothing to go in depth on.

New England 4-0 Salt Lake                   Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Elfath had a good game, but I think AR Corey Parker missed an offside on New England's third goal. Since it didn't matter in a 4-0 Revs win, I won't go into it any further. Pretty good match overall by this crew.

Houston 4-4 Kansas City                        Referee: Kevin Stott (United States)
Stott struggled in this match, with his penalty and red card decision drawing questions.
79th Minute: Houston's Jermaine Taylor is called for a handball on the goal line and subsequently red carded by Stott. Unfortunately it looks like the shot hit Taylor in the chest, not the hand. Huge mistake there by Stott.

Vancouver 1-2 DC United                      Referee: Dave Gantar (Canada)
Gantar was criticized by many for his performance in this game, but I actually commend it.
42nd Minute: Vancouver's Matias Laba, already yellow carded, clips the heels of Fabian Espindola. Many criticized Espindola for going down too easily, but I say it doesn't matter. Laba clearly tried to slow him down on a promising attack, meaning a yellow was absolutely warranted from Gantar. Good work by the Canadian referee.

New York 1-1 Los Angeles                    Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel had a good match in an important game for both sides. Nice work by Unkel, who is getting an increasing number of high stakes appointments this year.

Orlando 0-2 Toronto                               Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero (United States)
Rivero had a good match, though I think he missed an elbow by an Orlando player right before Jozy Altidore doubled Toronto's advantage.

Seattle 1-0 Portland                                  Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
No controversy in this match for Kelly. Nice work by the former League of Ireland referee.

Thanks for reading!

Europa League Quarterfinals Leg 2 Reports: CL Final candidates Çakir and Eriksson raise doubts

Napoli 2-2 Wolfsburg (6-3 aggregate)                           Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (Turkey)
Nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: In my opinion, Çakir himself had a good match, but his assistants foul detection was concerning, specifically by both AARs and the AR2. Usually this would not be a big deal, but there has been a general feeling for a while that Çakir was going to get the CL final. At this point, I can't be sure. In my opinion, Çakir is one of the best UEFA referees, but I can understand potentially not appointing him to the final because of his assistants' struggles. Many people have agreed with this logic and suggested Jonas Eriksson as a replacement for Çakir. Personally, I think that the overall performance by Çakir's crew outweighs the struggles in this one match. However, I would like to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the issue.

Zenit 2-2 Sevilla (3-4 aggregate)                                   Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
Rizzoli, the World Cup Final referee in 2014, was decent in the match overall, but his penalty call was confusing for me.
5th Minute: Zenit's Luís Neto challenges Vitolo for the ball in the box, causing Vitolo to go to ground. Rizzoli calls a penalty, and though I can't find a good angle, I don't see much wrong with the challenge as it looks like Neto won the ball cleanly.
Overview: Rizzoli handled a very difficult match well in my opinion, but his only slip was sadly crucial in the match, given that without the penalty goal the game would have gone to extra time. Overall, a little below Rizzoli's usual high standard but still an acceptable performance.

Dnipro 1-0 Brugge (1-0 aggregate)                                Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: Very good match from Mallenco, who is often overlooked as a top referee because of other elite Spanish referees. Not much criticism for Mallenco's team either. Good job!

Fiorentina 2-0 Kiev (3-1 aggregate)                               Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Eriksson made a big mistake in this match, but otherwise controlled the match well.
40th Minute: Jermain Lens of Kiev goes down in the box but Eriksson calls a dive and gives Lens a second yellow. The problem is that when I look at the replay, there was clearly contact by the Fiorentina defender, perhaps enough to warrant a penalty kick. Whether it was a penalty or not, this was still a game changing mistake by Eriksson.
Overview: Besides the one mistake, Eriksson and his assistants had a pretty good match, with the AR1 making a fine onside call on Fiorentina's first goal. I do think this match works against the argument for Eriksson as the referee for the CL Final, since he struggled almost as much as Çakir's team. CL final aside, Eriksson's mistake was crucial, but he refereed well overall.

