Accidentally

A Liverpool fan berating others' transfer policy

Rooney, for all his hard work in the first 42 minutes just threw it all away with that stupid foul that led to the goal. USE YOUR DAMN HEAD!!

Not berating the policy, berating the lack of funds. Keep up.

Clattenberg having a mare at Stamford Bridge.

Was the 5th goal offside as well?

As Rafa once said, "You cant have an impartial FA committe when members of that board are from Manchester United".

Clattenburg refeering his first United game since City beat them 1-6 and sent off Evans.

Astonishing.

But it is okay for other teams officials to serve on the same committee? Grow up.

Interesting comments from Sir Alex in the post match interview. Torres according to him should have made more of a effort to stay on his feet as he had a goal scoring opportunity.

I await the next Ashley Young tumble

is that a similar FA to the one someone like Brian Barwick used to sit on? #rawk

Just quoting what Rafa said. Don't shoot me lads!

Poor little Chelsea had a decision go against them. About time we got some luck there, the refs usually make sure of a Chelsea win.

Good result for City

So what's Clattenburg been saying then? The Premier League are saying it's being treated very seriously and someone on the radio reckons it's that serious that he'll be sacked. Utterly bizarre, can't see a referee being sacked for just swearing and if he's called a player the kind of name you hear in the school playground, pub or office I think the public would see that as nothing major. Not racism surely? That would be insane and would cause the sport to implode in a media frenzy.

Shame really because he had a decent game I thought from what I saw. I didn't see Ivanovich's but Torres' red was the right decision, it would be great if today's interpretations are applied universally. Contact isn't an entitlement to fall over. Talking of which I've just been watching the derby again and Sterling's dive for Suarez's goal is a joke. The contact there was doesn't break his stride and he makes four strides before going down with a full length dive. The offside winner from Hernandez wasn't Clattenburg's fault either.

Exactly. Had to have a sly chuckle to myself when Ivanovic was sent off and then Hernandez scored from an offside position. Maybe they'll know how we felt at the Bridge last year.


Regarding the Torres sending off, I think the way he went down was why he got sent off. Had he just gone down he'd have got the foul, but because he went down with that sort of twisty thing they all do that makes it look like they're in an action film and grabbed his leg about 6 inches above the contact he was deemed to have dove.

Twitterati putting it out that Mikel is claiming Clattenburg called him a 'monkey' One hell of a claim, it will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Also suggested he called Mata a "spanish t**t"

Incredible if true. What I can't understand though is the apparent lack of reaction from the Chelsea (and utd) players. If a ref was using that sort language surely they would have been more animated, more outraged than they appeared?

Yeah, it's a well known fact that nearly all sides improve in their 2nd season in the top flight. Surely that's what the phrase 'second season syndrome' was coined for? You only have to look at QPR and Norwich, they're both significantly improved too.

Chelsea fans who see Terry as a legend despite the racism issue now calling for Clattenberg to be sacked.

There isn't any rule to how sides perform in the second season. Who's to say they wouldn't done better this season under Rodgers? Who's to say how they would have performed with Laudrup in their first season? It's ridiculous to use a side's first season in a league as the yardstick for comparing managers. Who's to say that Laudrup isn't profiting from the good work of Rodgers? He isn't exactly picking up the pieces of disappointment like Rodgers is.

IMO, we've been performing well but we're very under strength and one dimensional as a team. It's easy enough saying we only play one way, but how else do you play when you only have one recoginised forward that doesn't like to lead the line? Our only defensive midfielder is injured and we've introduced three fantastic teenagers into the team.

I like Rodgers, he's doing a lot right which gives me confidence he could be here for quite a few years. I'm mixed on whether he'll lead us to success, he needs a really good set of scouts on his side if he's to get us back into the CL, but he'll definitely put us in a great position. He'll establish the right attitude, he'll sign the right characters and he'll set the right footballing principles in the club, but whether we'll become winners will depend a lot on the likes of Citeh, United and Chelsea, as well as some stupendous ability in the transfer market.

