Rate The Ref v Chelsea - Barry Knight
Last updated : 22 August 2004 By Kwacky
The last time Mr Knight had refereed a Blues game he sent Maik Taylor off with a straight red and booked two other Blues players in the away game at Portsmouth last season.
This was Birmingham’s first home game of the season and expectations were high as the fans (those of them who were lucky enough to have received their season tickets) wanted to see what the new look attack minded Blues side was capable of.
Despite having a bossy midfield trio of Izzet, Savage and Johnson, the ref had little to do. Blues looked to both impress going forward and shut down the gallery of stars but there was barely a malicious tackle to be seen. If tempers showed then Knight would call both players, have a word, invite the players to shake hands and then let them to get back to the game.
The ref was sensible in allowing play to go on where there was clear advantage and wasn’t afraid to bring the ball back for a free kick.
There were two incidents which are worthy of note (but only one the press will want to talk about). In the first half Paulo Ferreira clearly nudged the ball with his arm. Seen by about 5,000 fans but, missed by the ref and his assistant, play was waved on. In a game that was always going to be won by a single goal, this was a clear turning point.
The second incident, late in the second half and after Chelsea had taken the lead, involved who else but our mastiff/afghan crossbred – Robbie Savage. Savage appeared to take the ball cleanly off Kezman who fell like a sack of spuds. The partisan crowd saw this as a delaying tactic as Blues threatened. The jury is out on the incident but Mr Knight’s cards weren’t. Not even our Robbie could induce the ref to show a card.
Despite the above, it was nice to see a ref who showed his authority by keeping his cards in his pocket and allowed the game to flow when possible. It’s also nice to watch a ref who knows that 28,000 people didn’t come to see him steal the show. F.A. take note. This is how to officiate a game. Even his assistants had a good game.
Ref rating – 8 out of 10