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 2 Reports: Brych has strong performance in Madrid derby

Barcelona 2-0 Paris St. Germain (5-1 aggregate)          Referee: Sevin Oddvar Moen (Norway)
No calls to go in depth on.
Overview: Good match by Moen, who didn't face many problems in the match. My biggest criticism of Moen is his lack of discipline on some fouls that could have been yellow cards. Moen's assistant Kim Thomas Haguland was very sharp, however, making a very nice onside decision on Barcelona's second goal. Overall, a solid effort from this team.

Bayern Munich 6-1 FC Porto (7-4 aggregate)               Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
Again, nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: Atkinson and his crew had a decent match, though I would have liked a couple more yellow cards on rough plays. Regardless, Atkinson and his assistants did a good job helping the game run smoothly, even if wasn't the most difficult match.

Real Madrid 1-0 Atletico Madrid (1-0 aggregate)          Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Brych had a very good game and could be moving towards a CL Final in a couple years.
76th Minute: Arda Turan, already sitting on a yellow comes into a challenge with studs raised on Sergio Ramos. Despite the fact that Turan only made minimal contact on Ramos, I definitely think that the second yellow Brych showed was warranted.
Overview: Overall, I was very impressed with Brych's performance. I thought he was spot on with the most important decision of the match and kept good control on the game throughout. My lone criticism from the match is that Brych could have been a little less lenient (possibly considering a red on a late Atletico studs up challenge.

Juventus 0-0 Monaco (1-0 aggregate)                            Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: Collum's appointment surprised many, but he performed very well in my opinion. The only tough call he had was on a 36th minute Monaco penalty appeal. I can't tell whether the defender got the  ball or the man, so Collum doesn't get any criticism from me on the play. Overall, a fine match from the Scottish referees in the match.

Premier League Review Week 33: Surprisingly little controversy in smaller slate

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United               Referee: Mike Dean
Dean had an excellent match with just one blemish on his performance.
35th Minute: David de Gea appears to handle the ball inches out of the area. Near impossible for Dean or the AR to spot so I can't blame them.
95th Minute: Manchester United want a penalty after Ander Herrera goes down in the box after contact from Gary Cahill. Dean calls a dive on Herrera. At first, I disagreed, but after taking a closer look it is clear that Herrera created the contact by moving into Cahill. Incredible call by Dean, who showed superb guts in making that call.

Everton 1-0 Burnley                                 Referee: Mike Jones
Jones had a tough matches, and I have questions about two of his key decisions.
10th Minute: Burnley's David Jones clearly trips up Aaron Lennon right on the edge of the box. Very hard to tell whether the contact was in the box, but Jones is sure it was. My gut tells me the contact was just outside the box, but I can't be sure.
45+2nd Minute: Burnley's Ashley Barnes, sitting on a yellow, trips up Seamus Coleman. To me, the second yellow that Jones showed was excessive. Barnes barely missed the ball, and the foul didn't stop a promising attack, meaning yellow might have been too much. In my opinion, Jones should have instead given a final warning to Barnes.

Crystal Palace 0-2 West Bromwich          Referee: Jonathan Moss
Leicester City 2-0 Swansea                      Referee: Lee Probert
Stoke City 2-1 Southampton                    Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Manchester City 2-0 West Ham               Referee: Anthony Taylor
Newcastle 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur           Referee: Kevin Friend
No controversy for Moss, Probert, Clattenburg, Taylor, and Friend. Good work by those five and their crews.

If you are looking for FA Cup reports, go to:
http://worldsoccerrefereeing.blogspot.com/2015/04/fa-cup-semifinal-reports.html

FA Cup Semifinal Reports: Rodgers fuming over offside call

Reading 1-2 Arsenal                          Referee: Martin Atkinson
Nothing to go super in depth on in this match.

Overview: Atkinson may have missed a penalty just after Reading's equalizer, as a Reading shot appeared to hit the outstretched arm of an Arsenal defender on the edge of the area. Very hard to tell if it would have been a penalty though and almost impossible for Atkinson to see from his angle. Overall, a well-officiated match from Atkinson.

Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool                  Referee: Michael Oliver
There was just one mistake by this crew, but it was a big one.
88th Minute: Mario Balotelli appears to have leveled the score at 2, but John Brooks inexplicably raises the offsides flag despite Balotelli being more than a yard onside. Tough for Brooks to see because the player keeping Balotelli on was on the opposite side, but a bad call nonetheless.
Overview: Oliver was good in the match, but his assistant's error drew most of the talk. In my opinion, unfair calls like this could be changed if we just had instant replay. Regardless, an overall good performance with one blemish coming at a bad time.

MLS Week 7 Reports

New York City FC 1-1 Philadelphia               Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Not much to say about Toledo's performance, which was pretty strong. Still, I found something interesting from this game.
57th Minute: NYCFC's Mehdi Ballouchy celebrates scoring by removing his shirt. Toledo follows procedure and correctly yellow cards him. Nice job adhering to the rulebook by the veteran referee.

New York Red Bulls 2-1 San José                Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
No controversy for Marrufo in this match. Good work by the American ref.

DC United 1-1 Houston                                 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez (United States)
Gonzalez also didn't see controversy in his match. Good control shown in a critical match for both sides.

Columbus 3-0 Orlando City                           Referee: Ricardo Salazar (United States)
Salazar had a good match and excellently handled Rafael Ramos' moment of madness.
34th Minute: Orlando's Rafael Ramos intentionally hacks Waylon Francis in the ankle. Before Salazar can reach Ramos, he is swarmed by Crew players and issues a yellow to Hernán Grana for being particularly zealous in his protests. After moving past the Crew players, he correctly sends Ramos off. From this play, I see two decisions the Discipline Committee should retrospectively make:
1) Columbus should get a fine after already being warned about mass confrontations.
2) Ramos deserves a 2-3 game ban for that tackle. No place for that on a football field.

FC Dallas 3-2 Toronto                                   Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Elfath had a good match, and him and his crew a good job delaying play in time to clear the ground before a thunderstorm hit. Very good caution shown by Elfath, who is rising towards a potential FIFA badge in the future.

Colorado 1-3 Seattle                                      Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Another game with nothing worth noting. Good work by Fischer.

Salt Lake 0-1 Vancouver                               Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel sent two RSL players in a key match at the top of the Western Conference table and I agree with both calls.
76th Minute: Sebastian Saucedo slides in with his studs up on Vancouver's Mauro Rosales. Any time the studs make hard contact with the leg it is absolutely a red in my book so I think this was a great call by Unkel.
89th Minute: Jamison Olave, already booked in the match, appears to have possibly tripped Darren Mattocks in the middle of a promising attack. Unkel whistles for a foul and shows Olave a second yellow. I'm not entirely convinced of contact, but I will side with Unkel because he had a better view and because yellow was the correct call if there was contact.

LA Galaxy 2-1 Kansas City                           Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Kelly had a pretty easy game, but one AR decision caught my attention in a good way.
22nd Minute: The Galaxy are convinced that Krisztian Németh was offsides on his equalizer for SKC but the replay shows that AR Felisha Mariscal nailed the onside decision. Great job by Mariscal!

Philadelphia 1-2 New England                       Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Geiger had a very good performance with no controversy. Good job from the World Cup referee.

New York City FC 0-1 Portland                     Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Villarreal had a calm match where he faced little controversy and only had to show one yellow card. Nice job by the young referee.

Thanks for reading!

Europa League Review Quarterfinals Leg 1: Spanish ARs struggle, Marciniak has confident match

Club Brugge 0-0 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk                  Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
No controversy for Skomina.
Overview: I have no criticisms of Skomina's performance in this match. He was spot on with one minor penalty appeal in the 84th minute and he continues to show himself as a very strong UEFA referee. I would give him a very positive mark on his match work today.

