Norwich City - useless referee proving ground

[Buh 0]

Anyone else fed up of Norwich City beng used as a safety net for the FA''s useless band of barely conscious referees? I mean, somebody check a) that refs paddy power account b) pulse because to my mind he''s either corrupt or had some sort of brain injury.

Absolutely sick of the attitude, and this has happened multiple times now, of "it''s his first game, give him to Norwich, it doesn''t matter if he messes that up" shows the massive lack of respect clubs like Norwich get from football authorities.

Anyone remember when grant holt got sent off against reading by Michael "butter wouldn''t melt in his mouth" Oliver, who I believe was 8 and 3 quarters at the time, in one of his early games?

FA, can we PLEASE have some referees that HAVENT BEEN IN A CAR CRASH BEFORE THE GAME OR HAD A FLASHBANG GO OFF IN THEIR DRESSING ROOM!!!

[Buh 0]

BTW just realised that Hooper was the red that Olsson pushed after he got sent off first game of last year.

Should be under investigation, no doubt about it, he screwed us deliberately.

[Matt Juler 151]

Also the ref that Leon Barnett "attacked" with the ball back in 2010.

[Buh 0]

Jesus Christ...

It would appear Norwich have now got referees that have personal vendettas against them. I bet this guy is sitting at home stroking a white cat right now or plotting to take down the avengers!

Why was he ever allowed anywhere near the pitch?

[pete 319]

Carrow Road against one of the lesser lights a proven training ground to experiment with rookie refs who outside of Norfolk is going to take any notice. Wouldn''t have been the case if we had been playing Chelsea, Man U etc. Hooper would have started his training at Watford if they were at home.

A similar story however remember our first game 2004 a young referee called Clattenburg reffed his first game I have yet to see a more accomplished performance. A one off obviously.

[Daz Sparks 1,154]

I have to agree Buh, it was a monumentally p1$$ poor performance from where I was sitting and this appears to be backed from some Palace fans, now that tells you all you need to know.

[Indy 3,300]

This is funny, it has nothing to do with our inept diff ending and poor finishing?

Yesterday there was a similar high foot given as a free kick by an experienced red in the Stoke Liverpool game. I don''t think it''s dangerous but the red does, I''m sure had that been palace goal disallowed we would have agreed it was a high foot! (Personally I love to see goals like Jerome tucked away & I don''t see it as a free kick).

Bassong shove in the back was a penalty but the red was blinded by a number of players between him and Bassong, the Lino should have seen it, but didn''t give it, so why not aim you frustration at him?

He was a rubbish red no doubt, but you go and referee in those conditions in front of millions on TV and see how many criticise you!

We didn''t deserve to lose, we did and the ref had a bad game!

What is needed is the 4th official to call the penalty from seeing it on the TV.....need some form or review system to help refs.

[Webbo118 0]

[quote user="Daz Sparks"]I have to agree Buh, it was a monumentally p1$$ poor performance from where I was sitting and this appears to be backed from some Palace fans, now that tells you all you need to know.[/quote]

Referees, in general, have three things in common:-

1) They don''t forget

2) They do bear grudges

3) They have a desire for revenge

The seed for the two controversial decisions on Saturday (Jerome''s "goal" and Bassong''s "penalty") was sown in the first game of last season when Olsson pushed the "referee". That will have remained with Hooper and his chance for retribution probably came earlier than he expected. Probably made his day, week and season.

[Buh 0]

Poor finishing! Jerome and Redmond scored two of the best goals

Of the weekend. Jeromes was ruled out because of ineptitude or corruption. Either is unforgivable. Given the circumstances as he''s a referee who isn''t on the PGMOL and was criticised before the game. I''m GLAD he''s bein dragged through the dirt this weekend. I believe he thought it''d make local media and no more but he''s been shown to look a right tit. Should officiate this the prem Again and definitely shouldn''t ref against us because he''s got it in for us. Clear conflict of interest and a personal vendetta.

