The likes of AFTV ask why they are not taken seriously as modern media? They say some outlets look down on them, purposely putting their noses up because they are threatened
The difference is a Sky Sports will challenge opinions and force pundits to admit when they make mistakes.
The YouTube Channel became the number one football fan platform due to the majority verbally abusing the greatest manager in our history. We have gone backwards since, but it can’t be admitted they were wrong, so they have to change the narrative.
Arsenals are on course to finish lower than last season which was our worst league position in 25 years, apparently due to an agenda by the FA and match officials.
These theories have been repeated on social media with words used like ‘cheat’ and ‘corrupt’. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you expect any debate to make sense,
For example when Pepe is pushing his head into someone else’s, Xhaka putting his hand across someone’s throat, or Leno handling the ball outside the area, it’s hard to argue with why we got red cards. So when we win a Derby where Spurs concede a debatable penalty, go down to 10 men and have a goal disallowed, I think it’s fair to point out the contradiction.
I at least expect the question to be asked to those who have spent a year sharing a conspiracy.
Common sense would suggest that if refs are being ordered to give decisions against us (and that’s what words like cheat and agenda means) why would every massive judgement go in our favour?
Don’t get me wrong, I think Lacazette was fouled and don’t see why there is any confusion. Yet I’m not a gooner who thinks we are 10th in the League because those in power are trying to cost us points.
I think the officiating in the UK is poor and VAR is not being implemented for what it was intended for. Some days decisions will go your way (like the FA Cup Final) and other times they won’t (like at Burnley). So I’m going to do what other platforms are scared to do ….
If you are someone who points out that there is an agenda against the Gunners be humble enough to explain why there wasn’t an agenda on Sunday?
Be kind in the Comments
Dan
Arsenal get one soft penalty for every 50 Man utd get. As someone here pointed out recently go back in years and check Man utd top scorers and how many goals were questionable penalties. I would say half of their goals.
Just because we have benefited for referees incompetence i one game it doesn’t wipe away the hundred times we have suffered for it.
My only grief and belief that there is bias is because Man utd NEVER suffer because of referees incompetence.
If there is no bias then the mistakes should be random not favouring one team (Man utd) over the others.
Wrt utd, I largely agree with you, but you are being very hyperbolic. They do get screwed occasionally, just not as much as everyone else, and a lot more goes in their favour than against them imo.
they had 43 penalties did Man/Utd
Bro, of course there is an agenda against Arsenal. Ref bias table from the last 5 years, Arsenal have placed – 20th, 20th, 19th, 17th and 15th. How can anyone explain this bs? ‘It evens out during a season’ they say. Bs I say. Loosing 4th by 1 point and 2 points.. Kane should have been showed RED, Lamela had 2! ugly challenges before even carded. Or what about that friggin obvious dive by Kane, hitting the post, almost scoring, after he should have been sent off. Im not gonna hail the refs because we got a clear pen, when they regularly fuck oss over. There is a book, ‘Football is fixed’, you should get into it. The corruption in PL and England is calciopoli worthy, no doubt about it. The PGMOL has an Agenda against Arsenal, as we always get the same refs. Its a fuckboy fest with no accountability.
Now, get rid of Kola, Luiz, Bellerin, AMN, Pepe, Laca, Elneny, Mavropanos, Nketiah and William, maybe Chambers. Invest in Aarons/ Lamptey, Aouar/ MØ, Bissouma and a Grealish. If Balogun leaves we must get a Abdallah Sima or someone special. Its not rocket science, Arsenal is a gargantuan club, none of these players are out of reach.
What red cards were wrong this season ?
David Luiz, being the most obvious.
And also, how tf did we not try to convince Omar Richards to try out London and compete with Tierney? He will go to Bayern and be understudy to the best lb talent in the world, what a waste. All we had to do was to show him how many games Tierney has missed since the start of last season ;))
As a general rule, I don’t think that referees and other officials have an agenda or are corrupt.
I have faith (hopefully not misguided) in Arteta so I will try to find the best in him, while others think differently and see the worst. It’s like me “seeing” a penalty for us but calling an opposition player a diving cheat.