Sevilla 2-1 Zenit St. Petersburg                                  Referee: Bas Nijihus (Netherlands)
No controversy for the Dutch referee.
Overview: Very similar to Skomina. Not much to deal with besides one penalty appeal in the 77th Minute. I agree with Nijihus' decision to play on since it seemed like two players just collided trying to get the ball. Overall, another positive mark for a referee.

Wolfsburg 1-4 Napoli                                                Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
Lahoz was pretty good but I think he missed one key call.
15th Minute: Not only is Gonzalo Higuain offsides on Napoli's first goal, he also seems to deliberately handle the ball before setting up his shot. More on the AR and the AAR than Lahoz though since neither call was really at a good angle for him.
Overview: Lahoz deserves a good mark for his effort, not only because the crew's biggest mistake was not his, but because I think he had a strong match with my only criticism being his leniency. Nice work by the Spaniard.

Dynamo Kiev 1-1 Fiorentina                                     Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Marciniak was excellent in this match in my opinion.
13th Minute: Fiorentina want a penalty after a shot hits the arm of a Kiev defender sliding in front. No way for me! I don't see any way he could have moved his hand. Outstanding call by Marciniak.
92nd Minute: Kiev wanted a high boot on Fiorentina's equalizer, but I disagree. The scorer was just going for the ball. Another good call by Marciniak.
Overview: Easily the best refereed match of the day. Marcinak did a very good job putting himself in good position to make the right call. Great job from Marciniak in a difficult match.

Appointments April 18-19 Key Matches

Chelsea vs. Machester United (PREMIER LEAGUE)

Referee: Mike Dean

Assistant Referee: Simon Long

Assistant Referee: Darren England

Fourth Official: Craig Pawson

Reading vs. Arsenal (FA CUP)

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Assistant Referee: Mike Mullarkey 

Assistant Referee: Gary Beswick

Fourth Official: Andre Marriner

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (FA CUP)

Referee: Michael Oliver

Assistant Referee: Stuart Burt

Assistant Referee: John Brooks

Fourth Official: Lee Mason

Juventus vs. Lazio (SERIE A)

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli

Assistant Referee: Renato Faverani

Assistant Referee: Filippo Meli

Additional Assistant Referee: Antonio Damato

Additional Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati

Fourth Official: Andrea Crispo

Internazionale vs. AC Milan (SERIE A)
Referee: Luca Banti
Assistant Referee: Francesco de Luca
Assistant Referee: Gianluca Vuoto
Additional Assistant Referee: Marco Guida
Additional Assistant Referee: Daniele Doveri
Fourth Official: Fabiano Preti

Salt Lake vs. Vancouver (MLS)

Referee: Ted Unkel

Assistant Referee: Jeff Muschik

Assistant Referee: Adam Garner

Fourth Official: Tyler Ploeger 

Feel free to leave a comment with any other matches you think should be included and I will be happy to put the assignment in.  

Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 1: Atletico, Monaco, Real, and Bayern left shaking their heads

Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid                                Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
The Serbian referee drew some criticism in this game for being too lenient, despite getting one penalty appeal right.
61st Minute: Dani Carvajal appears to bite Mario Mandžukić in the area. Either Mažić or AAR2 Dejan Filipović should have seen the foul and signaled for a Penalty Kick. If they had called this, I am sure Carvajal would have seen red.
71st Minute: Mario Mandžukić issues an elbow to a Real Madrid player, probably a retaliation for being bitten. For Mažić, two wrongs shouldn't make a right. It doesn't matter that Mandžukić should have been given a penalty earlier, that kind of behavior is inappropriate and should be punished with a red.
Overview: Mažiç needs to be a little harsher in his judgement. He also should have paid more attention to Mandžukić throughout the match, as he seemed to be at the center of most of the intense play. On the other side, Mažić showed poise in other areas, such as judgement on tackles. Most of his foul calls were correct, especially his denial of a penalty appeal in the 87th Minute.

Clear foul, but look at the feet.

