It has been an eventful week at the Premier League with several stories doing the rounds in newspapers. The racism row has reared its ugly head again while poorAi??refereeingAi??has once again been the topic of many headlines. TheHardTackle takes a look at some of the top stories doing the rounds.
Rodgers lodges complaint regarding poor officiating
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has lodged a complaint to head of referees Mike Riley regarding the poor standard of refereeing in recent games. The Reds have been on the wrong end of several controversial decisions in the last few weeks which has adversely affected their chances of winning games. Luis Suarez has been denied several legitimate penalty claims while Jonjo Shelvey and Daniel Agger have been harshly sent off in games where players from the opposition have stayed on the pitch for similar challenges.
“I always send my teams out to be sporting and try to respect everything about the game and ask players not to dive and stay on their feet. But by doing that we need to make sure the players don’t get punished because that is certainly what is happening from my own eyes. To me, in this opening period of the season, it hasn’t worked for us. I just said to Mike we have to be careful we don’t discourage players and people who don’t respect the game. I am not one to criticise them (referees) publicly and look to play any sort of mind games to gain an advantage but when it is going against the club I have to speak my mind and that is what I have done.”Ai??
Rodgersai??i?? statement has been followed up with Suarez coming out and supporting the referees. Suarez commented on how it is an extremely tough job with decisions having to be made in split seconds. Liverpool fans hope this move will help to get a more level playing field in upcoming games. Also, with a tough set of fixtures out of the way, The Reds will be hoping to climb the table in the coming weeks.
Manchester United Boss says FA was lenient on Terry.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has come out saying John Terry got off lightly after the former England Captain banned for four matches after being found guilty for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
ai???There is a danger of it (the row) resurrecting itself because it has been going on so long. But the fact he got a four-game ban, he may consider that is quite lenient considering Luis Suarez got eight. It is time to move on and so should the game.”
Ferguson oversaw a thawing in relations between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra who finally shook hands in the recently concluded match at Anfield.
The decision by the FA has drawn both criticism and praise from different quarters. Several managers from the league have come out in praise for FAai??i??s commitment to eradicate racism from football while others have questioned the duplicity in punishment meted out to Luis Suarez over the same offence.
In light of recent events, John Terry called time on his international career saying that his position in the squad had become ai???untenableai??i??. It brings to an end a wonderful playing career mired by controversy off the pitch.
Mancini says Manchester City still title favourites.
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has played down the indifferent start to the campaign which sees his side only recently climbing up to 4th spot in the table. The Blues are still undefeated after 6 games but have managed only 3 wins so far.
The comment comes in stark contrast to last year when Mancini refused to be labelled as title favourites. The Italian was quoted saying
“We need to stay calm and work hard, We will win the title (but) I agree it is more difficult the second year.”
Mancini will be looking to boost the confidence of his players ahead of an important period where his side must keep pace with League leaders Manchester United and Chelsea who have made excellent starts to their campaign.
City have shipped in 8 goals in the league and 14 goals in total and have also scored fewer than last year at this stage. With Sergio Aguero returning to action and City having a relatively easy run of fixtures coming up Mancini will be hoping that his side can climb to the top of the table in the coming weeks.
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