Officially Speaking – with Keith Hackett
Keith Hackett gives his expert views on a few of the matches played over this FA Cup Third Round weekend:
Chorley v Derby County Result 2-0
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistant Referees: Robert Merchant & Robert Atkin
Fourth Official: Ross Joyce
Derby County were unable to play their first team due to Covid-19 but take nothing away from a great win by the non-league home team Chorley.
This was another good performance by the match officials.
Marine v Tottenham Hotspur Result 0-5
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Simon Bennett & Gary Beswick
Fourth Official: Andre Marriner
A visit to a non-league club is always a daunting task for a Premier League team. This was a game that was typical of a Third Round tie in the best cup competition in the world.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho put out a strong side and to the great credit to Marine, with spectators taking various vantage points outside the ground, they played in the right spirit and played football in a fair manner.
The game was covered live on television and this will have created substantial funds to ensure the ongoing future of Marine a Northern Premier League club.
Michael Oliver handled the game superbly, looking relaxed but putting in the physical and mental effort to ensure top-class decision making.
Well done everyone involved in this game which was a credit to the game.
Arsenal v Newcastle United Result 2-0
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant Referees: Dan Cook & Sian Massey-Ellis
Fourth Official: Gavin Ward
VAR: Andre Marriner
Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
In the closing stages of the game, Referee Kavanagh in a good position showed Arsenals Smith-Rowe a red card for a foul challenge. It looked like a harsh decision and an alert from VAR Andre Marriner intervened and recommended a review of the decision.
Following the review of the monitor, the referee correctly downgraded to yellow. This was an excellent use of VAR.
Barnsley v Tranmere Rovers Result 2-0
Referee: Oliver Langford
Assistant Referees: Matthew McGrath & Philip Dermott
Fourth Official: Scott Oldham
The home team won this game 2-0 but I have to say that the award of a penalty kick in the late stages of the game to the home team was a very poor decision by the referee. I would suggest that this was due to a lack of concentration.
Manchester City v Birmingham City Result 3-0
Referee: Robert Jones
Assistant Referees: Edward Smart & Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson
VAR: Graham Scott
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
This was not a challenging game and a good run out for Referee Jones. He has much work to do to meet the physical challenges at the elite level and is lacking sprinting speed.
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