Juventus vs. Arsenal

I watched this match on Sky Sports yesterday. I don't have Sky Sports at home, so I went to my local. It's more interesting when other people are making astute comments like, "You're a f*****g w****r, you bloody Italian git!" (directed at Pavel Nedved, who is Czech).

I thought the game was interesting enough, if you follow Arsenal, but what got me thinking was the performance of the referee, Herbert Fandel. I should point out that I think the referee had a very good game. He ignored some of the play-acting (on both sides) and generally made the right decisions. He also correctly dismissed Nedved for two bad tackles.

What I didn't like was the way he booked José Antonio Reyes for "time-wasting". He had obviously decided before the match that he wasn't going to stand for any gamesmanship, so he flashed a yellow card as soon as Reyes waited more than six seconds to take a corner. In league matches, it is quite normal to wait up to 15 seconds before taking a corner, to allow the other players to take their positions. I agree that time-wasting should be punished, but that shouldn't mean you have to play the game in "hurry up" mode.

The problem is that there is no consistency: it is left entirely to the referee's discretion. Unsurprisingly, different referees from different countries are interpreting the Laws of the Game in different ways. There should be some guidance from FIFA so that players know what is expected of them. Too many referees in European matches seem to have a need to show how tough they are with some flamboyant gesture; good referees don't have to demonstrate anything except sound decision-making.