There could, therefore, be an unwitting bias against a certain team or player by officials – a subliminal bias but if that was happening on a regular basis I am sure the official would be called out.
I get what you say but personally if we are basing it on the NLD match alone i don’t think there was much of an agenda because as you say, it was a debateable penalty which means it could go both ways.
I also thought that the red card to Lamela was fair since he firstly tackled Xhaka from behind and then proceeded to hit Tierney in the face.
The disallowed goal was also fair to me since Kane was about a meter offside. Therefore i don’t personally think there was much of a bias towards them in this game if I am being honest . But thats just my opinion.
You may not agree that there is cheat among the EPL referees, but ironically there is many of it even not only Arsenal fan complain. In African continent, when we are watching live matches involving Arsenal and other teams, the comments of other clubs fans always tease the Arsenal fans, what have we done to the officials to warrant this bias officiating? As I am writing this piece now, I knew many fans of Arsenal who refused not to watch Arsenal matches because of bias officiating. When the officials sees black, they call it white or vice versa. Mark you, we are watching live matches which most fans used their precious time and resources to pay for and watch, but the reverse is the case. Please EPL FA officials should sit together and examine these repeated errors and correct same for sanity to prevail. We do watch Serie A, Bundesliga, Laliga, Ligue 1 etc. The earlier the FA correct itself the better.
In as much as I don’t support the conspiracy agenda against us, If I may ask, why is the penalty won by Lacazette debatable? He miskicked the ball but was fouled, if it was outside the box it would have been a foul. Barcelona vs Huesca in La liga yesterday, Huesca attacker totally missed the ball, had a minimal contact with Barcelona’s keeper and the referee did not hesitate to give a penalty. The inconsistence in the application of the rules is really confusing.
I would say he fouled Sanchez! Sanchez was trying to block his shot but Lacazet missed the ball and kicked Sanchez. I normally regard Oliver as best of English referees but so arrogant of him not to review the incident at different angle! Both yellow cards are a bit soft but he has warned Spurs players before hand so can’t really argue with him.
No, Sanchez fouled Lacazette ( just saw it again), if he had hit the ball properly and hadn’t miskicked it, this debate wouldn’t have arisen.
I completely disagree with this article. The fact that we got a pen against totenham doesn’t make the claim untrue.Take a look at kane’s tackle on gabriel, shouldn’t kane have gotten a yellow? Even VAR never reviewed that incident! I still and will never change my stance on the fact that there is an obvious agenda against AFC.
But if there was an agenda they wouldn’t give a pen no matter if it was or wasn’t
If there is an agenda it doesn’t mean they’d never give Arsenal anything, c’mon man, put your thinking cap on. Look at the facts, 21% of decisions have gone our way this season, we‘ve been in bottom 5 for ‘decisions for’ for years and years. There are countless videos on youtube showing Arsenal players getting penalised for the same things other teams’ players don’t. How many horror injuries have Arsenal had to suffer because teams know they can get away with going in heavy on us? Watch an Arsenal game for 90minutes once or twice each week and see if you can write this article with the same viewpoint.
I can’t stand AFTV, and they are ridiculous, but the issues facing Arsenal are there. In terms of officiating they go back to the early Wenger years, which was then widely regarded as due to the high number of non-British players and the referee’s association largely being pigheaded nationalist United fans.
Don’t you think they gave that penalty, because complaints are becoming too much and it’s becoming glaringly clear that there’s an agenda?
My questions to you are. In 28 games this season, we were ‘fortunate’ in one game, and that means that we’ve not been hard done by different officials? Secondly, why in the Europa League do we fare better with the officials?
Have you got more contentious penulties/decisions against you than Spurs? We all agreed MU used to be favoured in the past and probably still slightly at present. But my opinion is that we are below you at referees favouritism table!
