Arsene Wenger has hit out at the FA’s decision to remove referee Kevin Friend from this Monday’s game between Sp*rs and and Stoke at the Brittania Stadium.
Earlier this week, on the back of a Twitter storm, the game’s authorities appeared to bow to fan pressure when it was revealed Friend had attended some Leicester games, and lived in the area.
They said: “Kevin Friend, initially selected for the game, is from Leicester and has attended matches at Leicester City in a personal capacity. Given the context of this match, it was felt unnecessary to add extra scrutiny on the refereeing appointment.”
Asked about it at his press conference today, the Arsenal manager accused the FA of setting a dangerous precedent, and that it called into question the professionalism of the officials in their employ.
“Social media shouldn’t dictate the rules or what happens to a referee,” he said. “People at the top level have the responsibility to make these decisions. So I’m surprised and disappointed by that decision.
“The referees are professional people. You’re supposed to be impartial whatever happens so, on some level, someone doesn’t believe completely that the referee is not impartial. It surprises me that that happens.
“I am completely against this decision. We have to accept referees make mistakes, and I believe we have to give them more support on technology in the future, especially on offsides. But also to treat them as professionals, responsible people who make decisions not linked to emotional situations.”
Wenger has often been critical of referees, but believes that anything that suggests they can do the job fairly robs of them of credibility.
“You cannot consider referees having to declare who they support and then not refereeing that team. If they referee a team who is fighting with the team they support, they can’t even referee that match.
“If you go down that route, you’re thinking the referees are not professional. To be professional is to do what the rules demand. If they can’t be impartial because they have an emotional link with the club, that’s not about being professional.
“So to go that way, it becomes a nightmare every week to choose a referee for every single game, but this sets a dangerous precedent. The solution is you don’t look where they come from, who they support, and you put the best referees into the games.”
It does seem like an extraordinary thing for the FA to do, especially given the way they usually protect officials from outside criticism. As it stands, they’ve basically said Friend can’t referee any match which involves Leicester or may in some way benefit them.
What a mess.
He could ref our game, can’t see it affecting Leicester City in any way…
Sp*rs have no hope.
On a serious note, it’s a fucking rediculous decision, they might as well just say to him, although you are a top referee, you can’t be trusted to be honest and professional. (Still, I’m all for someone fucking Spu*s over)
I guess it is ridiculous. On the other hand, how I would love it if the FA said Mike Dean would never again ref an Arsenal game because he’s clearly a Spurs fan.
I love Idris Elba’s comment “how would i feel if sp*rs won the league? Physically sick“
So if he refs the Marsh Dwellers on Sunday and they lose to a dubious refereeing decision, is that not affecting Leicester too?
At the same time, serial offender Dean, with all the visual evidence of “poor decision making” is allowed not only to be a ref-whisperer vs Arsenal but also effort our games.
At least there are n double standards at play. That would be unthinkable.
I don’t understand why Kevin Friend is being removed from this match as a precaution, although nothing has proved he is biased, while Mike Dumb continues to officiate us even if stats are against this sh*t head:
http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/01/professor-works-out-arsenal-are-statistically-more-likely-to-lose-games-refereed-by-mike-dean-5416365/
Sorry, The Marshies are playing Monday.
Argument still holds …..
So can we now apply social media pressure to remove Mike Dean from any of our games, as its within his personal interest that we have a hard time?
We tried that with a 100k + online petition and got nowhere.
Maybe we’ll have to employ as a lobbyist whoever got Friend moved…..
Mike Dean the celebrating-Sp*rs-scoring-twat can fck right off.
Referees are not unbiased at all. They are fans of the game who are too shit to play the game and can use/abuse their power however they feel, at any level.
Jeez I wish I could type.
– effort
+ ref.
Let us just concentrate on our game, shall we Mr. Wenger?
Out of topic but… looking at managers like Jurgen Klopp and Simeone, I have suddenly started thinking, has our manager lost passion or something?
Those two guys that I have mentioned seem to be oozing so much of passion at the moment.
Not to mention, Klopp has got me being extremely envious.
“Let us just concentrate on our game, shall we Mr. Wenger?”
He was asked a question. What’s he supposed to do? Not answer it?
Isn’t that a choice i.e. Not ans the Q?
I know Wenger has a well thought response to most Qs posed to him.
However, I sometimes wish that the news is just about us and not about good players we didn’t sign or about a match not relevant to us!