[earnie1 0]

Well said Buh!! Totally agree with you! I am a life long City fan but this is the first real time I have written on here. I felt that some things needed to be mentioned because for me there is too much of an acceptance on this board by our fans to just accept that our defence was the reason why we lost against C.PalaceI am not able to get to the games as living abroad but was able to watch the match on a live stream and to me this was one of the worst refereeing performances that I have seen and to be honest after the game it felt like City had been cheated by the ref! I have read a lot of times on here about people slating our defending for the 2 goals which is true but ultimately this is irrelevant because at different stages off the game the referee has influenced the course of the game which had no bearing on our defence or our own quality. In addition, the major turning points in the game were at 0-0 when G.Murray should have been sent off and at 1-2, when we had the perfectly good goal disallowed (which i am still wondering as to why that was disallowed) and thirdly the blatant penalty that was not given.  Now we all know that all teams get bad decisions and that referees make mistakes, that is part and part of the game. In addition, decisions have also gone for us in the past but over a season the good and bad decisions tend to even themselves out. However, what really annoys me is the reason behind why Simon Hooper was allowed to referee the first game of our season after his shockingly bad performance in our opening day defeat at Wolves in the Championship last season. In addition, something that has also been highlighted on another thread this morning is that an ex referee has asked the question why the league association has given this referee our match. I am sorry but that in itself is not good enough and should be questioned and loked into. For me after watching football for so many years, you know when something looks dodgy and to me the performance of Simon Hooper on Saturday was seriously suspicious and to add further suspicion, the likes of the BBC and Sky reporters who often don''t like to highlight such incidents for us, both conclusively stated that the goal should have been allowed and that the penalty should have been given. The Crystal Palace fans have also admitted this and feel that the scoreline was flattering which you do not often see from the opposing teams fans. In addition the same ex referee who questioned the appointment of the referee states how it was a "fantastic" goal that C.Jerome scored and that it was such a blatant penalty that how could the referee not have seen it. Both of these major incidents as well as the red card which as stated "many experienced referees" would have sent off G.Murray culminated in Norwich losing the match and to just ignore these and say that its "papering over the cracks" for our defensive problems is ridiculous. Yes we can all see that the defence needs strengthening and that certain players should not be in the defence, after watching the match my overriding feelings were that City had been cheated by a referee who should not have been refereeing our game. I have very rarely felt this, in which the only other 2 occasions over the years watching Norwich when I really thought something was suspicious was when we lost 3-1 at Arsenal under Lambert and when we drew 3-3 at Portsmouth under Worthington  In both of these games which also occurred in the game versus C.Palace on Saturday the referee made blatantly bad decisions that were so bad that they could not have just been a mistake. Also on Saturday when you have so many commentators and reporters making a real expression as to the legitimacy of the decisions made then you know something is also wrong and to blame our defence for the defeat, I am sorry that is just ridiculous and wrong. What also annoys me is that the league feel that they can get away with giving such an inexperienced referee the opening day fixture because not everyone will be looking at the opening day games so if a mistake or wrong decision is made then they can just make out that its only the opening game and we have mistakes. For me someone at the Club or associated with the Club or the Supporters

Club should complain to the FA or the Premier League and there should

be an investigation into the reasoning why this referee was chosen for

our game and also an investigation into the blatantly bad decisions made by the referee which

the majority of the fans on here agree with. Ultimately, the referee has

cost us this game and in my opinion has cheated us out of at least 1 or 3

points, which could prove vital as the season goes on.  I would be very interested to hear what everyone thinks and whether someone on the message board here would be willing to send their views/opnions of the referee to the Norwich City board and whether these views/opinions would be welcomed or not by the Norwich City Board. 

[Indy 3,300]

Yes we were robbed, not that we conceded three poor goals, Grabban and Johnson missed great chances!

The ref and the premier larger has it in for us!

We might as well not bother as everyone hates Little old Norwich!

Good grief why did the link not award the penalty? Not saying wasn''t but he had a far better view!

And like it or not it was a high boot! Not saying I would have given a free kick but the ref did straight away.

It was our poor finishing and poor defending cost us this game not the ref, it''s like children whining about the teacher when they get poor results, it''s not our fault!

[Daz Sparks 1,154]

[quote user="Indy"]Yes we were robbed, not that we conceded three poor goals, Grabban and Johnson missed great chances!

The ref and the premier larger has it in for us!

We might as well not bother as everyone hates Little old Norwich!

Good grief why did the link not award the penalty? Not saying wasn''t but he had a far better view!

And like it or not it was a high boot! Not saying I would have given a free kick but the ref did straight away.

It was our poor finishing and poor defending cost us this game not the ref, it''s like children whining about the teacher when they get poor results, it''s not our fault![/quote]

So you are saying that completely inept refereeing display had no bearing on the outcome of the game?

[hogesar 9,673]

It wasn''t our poor finishing and defending which cost us the game.