Its funny how you end your article to be, kind. Truth is meant to be just that. The truth which I was finding hard to see from reading your article that was meant to show how the present narrative about officials being negative towards The Arsenal. I am to believe that you thought Sundays match against Tott was your ” ipso facto ” moment. If that is what you are relying on. Then I will have to say that there must have been huge chunks of the game that you missed where you say that major decisions went Arsenals way. Like as said. One drop of rain does not mean that there is a thunderstorm is coming. One penalty decision to Arsenal does not mean that the official on the pitch was equal and just in his overall judgements on the day. I will point out a few that you missed. How many fouls did Lamela commit before he was shown his first yellow. Not the ones on Xhaka, Luis or Saka. How many fouls did Xhaka have to make before his yellow card, one. But let us get on to a major decision that you missed and the ref waived play on. Kane shoulder/elbow charge into the back of Gabriels neck after the ball was played. That is a red card offence, actual bodily harm to a player. Not like the action of Pepe that you made a point to mention where he gestured with his head towards a player with no contact. One can say intent, ok. But no physical harm. I have not based my reply on one action, as you did, to back up what I saw. They committed more fouls per person before they were booked. The foul that Kane get off Saka. How was than even given. Saka is behind Kane with his arms aloft to try and indicate that there is no contact. Then Kane jumps back into Saka bottom first and falls to the ground. This being the updated version of his falling into a player who has jumped up for the ball to draw a foul.
We have enough refs to have a ruling that though out a season no ref should manage the same team more than twice. In 18 games we have had the same team of 5 refs. Refs are human and as such whether it be subconscious or not are influenced by the crowd. Will make decisions based on the actions that he is seeing or hear eg a scream from a player or fall from a player trying to deceive or even because he has managed the team on quite a few occasions ” now knows what that player is like ” I agree with you that the officiating is poor generally. But as an Arsenal supporter I would like to see that we have the same rub of the green as say Man Who or Leicester. But we not and its historical. An ” ipso facto ” match for you to watch. That is if you have the stomach for it. A certain match that a Mike Riley was officiating, really, in Manchester against The Arsenal in 2004 that ended our 49 match unbeaten.
Superb response Millie! Far more passionate and factual than the article 👌🏼The end to our 49game run was so unjust it still irks me!
DB. I must admit that watching the game almost reduces me to tears to know that the form of Reyes fell away following the treatment that was handed out to him. To note that on a teaching basis. Each tackle on him was a red card offense which was not issued. It was the first time that I had seen rotational fouling on a player. To add on reflection. The person in charge of officiating the game waved on each tackle that the whole team was subjected to as if we had momentarily been transported back to the 70’s/80’s. Did it look like the ref had a preference to one team over another. YES and certainly in the first half where I do not believe a single card was given to Utd. The match its self could be given to referees as a coaching aid on how not to control a game of football and to list the amount of offences that had been committed. But the irony of irony is, where is that person who was looking after the welfare and safety of the personnel on the pitch now ? Would you give such a person a managerial role in charge of referees in general let alone to continue in the role as a referee ?
I will leave it open for you to find out where Mr Riley now operates.
Power that at the helm of affair are bent on pooling ARSENAL DOWN. So many eg on matchdays. V.A.R. has not made a vowed.
DAN My applause for trying, albeit in vain, to educate the many conspiracy theorists on JA. Your quest to find some sense is however a hopeless quest among the unthinking, biased brigade who suffer from paranioa over all refs being against our club.
I have long ago accepted that you simply cannot educate or persuade those who cling to their comfort blanket of refs having a conspiracy against our club, deeply frustrating though that is to those of us who prefer thought to conspiracy.
There will always be non thinkers who merely react, just as there will always be thinkers too. But never the twain shall meet! Such is life and my only helpful comment Dan, is to be glad that you personally are among the thinkers on here. Imagine the hopelessness of being a life disadvantaged paranoia victim!
Jon, your post is so full of BS, simply because you are trying to put the opinions of those who disagree with you as fans with no sense – meanwhile, you fail to answer one of the questions being put forward.
Why did Kane get away with elbowing an opponent?
Why was Saka kicked off the park?
Why did it take so long, after numerous fouls, for Lamela to be dismissed?
