Bleedin' Hell Referee ... Why?
Why Players with Open Wounds Need to Leave the Pitch
Any player with an open wound needs to leave the field of play and be treated. Isn’t that reasonable? Apparently not when your team is pushing for a win and will suddenly be at a numerical disadvantage. But even so … for safety’s sake, just get off the pitch without swearing, moaning or complaining.
The rules are there for everyone and safety is, and should be, the number one priority.
It was a competitive and entertaining match between Chelsea and Arsenal on Sunday 10 November. There was also notable time wasting by both teams and Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou is apparently a huge critic of this in the Premier League.
You'd watch teams play in Europe and get frustrated by [time wasting], but now it's part of the game here as well. There's nothing we can do about it. For us, if we want to mitigate those things - because we [Spurs] don't do it and we want the game to be played - then we shouldn't give opportunities for the opposition to do that.
Football Dark Arts knows that everyone, every team and every league does this. Time wasting is part of the game … it is a dark art and we all need to be aware of this. Unless there is a new method installed by competition organisers to tackle time wasting, then match officials will do their best to mitigate and to add time.
Here are some examples of dark arts in the Chelsea vs Arsenal premier league match that every football fan should be aware of. If fans do not see these dark arts, then they are not true football fans because they lack this basic understanding of the game.
In the 12’, Chelsea’s Levi Colwill strategically makes a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to prevent Arsenal from counterattacking. Referee Michael Oliver could have cautioned Colwill.
In the 21’, Colwill makes an unfair challenge from behind on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. All players who do this will complain when the referee correctly whistles for a foul, claiming to have “got the ball”. First, no, Colwill did not get the ball. Second, even if Colwill did get the ball, so what? In doing so, Colwill went through Saka in a reckless manner. Third, players lie and cheat, so why should referees listen to them? Fourth, this foul deserved a yellow card, which referee Michael Oliver correctly issued. This could have been Colwill’s second caution.
In the 56’, with the score level at 0-0, Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella was quick to inform referee Oliver that his opponent Havertz was bleeding and had to go off. Cucurella had obvious reasons for “helping the referee” to get an opponent off the field of play.
And because of this, Arsenal will also have their reasons for time wasting too.
Referee Oliver could have cautioned Timber for time wasting but instead gave him the benefit of doubt that he “messed up” his throw-in. Did Timber deliberately mess up his throw? Anyway, whichever way you take it, it was enough to run down the clock and give time for Havertz to be patched up and to get back on the pitch following a free kick to Arsenal moments later.
So, these are some interesting match incidents that football fans should be aware of if they are to have a good understanding of the modern game. This begs the question as to what the bleeding’ hell Ange Postecoglu is talking about when he claims Tottenham Hotspur would never time waste. All teams time waste when it suits them.
NOTE: As a writer and referee, it takes time to put together these Footy Dark Arts articles. May I please request that you share/forward these articles to your football friends to help raise awareness of Footy Dark Arts and appreciation of the modern game. Thank you.
References
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal (BBC Sport)
Time Wasting is Now Part of the Premier League (Daily Mail)