We have one of the most intelligent, well spoken managers in the world, and our own fans want him to shut up shop when asked a question not related to the game that weekend.
Personally, I think it’s brilliant his opinion is sought out. Say what you like about his managerial ability, but I could listen to him talk for hours.
Fair point!
However, I would love to listen to his insights on world matters when Arsenal and winning games like a well oiled machine.
On the other hand, is a free world, everyone and anyone can talk/listen any public matter!
So I can’t complain.
How are you measuring this thing called passion?
By the number of times you run about on the touchline like a lunatic!? I can do that for 90 mins 🙂
No.
By actually winning games.
So your win % = passion rating?
Wow
I could clearly see that I have got a lot of stick for my comment. Let me tell you this, when there was huge outrage on Arseblog after us getting knocked out of the FA cup, I was the one who came out in support, asking people to stay behind the club atleast until the season is over. After our game against West Ham, I have just realised it is all just futile. Leicester and Tottemham fighting for the title with us being knocked out hurts in the first place and on top of here is our manager answering questions… Read more »
Win Percentage by Manager by Club
Arsene Wenger at Arsenal: 57.88%
Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund: 56.28%
Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool: 41.94%
Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid: 62.95%
Diego Simeone total (455 games): 55.6%
I put Diego Simeone total because even with his total managerial career, he has managed less than half Arsenes Arsenal games. Who can win so often for so long? Nobody
He is asked questions on every topic under the sun. Why would you let that annoy you?
FYI, you are getting down votes cos your logic is flawed. To try quantify the passion of a manager is some task!
Would you say Ozil lacks passion cos he doesn’t snarl or act aggressively?
It’s not just about passion, it’s about whether our players respect/fear the manager. Has Wenger still got the ability to rip someone a new one the way Fergie did everyday until he called it quits ?
Wenger is on eight million a year with no pressure from his employers and full autonomy to do what he wants, of course he’s complacent & lost passion.
Why else can you explain no signings, lack of defensive nous, bottling the league every year and still playing Flamini?
Simeone holds his hands up looking for cards about 10 times a game. That’s not passion; it’s whinging like a Barcelona player.
Tim Sherwood is all about the pashun!
game, set and match. good work, why not.
And Mike Dean the Spurs Fan continues to officiate arsenal matches.. But I think the PL referees have to tell which team they support and aren’t placed in that team’s matches? Mark Clattenburg and Newcastle for example
Why not start employing foreign referees, will help eradicate personal bias and hidden loyalties.
Solves nothing, there are millions of passionate and loyal supporters of Premier League teams all over the world. Didn’t think that needed to be pointed out!
Not so many PL club fans in Europe (which is nearest option for foreign refs) but elsewhere it would be a problem.
One word. Calciopoli.
On the basis of emotional bias it should probably be that no supporters of the top two tiers are allowed to officiate. Why not start using machine learning algorithms and AI so we can start to reduce the scope of human error?
I guess partly because the premier league is an entertainment product and human refs create moments of controversy.
If only UEFA had been so considerate in Paris in 2006…
Sorry, Arsene, but you’re hopelessly wrong again. The FA are dead right in taking Kevin Friend off that game. What if he honestly awards Stoke a dubious penalty against the scum? He’ll be accused of deliberately helping out the Foxes – the team he “supports”. And what if he made a different honest mistake and, say, wrongly sent off a Leicester player after a strong challenge? He lives in the area: his life could become hell. He’ll become “the man who destroyed the dream”. There are plenty of other good referees available. Kevin Friend should be nowhere near that game.… Read more »
If Wenger had agreed with it Fats, would you have come out in support??
Yes.
Fats, you can never believe the number of referees who support Man U and officiate all over the League every week. No need to address a single game because an unlikely team is about to win the league.
Done a small analysis…
Last 3 seasons Arsenal win % under referees (those refereed us more than 3 games):
Michael Oliver WLLLDDDDD 11%
Craig Pawson WLWDLD 33%
Martin Atkinson WWLLLWLLDW 40%
Mike Dean WDWDLWWDL 44%
Mark Clattenburg WWDDWLLW 50%
Anthony Taylor LDLWWDWWW 56%
Lee Mason DWDWWWWD 63%
Kevin Friend WDWWLWWW 75%
Lee Probert WWWD 75%
Mike Jones WWWWWD 83%
Andre Marriner WWLWWWW 86%
Jonathan Moss WWWWWWL 86%
Good work.
