Monday, December 29, 2008

Are Stoke City Getting A Fair Deal From Referees In The Premiership?

So Tony Pulis is looking for'fair play' from refs....leaving aside the Fuller and Wilkinson sendings off, he is right to question what has been happening to us in recent weeks.

I seem to recall that around the time of the Arsenal match - when Mr Wenger was voicing his displeasure at Stoke's physical style of play(as cover for a pretty dismal Arsenal perfomance some suggested) - that TP sought/received reassurance from the referees that Stoke's play was fair,robust, but within the rules of the game.

We know that refs are on a pro footing,that they gather for briefings, analysis,development, sharing etc.For my money from the evidence of recent matches there seems to be a 'ref's narrative' influencing events and refereeing decisions with regard to Stoke city FC.

They seem to perceive us as being overly physical and seem to be trying to compensate for that by being overly protective of opposition players. Man U and West Ham had players who were every bit as physical as ours but were not penalised to the same extent as the Stoke team.

Leave aside Fuller's stupid and entirely avoidable dismissal yesterday, he has been growing increasingly frustrated in recent weeks.I am sure there are many contributory causes for this, but I can't help feeling that he has been on the end of some pretty rough treatment from the opposition,which refs have consistently ignored/not seen (take your pick....another part of the refs narrative I think).Fuller was fouled heavily on four occasions on Saturday but got no joy from the ref,Ryan Giggs got protection from Mr.Foy immediately.

Don't think we are getting a fair crack at the moment.....

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