Juventus 1-0 AS Monaco                                             Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)
Královec was decent over the course of the match and the only controversy came on a penalty kick awarded to Juventus.
57th Minute: Ricardo Carvalho clearly brings down Artur Vidal as he chases a long ball. Královec sees a penalty from his angle, but when I look at the replays I am convinced that the contact came outside the area. The AR should have done better to tell Královec this in my opinion.
Overview: Královec only got one call wrong and it is hard to put much blame on him. For me, the blame goes to the AR since he could have seen that the contact was outside the box. Overall I think that I would give Královec a positive rating for his effort.

Paris St. Germain 1-3 Barcelona                                  Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
No controversy in this match.
Overview: Clattenburg has been viewed as, along with Mazic, a favorite for the Europa Final. After this week free of problems, I think he has surpassed Mazic.

FC Porto 3-1 Bayern Munich                                      Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
The controversy in this match centered on a questionable penalty awarded to Porto.
3rd Minute: Manuel Neuer takes the ball from Jackson Martinez, tripping up Martinez after the fact. Carballo awards a penalty to Porto, but it looks like a clean save by Neuer. Huge mistake by Carballo to point to the spot.
Overview: Overall, Carballo didn't have a particularly bad game, but his one missed call had a huge impact on the game and I therefore would give him a bad mark for his performance.

NO PREMIER LEAGUE REVIEW THIS WEEKEND

Sorry guys, but I am on vacation this weekend, so there will be no Premier League Review. I will return to posting for the CL games next week.

MLS Week 5 Reports: Decent work by referees

Orlando City 0-1 DC United                Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Penso didn't face any controversy in this Friday Night Fixture. Nice work.

Chicago 3-2 Toronto                            Referee: Juan Guzman (United States)
Guzman had one tough decision and he nailed it in my opinion.
66th Minute: Toronto's Warren Creavalle, already booked, rams into David Accam with the ball long gone. Clear second yellow from Guzman, setting up a free kick that put the Fire ahead.

Colorado 0-2 New England                  Referee: Fotis Bazakos (United States)
Overall, Bazakos was decent, but his no penalty decision in the 60th minute was off, to say the least.
54th Minute: At first glance, Charlie Davies appears to go down under minimal contact in the box, but upon further review the Rapids defender clearly pulled his arm back. Bazakos correctly awards the Revs a PK.
60th Minute: A penalty clearly should have been awarded to the Rapids after Juan Ramirez is clearly fouled in the box. Bazakos initially calls a PK, but then reverses the call after the AR calls offsides AFTER the foul had been committed. Therefore, penalty should have been the call.

Seattle 1-0 Houston                                Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel had a good match and was spot on with the key red card call he made.
56th Minute: Seattle's Gonzalo Pineda puts his boot into the chest of Ricardo Clark during a fight for the ball. Unkel initially reaches for a yellow, but after appearing to look over at either AR Corey Rockwell or Fourth Official Allen Chapman, he goes to the back pocket. Good communication and  a good decision in the end.

Vancouver 2-0 LA Galaxy                    Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
In a critical match the veteran Toledo delivered with no controversy.

Portland 3-1 FC Dallas                          Referee: Ricardo Salazar (United States)
Controversy free from Salazar. Nice call by AR Frank Anderson to disallow a Timbers goal for a clear offsides.

San Jose 0-1 Real Salt Lake                   Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Villarreal once again proved himself as one of the MLS's top young referees. No controversy in California.

Sporting KC 3-2 Philadelphia                Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Besides failing to send Roger Espinoza off, I thought Elfath was pretty good. AR Adam Garner deserves credit for spotting that the ball was in on Philadelphia's first goal.
88th Minute: SKC's Roger Espinoza lays out a Union player as the last man back. Elfath correctly plays advantage, but after the Union miss a huge chance, he fails to retrospectively send Espinoza off. Besides this incident, I thought most of his other decisions were correct.

Thanks for reading!

Premier League Review Week 31: Referees starting to turn the corner?

Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool                        Referee: Anthony Taylor
Taylor has drawn the ire of Liverpool fans this season (specifically in the Chelsea game in November), but today they had no gripes with Taylor, who was very strong in the game.
76th Minute: Héctor Bellerín gets both ball and man in a challenge on Raheem Sterling in the box. Taylor correctly awards a penalty and Jordan Henderson stepped up to give Liverpool their only goal of the game.
84th Minute: Emre Can comes in with a late challenge from behind on Danny Welbeck. Good decision to issue a second yellow by Taylor.

Swansea City 3-1 Hull City               Referee: Andre Marriner
Marriner shook off recent struggles to have a good game in an important match for Hull.
53rd Minute: Hull's David Meyler goes into Kyle Naughton's shin with his studs up. Marriner correctly shows a red card to Meyler for endangering the safety of an opponent. Nice work by Marriner.

Chelsea 2-1 Stoke City                      Referee: Jonathan Moss
Moss continued a run of good performances by these referees with a good match.
37th Minute: Chelsea gets a penalty after Philip Wollscheid trips up Cesc Fàbregas in the area. The contact was tough to spot from Moss' angle, so major credit is due to him for catching the trip.

Manchester United 3-1 Aston Villa   Referee: Roger East
East was okay overall, but missed an obvious penalty in the 5th Minute.
5th Minute: Ciaran Clark grabs Wayne Rooney by the throat to stop him from scoring, but East somehow waves play on. Penalty is the right decision in my book.

West Brom 1-4 Queens Park            Referee: Lee Probert
Probert had one key call and I think he nailed it.
83rd Minute: West Brom sub Youssuf Mulumbu sends a forearm to the head of Joey Barton during an aerial challenge. Great call from Probert to send Mulumbu off.

Leicester City 2-1 West Ham            Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Clattenburg continued to prove himself as England's top referee with a good performance in this high stakes battle for Leicester.
14th Minute: West Ham's Carl Jenkinson clearly trips up Leonardo Ulloa in the box. Good penalty call by Clattenburg.

Crystal Palace 2-1 Manchester City  Referee: Michael Oliver
Oliver was decent in the match, but missed a key handball in the 72nd Minute
72nd Minute: City cry for a penalty after a bouncing ball hits the outstretched hand of a Palace defender in the area. In my opinion, Oliver should have pointed to the spot.

Everton 1-0 Southampton                 Referee: Lee Mason
Burnley 0-0 Tottenham                     Referee: Martin Atkinson
Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle                Referee: Mike Dean
Mason, Dean and Atkinson all had good games with no controversy. Good job by them and their crews.

Appointments April 4-5 key matches

Arsenal vs. Liverpool
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referee: Darren Cann
Assistant Referee: Marc Perry
Fourth Official: Michael Oliver

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
Referee: Knut Kircher
Assistant Referee: Robert Kempter
Assistant Referee: Thorsten Schiffner
Fourth Official: Christian Dingert

Roma vs. Napoli
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli
Assistant Referee: ?
Assistant Referee: ?
Fourth Official: ?

Paris St. Germain vs. Marseille
Referee: Ruddy Buquet
Assistant Referee: Cyril Gringore
Assistant Referee: Guillaume Debart
Fourth Official: Tony Chapron

New Zealand ASB Premiership Final
Auckland City vs. Hawke's Bay United
Referee: Peter O'Leary
Assistant Referee: Jan Hendrick-Hintz
Assistant Referee: Mark Rule
Fourth Official: ?

Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referee: Jeff Kirkup
Assistant Referee: Richard Gamache
Fourth Official: David Gantar

If there are any assignments you want me to add in, please tell me in the comments and I will put them in. Thanks!

Gianluca Rocchi is our March Referee of the Month

Italian Referee Gianluca Rocchi was named our Referee of the Month for March. The key factor for this decision was Rocchi's success in two European tournaments. First, he was excellent in a UCL match between Barcelona and Manchester City. Later, he was also strong in a Euro Qualifier between Portugal and Serbia. Add his good Italian league work and he is a great choice for referee of the month.