Because, had Jerome''s fantastic finish have stood, then we wouldn''t have been so open later on thus the third goal wouldn''t have happened. Probably. If anything, momentum swings in our favour and we could have won it.

Even ignoring that, had the blatant penalty been given, we still probably would have got something from the game.

It''s nothing to do with children whining, because an ex professional referee is in full agreement with most fans.

[KoromaCrab 0]

Good post Earnie.

Maybe the club are investigating it already or maybe the club don''t want the distraction of this by wasting time investigating it instead of moving on.

Perhaps someone should send something to McNally to explain the evidence many have shown about the Hooper performance.

[Indy 3,300]

No I''m saying you can''t blame that for the defeat, it was a high foot and the penalty wasn''t awarded, like it or not we conceded 3 and scored 1, so no I don''t.

You could blame the Lino, he didn''t give the penalty with a clear view, why not?

There''s no point in this thread bleating on about us being picked on, that''s just tripe. The ref had a howler, no doubt, but so did our weak back line.

[Indy 3,300]

[quote user="hogesar"]It wasn''t our poor finishing and defending which cost us the game.

Because, had Jerome''s fantastic finish have stood, then we wouldn''t have been so open later on thus the third goal wouldn''t have happened. Probably. If anything, momentum swings in our favour and we could have won it.

Even ignoring that, had the blatant penalty been given, we still probably would have got something from the game.

It''s nothing to do with children whining, because an ex professional referee is in full agreement with most fans.

[/quote]

And if Grabban had gone in with the correct foot, and if Johnsons header just been a little higher, and if Whitts shot been a bit more powerful, and if Whitts and Martin not been out of position after Brady''s mistake for the first goal.....

All if and buts but in reality we lost 3-1, you can all blame the ref for poor performance but if rather address what we can actually change and that''s on the pitch in a city shirt.!

[Syteanric 1]

All referees are trained exactly the same way, by their county FA when they first start out, so I''m led to beleive (can someone clarify please?)

this means, the chap who referees the dog and duck on a sunday morning could well be refereeing in the premier league in 10 years...

the standard of referee training at entry level is poor, the FA nationally does nothing to address this other than ensure understanding of the rules.

invest into refereeing and proper training now and people like the idiot from Saturday will probably still be refereeing the dog and duck throughout his career.

[hogesar 9,673]

[quote user="Indy"][quote user="hogesar"]It wasn''t our poor finishing and defending which cost us the game.

Because, had Jerome''s fantastic finish have stood, then we wouldn''t have been so open later on thus the third goal wouldn''t have happened. Probably. If anything, momentum swings in our favour and we could have won it.

Even ignoring that, had the blatant penalty been given, we still probably would have got something from the game.

It''s nothing to do with children whining, because an ex professional referee is in full agreement with most fans.

[/quote]

And if Grabban had gone in with the correct foot, and if Johnsons header just been a little higher, and if Whitts shot been a bit more powerful, and if Whitts and Martin not been out of position after Brady''s mistake for the first goal.....

All if and buts but in reality we lost 3-1, you can all blame the ref for poor performance but if rather address what we can actually change and that''s on the pitch in a city shirt.![/quote]

Yeah. We all get the mistakes the team made. That''s stuff we can address. People are venting about the fact that we still would have got something from the match had something which we could do nothing about not intervened (a terrible ref).

That will rightly anger people, regardless of any performance shortcomings from our side. The idea we made these errors yet still could have got something from the game had the Ref made the correct decisions, suggests to me we''ll be pretty damn good when we cut out the errors and get a half decent ref!

[Indy 3,300]

Absolutely Hogesar, we played some lovely footy in the first 30 minutes and we were in the game throughout! Lots to be positive about, but the two areas all fans have been talking about have shown how weak we are, we need that second quality striker option for Jerome and a quality CB on who can take command and organise that back 4!

Lots to be positive about and the ref was poor, but it was a high foot and the linesman had a clear view of the penalty why did he not give it?

Like I said a Review system needed like in cricket to challenge these type of incidents.

[hogesar 9,673]

Agreed, and I also think, when the Ref is having as much of a shocker as he was, that the Linesman should actually step up and correct him on things.

[Buh 0]

Not sure how you can look at the evidence against this referee. The Leon Barnett incident, the Olsson incident, not being in the PGMOL, given a "smaller" fixture because they didn''t have faith in him, being critisiced by peers before the game, criticised for the league 2 playoff final, inconsistencies during the match in decisions and finally the two clear decisions that him and his assistant has perfect views of and chose not to give don''t add up to this red and his team bein either completely incompetent and not fit for purpose or, quite frankly, bent as a 6 Bob note. I like to think a bit of both.