Instead of trying to belittle other fans, why don’t you actually address the issues in question?
For the record, in MY opinion, all the talked about incidents were correctly called in the spud game, it was the ones that were not addressed by the referee and VAR that many of us more intelligent enlightened fans than you are questioning.
Perhaps you could address these issues?
Spot on 👏👏
“Thanks” for the deliberate insult. Perhaps I should copy Phil and call you “PAL”, eh KEN?
I GUESSYOU ARE UPSET AT MY VIEW, AS YOU TOO, DESPITE BEING OF SENIOR AGE, ARE ONE OF THOSE FANS WHO THINK REFS HAVE AN IRRATIONAL DOWN ON OUR CLUB.
As for playing the guessing games and answering questions such as your Kane one, etc, I will not get drawn into such nonsense, as I have no truck with conspiracy theories.
REFS MAKE MISTAKES. You know I have said that many times. The key difference between you and me Ken, is I believe all ref mistakes are honestly made but you do not. Sigh!
Not a cat in hell’s that you actually support Arsenal. I don’t buy it at all. So people who have a different opinion to you are stupid? Seems like utter egotism and a cringe-worthy approach to debating.
You see what I mean Jon?
Fans as passionate, if not more than you, are sick and tired of being talked down to.
Age and the so called maturity that comes with it, has nothing to do with what went on in the game on Sunday.
I assume you watched the game… the same game that all the rest of the Arsenal supporters watched of course?
So why has it not crossed that “superior” mind of yours, why VAR did not follow up on Kane’s elbowing one of our players?
Oliver might have missed it, but VAR wouldn’t have, especially when it was replayed immediately after the incident?
Doesn’t that one incident, among so many others in the game, give fans the right to question and vent their thoughts, without you telling one and all how juvenile we are and what an educated old fellow like you thinks of them?
I’m not Phil, but his frustration with you is easy to see and understand – so get over yourself and remember that you are NOT the only person in the room.
Well said Ken.
I’m not buying into this conspiracy theory our problems over the years has been that we’ve been too soft/nice making us easy targets until recently compare to other teams when a foul handball happen our players rarely protest appeal to the ref compare to other teams knowing full well that players reactions do influence referees decisions our players need to be more vocal.
So it IS a conspiracy theory then siamois – the referees conspire to have an easy life then?
To get our just rewards, we need to surround the referee, dive all over the place, elbow opponents off the ball and, generally, behave like spoilt children?
This article is one of Dan’s weakest in my opinion, because he has failed to make any mention of the numerous occasions that our opponents got away with actions that deserved yellow / red cards.
I read the comments on the BBC sports page after other teams games and a lot of other clubs fans feel they are being hard done by officials particularly City ,Leicester and Southampton fans.The problem is sub standard officiating and until fans from all clubs stop concentrating on their own clubs misfortunes and unite to tell the premiership that the standard of officials is just not good enough then it will carry on.
Excellent post John – I have to say though, my only concern is The Arsenal and until Riley is removed, the stench of that appalling refereeing spectacle and subsequent actions by this man, the whiff of corruption will not go away.
Sorry… that appalling refereeing display when we lost our unbeaten run.
Exactly right John; corruption would be displayed if certain clubs received preferential treatment from officials. The fact that numerous Club’s supporters feel aggrieved at decisions made by FA referees indicates their overall incompetence. That is why no English referees get selected to officiate in recent times at international tournaments like the World Cup.
My biggest beefs with refereeing in the EPL are:
1. The generally poor standard of officiating demonstrated by inconsistency in rule interpretation and application/enforcement;
2. Mike Riley and the implementation/application of VAR differently to Europe and the rest of World football”;
3. Over many years watching teams prepared to play football, like Arsenal in the past, being “kicked off the park” by less technically proficient players and given no protection, justified because “they don’t like it up ’em” ;
4. Cynical cyclical fouling of technically gifted players to cause injury with no repurcussions from officials;
5. Diving going unpunished; and
6. Players going down like shot ducks and writhing on the ground to induce referees to award yellow and red cards.
👍👍👍