Michael Oliver can do one!
Quite a few of those wins have come against the ref.
Atkinson, Dean and Taylor have been consistently poor in our games whereas Pawson has been both good and bad running our games.
The most telling statistic is that we’ve given away more penalties than a team which uses the former orc, Robert Huth, who commits at least 2 penalty offences in each and every game.
What was the thumbs down for? Were the numbers wrong?
The FA should at least appoint him to the last Leicester game of the season so he can celebrate with the team when they lift the cup.
“can’t* do the job fairly”, surely…
Yet they still allow Mike Dean on the pitch wearing a blindfold and “I <3 Chelsea" shirt as he gazes lovingly at Costa and fouls the other team for existing.
He’s just upset that we tried to sign him as a youth team referee aged 16 but after rejecting a trial he said ‘Kevin doesn’t do trials’
lmao this made my day
hats off to you sir
Totally disagree with Wenger on this, the FA have made a sensible decision (for a change).
The ref is well known to be a supporter of Leicester and regularly attends their games. Why give opposition manager/fans/media any ammunition if there is a debatable decision in the game which goes Leicester’s way?
No-one is saying the ref is not impartial and not professional, it just removes any potential issues before they arise. Very sensible..
He’s actually a Bristol City fan, he just happens to have attended a few (not regularly as you have put it) Leicester games as he now lives in the area.
They would never do this for us.
Why not extend that thought to players and even managers then?
Surely if a referee can’t be unbiased officiating a game then quite clearly how can a player, playing against his/her childhood club truly give their all?
Similarly the same can be asked of managers, however, I recall Sven Goran Eriksson being disappointed over a 1-1 draw against Sweden.
It’s nonsense, these are professionals and Wenger is right when he states this sets a dangerous precedent.
Just let adults get on with their jobs.
You are missing the point, this has nothing to do with his ability as a ref or his character.
Every little thing on the pitch is analysed, debated, tweeted etc. Any slight decision he may get wrong he’ll be slaughtered by opposition fans and in particular the media.
It’s just adding to the pressure to an already highly pressured game. The fact he regularly attends games is probably the deciding factor here, someone will find a picture of him celebrating a goal previously and use it against him.
Because that worked out well for us.
What a stupid argument!
In the case of players and managers playing against their favourite teams, any bias is superseded by the fact THEY ARE GETTING PAID TO WIN! But a referee gets his money whoever wins. And the argument isn’t about corrupt and biased referees, it’s about protecting referees from the accusation of corruption and bias – that’s why quite rightly referees are not allowed to officiate in games involving the sides they support.
Understand?
Except this is about Friend not being involved in a game against Spurs vs Stoke, not a Leicester City game.
I’d understand if it was a game between Leicester and Spurs, but it’s not. So quite frankly this decision by the FA is ludicrous.
But they can against rivals?
No , I think it’s you that is missing the point, sir.
Being an ancient bastard now, the most irritating, biased twat I can recall was Mike Riley at Old Trafford. Year in year out, he was a lone crusader, making sure they got as many soft penalties as they could, while if Roy Keane attacked a opposition midfielder with a chainsaw in the penalty area, it was ‘play on lads’. Kept on getting to officiate those games too. Not really sure what my point is, perhaps it’s that refs can be a bit cunty sometimes.
May a change is needed in that every premier league team gets to have a ‘homer’ ref. Those refs are the put in a hat a drawn for each round of games. If you get lucky your ref can help you in a game or royally fcuk over your direct opponents playing in another game.
It may not be right but at least it would be fair. Potentially hilarious too.
Actually to those who said Wenger is wrong about this setting a dangerous precedent- Does this also mean the FA should look into chopping and changing refs for “relegation 6-pointers”? Those arguably have a greater impact on the clubs than a title win (in financial terms). I agree that it sets a dangerous precedent in the sense that: does this mean clubs can now appeal to the FA if they don’t agree with the choice of referee? It’s another silly decision by the FA. Yes, on the face of it it looks sensible but look down the road, don’t tell… Read more »
Say what you want about Wenger but the man knows ethics!
C*cksuckers at the FA continue to be ridiculous. Nothing new.
Would be hilarious if Spurs lose the match due to poor refereeing… Fingers crossed then 🙂