And if you think that was a high boot and not an excellent finish in a tight spot then you are eatin too much space cake mate, it''s a contact sport, jerome did nothing wrong. We were in the ascendancy and I have no doubt without the refs involvement in the game we would have at least a point so that''s 1 point definitely screwed over from us on my view.

Once again, I''m glad this guys name is being dragged through national press and I''ll make sure Everyone I know you supports football knows who he is. If he ever dares come back to Carrow road I''ll also make sure he gets the proper "reception"

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

Taken from the Laws of the Game:"Playing in a Dangerous Manner

Playing in a dangerous manner is defined as any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone (including the player himself)

It is committed with an opponent nearby and prevents the opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury.

The action becomes an offence only when an opponent is adversely affected.

A scissors or bicycle kick is permissible provided that, in the opinion of the referee, it is not dangerous to an opponent."I can see how an official could reach the conclusion that Jerome''s action was dangerous – it had the potential to injure the defender. I''m not saying I think it WAS dangerous, just that there was enough grey area there that I can see how it could be deemed as such. Frustrating though that decision was, it was actually one of the least contentious of the many appalling decisions he made on the day.Looking on a referees'' forum, opinions were divided, implying that it''s an individual interpretation of the laws rather than a black-and-white error. However, Hooper''s ''previous'' with us calls all his decisions into question and, more importantly, PGMOL''s decision to appoint him in the first place. It was asking for trouble.

[Indy 3,300]

I''ve said I would not have given a free kick IMO but again in the Stoke game yesterday a high foot in the centre of the park was given when the players head wasn''t very close, so who knows might be that it''s been deemed that high feet this year will be free kicks, I don''t know.

As for the referee he''s not alone in not being liked by City fans, most referees have it in for us as you might say, but that''s been the way for a long while now, we can''t do anything about that.

What I hope Neil can do is address the mistakes and lack of finishing. That''s my point.

[Buh 0]

Lack of finishing hahaha you are hilarious!

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

[quote user="Buh"]Lack of finishing hahaha you are hilarious![/quote]The fact that Neil has publicly stated he is looking to purchase a new striker ASAP indicates that he thinks our finishing could be improved. Don''t see what''s wrong with Indy''s suggestion that we should ''control the controllables'' – Neil showed remarkable restraint in not tearing into the ref when he had every excuse to do just that. He knows it''s ultimately not something he can directly influence, so he''s spending his time looking at the things that he has direct control over. Do you see that as a problem?

[Buh 0]

I''m not saying we don''t need investment but he''s sayin. It WAS. A high boot. He''s defending a referee that has been slated by every major football pundit in the country over the weekend. Chris Sutton described it as "the worst refereeing decision of the season and it''s only day one!" I mean, come on, how stupid do you have to be.

We were screwed, end of story.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

I agree we were screwed by numerous decisions, primarily the decision by PGMOL to appoint him in the first place.I also think there were shortcomings in our own performance that contributed to the defeat, and Neil is right to focus on those rather than the ref''s ineptitude.

[Buh 0]

Well, I ain''t alex Neil believe it or not, so I''ll leave the team tuning to him. Biggest impact on the game was the referees inability to referee. We were in the ascendancy and playing well when jerome scored. He screwed us and he did it because he wanted to.

When he does it again I want the first thing that comes up when you google "Simon hooper" to be hundreds of articles explaining why he is such a useless referee.

He wants to make it personal, not sure why we shouldn''t.

[Indy 3,300]

You the pundits and God can all bleat on all you like it was given and thus was a high boot! Simple.

Yes lack of goals cost us winning, had we scored first the game might have been so different.

Football is very simple, you score more than you concede and you get three points! We didn''t, so laugh all you like and stamp your feet BUH, nothing will change.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

If Grabban hadn''t missed an open goal in the first ten minutes then the game would have unfolded differently – and that is within our power to change. Neil is addressing the problems within his control, and ignoring the ones outside his control.There''s no reason why the ref shouldn''t be held accountable for such a woeful performance – but I''m glad it''s the fans putting him under the spotlight rather than our manager. Word to Alex Neil for his remarkable maturity in a scenario where certain other managers would no doubt be facing an FA charge and touchline ban that would detract attention from preparing the squad for our next match.