Just watching the league cup highlights and Leroy Rosenior was praising Oliver for keeping players on the pitch, ie Lucas and Henderson. Costa aside, bearing in mind the ref didn't really see the incidents, is a ref right to keep players on the pitch when they have deserved a second yellow merely to keep it a good game? Personally, if players transgress then the ref has no right to ignore the rules. He gave a foul against Lucas for a deliberate trip which, if he hadn't previously been booked I'm certain would have been a yellow (his second). Equally, he gave a free kick for handball against Henderson. If it was just ball to hand then it shouldn't be a free kick but if it was deliberate then it is, which the ref gave and, it should be another yellow. Very poor referring in my view. It also has a bearing on the games that Henderson and Lucas would have missed due to a ban.
It's similar and as laughable as refs that only book for time wasting in the last 5 minutes of a game when it has no effect. The laws of the game should be applied from the 1st minute to the last. If refs applied the letter of the law more often then maybe stuff like shirt pulling and all the stupid things in the game would disappear.
As for Costa, deserves to get done for the first incident but the second not so clear cut, especially when you've got a defender's boot in your thigh and even more so if that defender is Skrtel!!!
It's similar and as laughable as refs that only book for time wasting in the last 5 minutes of a game when it has no effect. The laws of the game should be applied from the 1st minute to the last. If refs applied the letter of the law more often then maybe stuff like shirt pulling and all the stupid things in the game would disappear.
As for Costa, deserves to get done for the first incident but the second not so clear cut, especially when you've got a defender's boot in your thigh and even more so if that defender is Skrtel!!!
