Officially Speaking – with Keith Hackett

PREMIER LEAGUE REFEREE PERFORMANCES WEEK 38

In this, the final week of the Premier League season, it was good to witness a limited number of spectators allowed into the stadiums.
Liverpool and Chelsea joined Manchester City and Manchester United in the top four and will contest next season’s Champions League.
Harry Kane won the Golden Boot and Playmaker awards, and it is no secret that he is looking for a move away from Spurs. Manchester City’s goalkeeper Ederson won the Golden Glove award.

ARSENAL V BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION RESULT 2-0
Referee: Jonathan Moss. Assistants: Marc Perry, Timothy Wood. Fourth official: Dean Whitestone. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton.

Arsenal player Pepe netted twice in this game in the 49th and 60th minute to bring Arsenal’s season to a close.
If they are to get back into a challenging position for European Champions League next season, then they are going to have to splash the cash.

ASTON VILLA V CHELSEA RESULT 2-1
Referee: Stuart Attwell. Assistants: Simon Long, Neil Davies. Fourth official: Tim Robinson. VAR: Jared Gillett. Assistant VAR: Stephen Child.

Manager Dean Smith has done a terrific job at Villa. They won this game 2-1.
Stuart Attwell was close to the action in the 89th minute when he detected Azpilicuta use his hand illegally in the face of his opponent and received the red card. He was on hand to correctly award a penalty kick to the home team.
Referee Stuart Attwell has had his best season in his career demonstrating excellent movement around the field of play which has assisted his improved decision-making.

FULHAM V NEWCASTLE UNITED RESULT 0-2
Referee: Chris Kavanagh. Assistants: Dan Cook, Sian Massey-Ellis. Fourth official: James Linington. VAR: Robert Jones. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.

I am sure that Fulham would have loved to finish their season in the Premier League with a win. However, that was not the case. If they stick with their Manager Scott Parker, I expect them to be a clear favourite next season to win the Championship.

On-loan Arsenal player Willock found the net once more for Newcastle and I guess given his step up in form under Steve Bruce they will want to make him a summer purchase for the club.

Newcastle United’s Fabian Schar’s late penalty save brought the season down for an away win for the away team.

LEEDS UNITED V WEST BROMWICH ALBION RESULT 3-1
Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Nick Hopton, Shaun Hudson. Fourth official: Darren Bond. VAR: Graham Scott. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.

Leeds United have produced some excellent performances this season and played attractive football. Under their Manager Marcelo Bielsa they are a very fit team playing some dynamic football which is entertaining and great to watch.

LEICESTER CITY V TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR RESULT 2-4
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Keith Stroud. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.

I was rather shocked that Referee Taylor waved away appeals for a penalty kick, despite being in a great position. An alert VAR Peter Bankes intervened and after reviewing the monitor, Taylor pointed to the penalty mark.

Taylor’s judgment of allowing the Spurs goal to stand after the goalkeeper Schmeichel was indicating that he had been fouled was in vain. Taylor had got this one right.
However, in the build-up to one of the goals, Harry Kane accidentally handled the ball that then went to a colleague who scored. This should have been ruled out.

LIVERPOOL V CRYSTAL PALACE RESULT 2-0
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Richard West, Scott Ledger. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart.

There was a late change to this game when Craig Pawson replaced Andre Marriner who was originally appointed to the match.
Pawson ended the season on a high and I hope that he uses the summer to keep fit and continue to work on his mobility.

The game passed without incident and the main talking point was the retirement of Roy Hodgson who has been a terrific servant to the game.

MANCHESTER CITY V EVERTON RESULT 5-0
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett. Fourth official: Michael Salisbury. VAR: Darren England. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.

Sadly, one of the most iconic players to grace the Premier League Sergio Aguero was playing his last game for City. He came off the bench to break Wayne Rooney’s goalscoring record, taking him to 184 Premier League goals.

Everton were awarded a penalty kick which they failed to convert leaving their manager Carlo Ancelotti unhappy.

This was a rather one-sided game with Everton ending their promising season in poor form.

SHEFFIELD UNITED V BURNLEY RESULT 1-0
Referee: Kevin Friend. Assistants: Simon Beck, Mark Scholes. Fourth official: Geoff Eltringham. VAR: Lee Mason. Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes.

Sheffield United ended the season with a well-deserved win. I do think that they have suffered with no crowds in the stadium. It is now important to ensure that they do not slide through the divisions in the same way as their neighbours Sheffield Wednesday.

WEST HAM UNITED V SOUTHAMPTON RESULT 3-0
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Matt Donohue. VAR: Andre Marriner. Assistant VAR: Peter Kickup.

It was interesting to see Andre Marriner operating as VAR on this game. He was originally scheduled to do the game at Anfield.

David Moyes is my selection for Manager of the season having worked miracles to turn around the fortunes of West Ham United.

West Ham’s Fornals brought the game to life with two goals in the 30th and 33rd minute, with Rice scoring a third. United finished the season in 6th place and will compete in next season’s Europa League.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS V MANCHESTER UNITED RESULT 1-2
Referee: Mike Dean. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Harry Lennard. Fourth official: John Brooks. VAR: Andy Madley. Assistant VAR: Darren Cann.

It is sad to see the departure of Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Elanga opened the scoring with a powerful header inside 15 minutes. Wolves responded with an equaliser five minutes before half time.
Then we had a controversial incident when Mike Dean failed to detect that Donny Van de Beek had been caught on the back of his foot. Fortunately, he was advised to visit the monitor and rightly awarded a penalty kick which was scored resulting in a win for the away team.

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