Just so you all know that the Club is doing their bit:<br><br>1 An email has been sent to the Unibond League Secretary today describing the incidents and this will be dealt with by the UL and they will report back.<br><br>2 It has been confirmed to me that the missile incident and the unsavoury treatment of the officials (& our stewards) has been reported to the FA and this will be dealt with by the Board, commencing tomorrow evening.<br><br>3 Just goes to show that no matter how old you are - there is always something different happening (and it usually involves us).<br><br>GE<br>
[quote]The whistle can not have been blown to signal a ‘goal’, as the ball did not cross the line until 2 to 3 seconds later!!
Previously, whenever in any game at any time anywhere in the world a referee has been criticised, all that has to be said is that in his opinion the referee gave what he saw, regardless of whether he was right or wrong. With this incident, it is immaterial whether players were in an offside position, it is immaterial whether anyone was interfering with play. The opinions of the players, the referee, the linesman, the managers, the fans, don’t count for anything as they have no relevance to the matter, The simple fact is the referee had blown his whistle, play had stopped and the ball was dead. The laws of physics saw to it that a couple of seconds later the ball ended up in the net. The ball could just have easily have ended up on the terraces, over the fence, or being caught by an Albion defender, who cares? The ball was dead! The post above states that nobody challenged the keeper. That is quite correct; the players had stopped because the whistle had gone!
What happened in this match seems without precedent in the game. In my opinion, the FA (or maybe FIFA) must step in and make a decision, and the decision has to be that the match is replayed. The result, decided by the referee, has repercussions beyond just Witton and Farsley, it also affects several other teams in the play-off positions.
Imagine a cricket match where play has stopped for drinks, the bowler picks up the ball and bowls a delivery which knocks down the unguarded stumps and the umpire informs the batsman that he is out! Imagine an American Football game where one team calls time out, the others pick up the ball and run unchallenged to the touchdown area and the points are awarded. Total flights of fantasy, yet the equivalent happened at Wincham Park on Monday.[/quote]<br><br>2 to 3 seconds later is a hairs breath. Does this take into account the length of time for his whistle to travel against the wind to the Witton masses? Does anyone at Witton hold a physics degree which I am afraid this may come down to solve the verdict of when the whistle was blown. Was the whistle from the crowd? If every game inb the world was allowed to come to spectators and officials viewpoints then the only people that would benefit would be solicitors and the like. For once we all have to accept that the officials on the day had a call to make and for one team it was poor and the other it benefitted. Sh*t happens!! it did for us last season, but eventually time has to play a part. Your team are good enough if they knuckle down and grind out the rest of the results. Who knows you may get your revenge in the play offs!!! ps at our place<br>
Thanks Graham for that info.<br><br>After last season’s dithering re the Spennymoor farce don’t think we should hold our breath waiting for the LMC though eh?.<br><br>Maybe we should also mail the FA with a copy as well cos ultimately it’s their (FIFA etc) own rules that appear not to be have adhered to and therefore the actual score of the match at the time was affected.<br><br>Thanks indeed to the various Farsley supporters who’ve posted and to whom we spoke to yesterday for their words of encouragement.<br><br>We all know that they themselves were cruely treated last season and I can’t see their own chairman Andy Firbank standing back and accepting yesterday’s incident without protesting in the strongest possible way to the various authorities if the incident had occured in the opposite goal area.
Surely this is also a test of Farsley’s sporting integrity.<br>They should offer to replay the game.<br>
I never said the fella should have been booked! <br>He was probably playing to the whistle too and if it’d gone a second earlier he wouldnt have kicked the ball! I presume now our players are told to round the keeper and score EVERY time an offside is given just incase the ref allows it - why not? It happened yesterday.<br><br>Was the whistle for a goal or the offside? Was it from the crowd? Grow a brain and think about it.<br><br>I’m glad the club have taken it seriously that muppet could have cost us for another season. <br>We are a strong team yes but you cn well do without things like that happening, the task was hard enough as it was.<br><br>Are there any players out there who would like to give an opinion (allbeit passivley!) Have they ever known anything like this before?Has anyone? Has the FA? That ref must have learnt it from somewhere.
[quote]Surely this is also a test of Farsley’s sporting integrity.
They should offer to replay the game.
