Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest refereeing decisions this season. Some of them are very spooky, to be very honest. And it’s crazy because, with all the new technology and new rules being introduced, you’d expect officiating to have massively improved, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, the decisions these refs make only seem to get weirder and weirder.
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Come with us as we look at some of the weirdest refereeing decisions this season.
1. Spurs and Man City
Let’s start with that decision from Simon Hooper in the game between Spurs and Man City. In the dying minutes of that game, Haaland got fouled at the center of the pitch but he got up to his feet super quickly, so Hooper gestured for the Man City advantage.
But the moment Haaland passed the ball to Grealish who was through on goal, the referee decided to call back the free kick. That’s a very weird decision, to be very honest, and Haaland was so visibly angered by it. He yelled at the ref on the pitch and was still so angry hours after the game and he expressed it on Twitter, replying “wtf” to a video of the decision.
City really had the chance to win the game at the death but Simon Hooper took the chance from them with a really ridiculous refereeing decision.
We’re not even trying to say anything here, but this is not the first time Spurs have had a really weird decision go their way in the Premier League this season. And you know what’s crazy? The other time, it was also against a title contender.
2. Spurs vs Liverpool
You guys remember the Spurs vs Liverpool game, Don’t you?
Luis Diaz scored a very clear goal, but somehow it was disallowed for offside, when in fact, there was no offside in the buildup.
This time around, PGMOL even admitted that it was a serious human error and the goal should have stood.
Watching that unfold in real time was weird enough, but listening to the conversation between the refs after the audio was released made it 10 times weirder. It was just a truly ridiculous decision.
It was worse in hindsight because Liverpool ended up losing that game, but had that goal been rightly given, the entire game could have turned out very differently and Liverpool may have been top of the table by now.
3. Arsenal Vs Newcastle
Speaking of the top of the table, Arsenal, who are currently there, also had a weird decision that went against them. In the game against Newcastle, the only goal was pretty much a result of some really spooky officiating.
There seemed to have been an obvious push by Joelinton on his international teammate Gabriel, but even after several minutes of VAR check, the goal stood.
There was also a little issue of whether the ball had gone out of play in the buildup to the goal, so there were two points where the goal could have been disallowed, but it stood, and it was enough for Newcastle to win the game.
Arsenal fans were so hurt and were super vocal about it for days. And when Newcastle got wounded by a late weird refereeing decision some weeks after, Gunners all over the world called it karma.
4. Newcastle and PSG
In the Champions League game between Newcastle and PSG, the Magpies looked like they were going to walk away with all 3 points after having led for much of the game thanks to a first half Isak strike. But PSG got awarded a penalty in the 97th minute, and that gave Mbappe the chance to steal a point for the French giants.
But that penalty? Honestly, it should not have been given. First of all, Livramento’s arm was in a natural position. And then to worsen the case, the ball first hit him in the midriff before ricocheting to his arm which, again, was in a natural position. It was just a really weird penalty to give.
And to show how bizarre it was, the very next day, there was a similar incident in another Champions League game in Bayern Munich vs Copenhagen and a penalty wasn’t awarded to Bayern. It just showed how inconsistent referees are with their decisions at the highest European club competition.
5. Manchester United Vs Copenhagen
In the Champions League, Marcus Rashford’s sending-off against Copenhagen was another questionable decision. He was obviously just guarding the ball. He didn’t even look at the player or anything, so there was obviously no argument for malicious intent, but he was given a red card. Come on.
Where else should Rashford have put his foot? Should he have left it suspended in the air?
What makes this decision worse is that he had full control of the ball so it’s not like this was a tackle gone wrong. Nah, the decision was just absurd all around.
6. Barcelona Vs Rayo Vallecano
Another crazy decision came in the La Liga game between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano when Robert Lewandowski was literally wrestled to the ground in the penalty area by a Vallecano defender and it wasn’t even given a second look.
If that is not a penalty, then really, what is?
And that spooky decision had some huge consequences as Barcelona ended up taking just one point from that game. If that penalty was rightly given, they could have had all 3 points.
7. Wolves Vs Manchester United
But we actually should not be surprised that we’re seeing all these strange decisions this season. We should have known it’d be like this when a certain referee refused to award Wolves a very clear penalty in the opening match day of the Premier League season.
Onana completely took out Kalajdzic in the box, and that should be a penalty on any day of the week, but it wasn’t given and Wolves were denied a chance to draw level at the death. Now, guess who the referee that day was. Just guess!
It was Simon Hooper. Yes, the same guy from the Spurs vs City game. Now, we’re not trying to suggest anything here, but why always you, Chief?
Anyway, are there more weird refereeing decisions you have noticed this season which weren’t mentioned in this blog?
Share them with us in the comments.
