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Allardyce: I don't know the rules of football any more

8:55am Tuesday 9th February 2010


A FRUSTRATED Sam Allardyce admits he does not know football’s rules any more – after accusing inconsistent refereeing of blighting the game.

The Rovers boss was furious at Steve Bennett’s sending off of Chris Samba in Saturday’s defeat at Stoke, with the giant defender now unavailable for two crucial Premier League matches.

Samba will miss tomorrow’s visit of Hull City and the following home match against Bolton Wanderers, games that could go a long way to deciding Rovers’ fate this season, with Allardyce still bemused at what his defender did wrong.

Samba received a first half caution after a tussle with Ryan Shawcross in Stoke’s box and then saw red after being booked for another seemingly innocuous tug on Ricardo Fuller on the hour mark.

Allardyce though insists incidents like the first one happen all the time in crowded penalty areas and has questioned why some are penalised and others escape without penalty.

He said: “We have had a man sent off and I still can’t understand why he got booked in the first place. We had a penalty appeal turned down that was blatant as well.

“I can’t tell anybody what the rules are today.

"If you had watched Sunderland versus Stoke City on Monday night, you would have seen Ryan Shawcross pulling and tugging on Kenwyne Jones and not a thing was done about it by Howard Webb.

“He is given the same treatment by Chris Samba on Saturday and yet Steve Bennett decides to book both players.

"I just can’t understand it, where are we going?

“What should be given in these situations?

"You have one referee who doesn’t give anything and you have another referee who books both players and that ultimately results in our player getting sent off.”


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MidlandRover85, Halesowen says...
9:05am Tue 9 Feb 10

Sam has a point here. Im fed up with inconsistant refereeing decisions that has creeped in the last few years but especially this year! The decisions these guys make make or break clubs seasons and its frightenening how many decisions they get wrong. That said the officials dont have a say in our poor tactics and shoddy performances!

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ewoodman, Blackburn says...
9:21am Tue 9 Feb 10

I agree, its one of the main reasons I have stopped folllowing football to the extent that I used too. Its not just Blackburn this affects, its everyteam in all the leagues. The referee's are just so inconsistant.

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Miller11, Mellor says...
10:10am Tue 9 Feb 10

Shut up Allardyce. You are an embarrassment. Samba was stupid and his sending off was his own fault.

You encourage cheating and take bungs, so don't start getting all righteous.

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Bazzer, Willenhall says...
10:10am Tue 9 Feb 10

There is a correlation between defeat and lambasting referees. Supporters who were at Stoke know we were outmuscled and outplayed. Sam sounds like an old record when we lose. It's embarrassing.

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Cheshire Rover, Sandbach says...
10:36am Tue 9 Feb 10

Wrong Bazzer, the Stoke fans I listened to whilst walking away from the ground were complaining about: team tactics, lack of effort from some players, players playing out of position, poor refereeing, oh, and being last on Match of the Day ... and they won 3-0 .... sound familiar?...... The money men have taken over football completely now, all I have left is to whinge about referees, so let me do it. The ref on Saturday was RUBBISH and INCONSISTENT, almost as much as our defence. He was embarrassing, not Sam.

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hasslem hasslem, lower cumberworth says...
10:38am Tue 9 Feb 10

there are no rules in football, there are laws as any referee will always painfully and boringly point out, and they will then lecture that rules can be bent and laws can only be broken.
.
of course, there is inconsistent refereeing and it works on both teams. it tends to work out evenly over a season (except in winner takes all games) against villa in cup sam objected to decisions against rovers in the second leg, whilst choosing to ignore decisions in rovers favour in the first leg.
.
the only time i remember it seeming to go against us over a prolonged period was (and i may be wrong) when souness was manager and it was almost 2 seasons without a penalty.
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don't claim that sam allardyce has a monopoly on moaning about this, i think every manager in every division uses refereeing as reasons why their own club didn't progress. so, it's not an anti-sam rant - it is just that all managers try to use it as adeflection mechanism
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even saint coyle started to whinge about refereeing decisions towards the end of his tenure at dingles, and has continued this through to trotters.
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in recent times i can only remember stuart pearce actively not criticising refereeing decisions (and sometimes, amazingly, roy keane).
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truth is that it was ever thus. with the start of professional refereeing it was falsely assumed that referees would make better decisions - it hasn't it has probably made them fitter, but it hasn't improved their eyesight.
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if people think this is a recent thing - remember george courtenay.
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and i think samba was sent off for consistent fouling. shirt pulling and niggly fouls seem to be part of his game that he thinks he can get away with if he does it behind the ref's back. truth is in recent weeks he has been caught.

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ChrisAcc, Accrington says...
10:38am Tue 9 Feb 10

Try watching football at League 2 level at Accrington Stanley,if you really want to see poor refereeing,think yourself lucky you get the alleged 'best' in the Premier league!!