[/quote]<br><br>Espicially considering they havent got much to play for except home ground advantage in the playoffs.<br>
[quote]
2 to 3 seconds later is a hairs breath. Does this take into account the length of time for his whistle to travel against the wind to the Witton masses? Does anyone at Witton hold a physics degree which I am afraid this may come down to solve the verdict of when the whistle was blown. [/quote]<br><br>Yes, I do have a Physics degree! In fact, this is straightforward GCSE Physics. The time delay for the sound of the whistle would have been around one third of a second. The wind would have had a negligible effect. To say 2 to 3 seconds is a ‘hairs breath’ (sic) is ridiculous. The ball can easily travel from one end of the field to the half way line in that time. I think the record for the fastest ever goal from kick off is 4 seconds.<br><br>The bottom line is the referee quite deliberately decided to ignore the rules of the sport. It impossible that he did not know that what he did was unacceptable, therefore it is quite clear, it is an unarguable fact, that he cheated. What I find incomprehensible is why he chose to do this.<br><br>Last season Farsley were cheated out of the League title. No one will ever convince me that there was no corruption involved. To have a group of people vote on who they want to win the League, which is exactly what happened last year, made a complete mockery of the season. Nevertheless, that decision was justified by those who, to their eternal shame, made it by the fact that they had the right to make and change the relevant rules as they wished. In this case, there is no right to change the rules under which games of Association Football are played. If the result is allowed to stand, football is dead.
People make mistakes. I just wish the person in the centre hadn’t chosen a game of such importance to make it in. I accept under the new rules that as no-one touched the ball that 4 offside players were not active and the goal should have stood but thats being wise after the event.<br><br>The events were as follows. The linesman flagged for offside the ref whistled for offside and then the ball bounced and rose over Brett’s head. <br>No-one thought it was goal, the Celts players then surrounded the ref. At this stage the ref decided to consult the linesman. My immediate reaction was why? He had made his decision. I then witnessed the unwritten rule that a ref never changes his mind simply because players ask him to call it the other way. After 60 secs consulting each other I believe they changed their mind. It was the most incorrect decision I have witnessed on a football field and I personally feel cheated. The record books may show a 1-0 loss but did we lose that game to Farsley in an honest fashion? <br>Good luck to Farsley I hope the 3 points help them win the league especially after last year and we hopefully will do them a favour tonight.<br> <br>However, its done, I don’t think a replay is the right road to go down. A mistake was made , players make mistakes so do officials. I just hope when they say these things balance themselves out over a season , then the balance needs to be addressed soon in the next 6 games. Although I wouldn’t wish any team to be on the receiving end of a decision like we were on Monday.<br>
Is anyone else finding the adverts for ‘loud whistles’ that keep coming up on the top of the page rather amusing?
NO
The League have replied as follows:<br><br>The League have discussed the contents of Witton Albion’s email and it is unanimously agreed that they cannot intervene on referee’s decisions in a game which are final and binding.<br>A copy of the email has been forwarded to the Referees Dept of the FA for any action they feel is appropriate.<br><br><br>To be honest this is the correct outcome from the League’s point of view.<br><br>GE<br>
What a surprise with Duncan Bayley in charge.
I haven’t got a degree in Physics but you don’t need a degree in Rocket Science either to work out that this would be the response from the league
I think the major thing is that the whole of non-league football is on its backside at the moment. The organisation at this level is awful, where in any league around the world would you play back to back games? not even in sunday league. <br>Unfortunatley this includes referees because the rules strangley do not transend from the Premier and Football league down to non-league. Do you think Mourinho would still be in the dugout if he had done what the Farsley bloke did on saturday? And there have been loads of incidents this season with refs not ahearing to the correct rules. <br>Something has to be done in terms of a better training programme which lies with the FA or to use more experienced referees for these type of matches. (Graham lace up your boots again!!) <br>I would like to see us try and do something about this I know what the league have said but could we possibley take this to the FA, if nothing else the standard of refereeing at this level may be looked into.<br>Ok rant over come on the Albs tonight against Blyth and 2moro against Ilkeston!!
What about filming every match - when these thngs happen send them off to Youve been framed or Soccer AM. At least then some one else can see how much of a joke this league has become. <br><br>Come on tonight lads sooner we get out of this league the better.
Having had time to reflect on the gameand in particuler the "Official" I come to the conclusion that the losers are overall are the supporters who pay good money to watch the games. I thought, and correct me if I am wrong, that the referee and his assistants were there solely to administer the rules, which at this level they should know. It is difficult enough for our football club to get people into the ground without this incident, and it is pretty obvious by the way the league officials dismiss incidents that make their life trouble free.