Martin Atkinson has just made himself the story in the Merseyside Derby. Everton are now down to 10 men, and for what, the entire world is not entirely sure. In the 23rd minute, Jack Rodwell went in on a challenge with Luis Suarez. He won the ball, went in with one foot, and did not have his studs showing when he made contact with Suarez. It was a foul at the most and never a yellow card, but Atkinson decided to show a straight red and Liverpool have a one man advantage.
Everton Vs. Liverpool Live, 2011 Merseyside Derby: Jack Rodwell Sees Red
To call the decision questionable would not only be a serious understatement, it would be dishonest. It was absolutely the wrong call and it will be almost impossible to justify. It was a ridiculous enough decision that David Moyes should appeal the suspension, and if there’s any justice, he should win this appeal due to Atkinson’s gross incompetence. Referees do a hard job and Atkinson was almost certainly attempting to act within the rules of the game, but he got it horribly wrong and a decision like that is simply not acceptable at this level.
We’ll have live coverage of the Merseyside Derby and all of the rest of this week’s Premier League fixtures in our English Premier League Week 7 StoryStream. Check out Everton blog Royal Blue Mersey and Liverpool blog Anfield Asylum for more on the two teams. Head over to SB Nation Soccer for more on the entire world of football.
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