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Cheshire Rover, Sandbach says...
10:40am Tue 9 Feb 10

A good ... an worrying point ChrisAcc, you have my sympathies

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bertiebee1, Portsmouth says...
11:23am Tue 9 Feb 10

BFS should be mad with Samba for getting sent off it was a stupid thing to do when he was on a yellow already. Refs have always been inconsistent its part and parcel of the game and its the same for all teams. Your shabby defeat at Stoke was a bad day at the office so BFS should hold his hands up and get on with the job in hand. OC and BFS should be best mates the way they go on about the Refs. OC was beginning to sound like a stuck record moaning about the Refs before he jumped ship. Good luck for the rest of the season. UTC

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Bill Carson, Mill Hill says...
12:55pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Another bout of pointless rhetoric from BFS, from the school of Grandmaster Fergie. You could use that argument forever and a day, just as Sir Alex is trying it on, re the current impending Ferdinand ban. No doubt the FA Prem committee may feel the need to back-pedal a little, when they reconsider the newly appointed England captain's appeal? Imagine the headache for the game's authorities if they set a precedent and have to consider all the similar offences cited from unrelated games?

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A Darener, Darwen says...
1:03pm Tue 9 Feb 10

"Allardyce: I don't know the rules of football any more"........ he should have continued by saying he doesn't know how to manage anymore.

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Tricky, Poulton-le-Fylde says...
3:39pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Since when have we played football?

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Morst, Accrington says...
4:27pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Tricky wrote:
Since when have we played football?
From 1875 to December 2008.
.
Here hoping - from August 2010 to ......
.
Then we can banish the 18mths of BS from our thoughts forever and ever!
.
31st.........

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ossyblue77, Oswaldtwistle says...
8:22pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Morst, do Blackburn not have any games between May and August??

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blueandwhitey79, clayton-le-moors says...
8:23pm Tue 9 Feb 10

could sam do a better job as a ref?? if he doesnt know the rules he shouldnt be in the game... while i agree refs do tend to make more howlers of late we must remember these guys hands are tied... they have roughly 4-5 seconds to make a decision, sometimes it can be said they take pot luck, there "assistants" arent always watching everybodys movements either and the 4th official isnt authorised to give any advice or help either. so without the video replay the refs will have to continue having peripeheral vision and trying to make the best of a bad job, some get it right, some get swayed by big teams and voiciferous support, others just get it hopelessly wrong and find themselves vilified and taken off the referees list.. give these guys a break, even if the refs had gone rovers way with decisions would it have made a difference in most of the games seeing as we were on the end of a hiding a good too many times.. probably not

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Scamp Kingsley, Padiham says...
8:25pm Tue 9 Feb 10

BFS YOU NEVER KNEW THE RULES OF FOOTBALL MATE. From your donkey playing days to being thrown out of newcastle and now at rawvrs its the same old excuses. The sack looms!

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Fruitbat, Used t'be on't moors says...
8:50pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Silly comments from BFS. You'll lose even more support if you turn into an Arsene Whinger. Stop making excuses and blaming everyone else, and just concentrate on the future. You're being pathetic.

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mu58uk, clitheroe says...
10:02pm Tue 9 Feb 10

well i go to ewood every home match and like all around me wonder were the refs are coming from ?? maybe planet loopy.. we have had over the last 5 years or so some of the most stupid refs in the world on our pitch. Ewood must be the training ground for all the misfits in the land who go under the name REFS. all you need to appear at Ewood is 1/2 a brain, bad eyesight, and i IQ of -10.. some of the desisions made are just bonkers.. they must all have it in for us at every match. when is a foul throw in a foul throw in??? well we witnessed a few weeks ago that there is now no foul throw ins.. the ref that night made the offender take it again. then failed to do out when a rovers player we was picking up the ball after the foul was pole axed by the opposition under the refs eyes.. make it in future that the club can requist that any poor refs are not to ref at Ewood again.. they might get it right then when the refs are barred from every club in the league.. Ron Blackburn End

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De La Rosa, Blackburn says...
10:47pm Tue 9 Feb 10

BFS is an embarrassment - every time we lose, its the same;

"it was the players"
"its the ref"
"we have no quality"
"we have no money"

When will you learn Sam. It is you. Your tearing this club apart.

As for the refs - we need younger fitter referees to keep with the speed of the game. However, in this instance, Samba should have known better.

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BluesBros, Blackburn says...
10:33am Wed 10 Feb 10

Fact….. Rovers have had far too many poor away days this season and -18 on our goals difference is amongst the worst in the league. Big Sam has to take full responsibility for that. We’ve shipped far too many goals.

I do agree though, the standard of refereeing is poor. Not just the refs some of the linesmen are really not up to it. Yes I know it’s not easy but hell you flag what you see? There is far too much inconsistency in decision making and what players are getting booked and sent off for these days is farcical.

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