Referee Styles dropped over error 

Styles penalises Finnan, to Carragher's disbelief
Referee Rob Styles will not officiate in the Premier League next weekend following his performance in the Liverpool-Chelsea game on Sunday.
Styles was criticised for awarding a controversial penalty to Chelsea.

Referees' chief Keith Hackett told Sky Sports: "On this occasion it was wrong and therefore Rob will not be officiating next weekend."

Styles also appeared to show Chelsea's Michael Essien a second yellow card but then failed to send him off.


Interview: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez

Former referee Hackett is general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body which oversees referees.

He also revealed the assistant referee from the Fulham-Middlesbrough game had been dropped after David Healy was denied an equaliser when the ball seemed to cross the line.

He added: "Accountability exists and we, the PGMOL, do expect referees to get big decisions correct."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was left incensed and skipper Steven Gerrard said Styles had "cracked" after he penalised Steve Finnan for a foul on Florent Malouda, although replays showed there was no contact.

"That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty" said Benitez after the 1-1 draw.

Styles looked like he had given Essien a second yellow card but then explained it was meant for John Terry.

After the game Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: "Michael was honestly very frightened, he thought he had been booked again.

606: DEBATE
There were many talking points from the Anfield game

Saj C

"The referee then explained that he had only booked one player, John Terry, but Essien stood there for a long time and he said afterwards that he believed he had been cautioned again."

The incident happened shortly after Styles had awarded Chelsea their penalty, which Frank Lampard converted to level the scores after Fernando Torres put Liverpool in front with a goal on his home debut.

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll told BBC Radio 5live that Styles did not book Essien twice but that his award of a card to Terry looked "messy".

"At the first look I definitely thought he had booked Essien a second time," said Poll.

"Having looked I can see that as Rob raises the yellow card he points over to John Terry and says that it is John he has cautioned.

"He had just given a penalty and you have a gut feeling as a referee that you might have made a mistake.


Benitez and Mourinho renewed their war of words after the match

"You are under pressure then and when the stress is at its highest it is difficult to think clearly and get everything right."

Poll, who booked Croatia's Josip Simunic three times during a World Cup match in 2006, added: "It was a big mistake."

Benitez had no sympathy with Styles after the match, adding: "I want to have a lot of respect for referees, but sometimes I cannot understand why they give some decisions.

"I think he will watch the video of the match and admit that his penalty decision was a mistake."

And Gerrard asked for Styles to apologise for his penalty decision.

Not every player on the pitch was helping the referee

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho

"I don't want to say too much because I will get into trouble, but the referee didn't play well," said the Liverpool skipper.

"Whether it was because the Chelsea players were talking I don't know, but in the end he's cracked and made a bad decision.

"It wasn't a penalty and I hope he comes out and says sorry now."

Meanwhile, Mourinho did not criticise Styles over the penalty decision but suggested his job had not been made easier by the behaviour of certain players from "a different culture".

"I haven't seen the replay of the incident and it was difficult to make out what was happening at the time," he insisted.

"Rafa has his opinion and I have mine. I judged the game to be a good and a fair one.

"Perhaps there were too many cards but overall I thought Mr Styles had a positive game.

"Not every player on the pitch was helping the referee."

Styles handed out eight yellow cards - while Mourinho was believed to be referring to Liverpool's Spanish duo of Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa.

---

Guys,

Do you think the one week suspension for Styles is really justified?

It happened to Liverpool, it can happen to any team. In fact, we saw what happened in the match between Boro and Fulham.

I think these men are killing English Football, and the beauty of the entirety of the game. Now the FA is considering the goal-mouth technology

We need some change.

Premier League - Styles dropped for penalty howler
Blundering referee Rob Styles has been dropped from Premier League duty following his Anfield nightmare.
Styles awarded a controversial penalty to Chelsea following an innocuous challenge on Florent Malouda by Steve Finnan, but has since apologised to Liverpool for his mistake in the 1-1 draw.

Referees' chief Keith Hackett said that Styles had made a mistake and would be dropped for next weekend's action by way of punishment.

"It's up to the officials to get the big decisions right and in this case it was wrong, so Rob will not be officiating next weekend," he said.

"Originally he belived an offence had been committed, but having looked at the video and seen a better angle and a better view, he now recognises that it was not a penalty."

Styles compounded the mistake later in the game by appearing to show a second yellow card to Michael Essien before saying it was intended for John Terry - who he had booked moments earlier.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was furious at the penalty award, which was made after Malouda jumped into Finnan and no Chelsea players bothered to appeal.

"I want to have respect for the referee but only he can explain but he will not be able to explain properly," said Benitez.

"There were 45,000 people here and they could not see a penalty. That is why Jose Mourinho could not see it."

Reds skipper Steven Gerrard described the penalty as "very, very unfair", but Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho begged to differ, and said: "I think it's a penalty."

Mourinho was less impressed by the Essien incident, saying: "The referee explained that he had only booked one player, John Terry, but Essien stood there for a long time and he said afterwards that he believed he had been cautioned again."

On a bad weekend for match officials, Fulham were denied a valid goal against Middlesbrough despite a David Healy effort clearly crossing the line.

The linesman involved, Ian Gosling, has also been suspended for this week's Premiership games.

TOBA1909 Writes,
I think it's worth more than just suspension, the guy should be banned from the league. Enough of all their injustices.

chelsea suffered so much in the hands of the refs last season so i think it is pay back time and i am not happy the way everybody is jumping up for just one mistake when we are expecting more in our favour.
while suspending them when nothing happened to the officials over man u and tothenham last season when the spurs scored and they were denied even when the ball was 2 feet from the line.