Not really, football fans used to sing FSW in unison towards Benitez every week yet nobody reacted. Many fans used to sign Adebayor's dad washes elephants, yet there was little reaction to that. If he's called him a Spanish tw*t, I imagine the majority of football will laugh it off.

But this was, allegedly, a referee not a bunch of brain dead fans. Surely players would react more strongly if they were on the receiving end of that language from a referee?

Of course they should have reacted more strongly if he said it, but there are too many variables to consider. When he said it, did he say it quietly to Mata? Did he say it clearly enough for Mata to have an immediate reaction? When did Mata tell his team mates it was said to him? Did his team mates hear it and tell him, or did they all hear it at the same time? I look forward to reading the investigation if they release the full information.

The monkey comment is very serious, Mikel surely wouldn't have played on in a game being refereed by somebody like that. I find it hard to believe he'd call a player a monkey and get almost no reaction, especially when you consider the reaction referees get when they make the slightest wrong call.

If he made either of the comments that he's alleged to have made, he'll be sacked, no question about it. Whether the average Joe would write it off is irrelevant, some things are unacceptable in a professional environment and both of those things certainly are.

It would be a quite incredible if he made either comment. I think it's more likely he just swore and that the allegations are just a result of their bitterness towards both the result and the allegations made towards John Terry. This is another example of a situation with an allegation and absolutely no evidence at all. At best they've got witness statements from the assistant referees, but it'll be all to easy for them to say they heard nothing because of the noise. How good is Mata's and Mikel's English? I can't I've heard either of them speak.

What, so it's OK for you and your pals to laugh your nuts off about bluenoses calling Benitez a FSW, but it's not OK for a ref to call him a Spanish tw*t? Why is that? They are both offensive comments involving nationality as a way to degrade them. This is the type of attitude that tickles me right up, as it's idiots like you that claim there has to be a zero tolerance policy to racism and context doesn't matter. There shouldn't be a difference between a referee saying it or a group of brain dead fans, it should be equally condemned but people sweep it under the carpet when it's fans. If the FA are quite happy to have football fans chant things like FSW, or your dad washes elephants, then they should be quite happy for their referees to call players Spanish tw*ts. Is the problem the referee calling him a tw*t, or the use of the word Spanish? If it's the word tw*t, people really have no right to criticise a ref considering the amount of expletives they take. If it's the use of the word Spanish, it's never been a problem in the past so why would it be now?
I bet if you speak to the likes of Fabregas, Torres, Reina, Alonso, Cuellar and David Silva, I bet you any amount of money they will have been called similar or worse things by players and fans alike during a game, yet nothing will have been done by the FA about it.

I find it very hard to believe the ref will have said what's claimed, but I also find it very hard to believe Chelsea would be so dumb as to make a false allegation of racist/abusive language given the rough few weeks they've had. As I said, it will be interesting to read once the facts come out, the referee's assistants will be his greatest defence as I imagine they can hear things pretty clearly in the earpieces they use, if they can't then why do they bother wearing them?

Supporters calling someone a fat Spanish waiter is hardly the same. That is the kind of jibe people can expect in the sporting limelight and as insults go it's a very mild, borderline friendly one. You may not like that, but you'll never stop it either. Every player will have been abused by opposition fans, but that's the way it is. Referee's by their very definition are supposed to exemplify the attitudes of the sport they represent, so yes, it's far more serious for a referee to use discriminatory language than a supporter, the nature of the word is irrelevant. A referee would get in trouble for simply swearing, it's against FA guidelines, I'll bet it's in the terms and conditions of their employment how they're expected to behave.

The separate thinking for professionals and non-professionals applies everywhere in life. If you go into McDonalds and swear because you've had bad service, they'll at worst ask you politely to leave. If a McDonalds employee called you a name and swore at you, you'd expect him to be sacked, and he would be.