‘He Enjoyed Giving Us Nothing’ – Harry Redknapp Breaks ’30-Year Silence’ To Berate Referee Chris Foy

Chris Wright

12th, December 2011

17 Comments

By Chris Wright

You may be aware that, in glorious 20-20 retrospect, Tottenham were fairly hard done to against Stoke yesterday. The Potters ran out as 2-1 winners, but it turns out that Spurs were denied by a couple of goal-line handballs, had a man sent off rather softly and saw an Emmanuel Adebayor goal disallowed for offside despite Marc Wilson playing him on by a couple of feet.

They also were gifted a consolation goal when a penalty was readily doled out for a blatant Luka Modric dive, but that’s by the by.

Tottenham fans are up in arms this morning at Chris Foy and his minimalistic approach to whistle-blowing. Foy has since been certified crucified as the ‘worst ref in the whole of Christendom’ and, worse, the man that robbed Spurs of a certain three points at the Britannia.

Indeed, even the reclusive Harry Redknapp has broken his solemn, monastic 30-year vow of silence to conflab with the press about yesterday afternoon’s shenanigans, condemning Foy’s decisions…or lack thereof:

“I never complain about referees’ decisions – I have not done it in 30 years of management, never – but today, I’m afraid, he got some badly wrong. I felt he was quite enjoying giving us nothing.

“He hadn’t seen them, but when he goes home and watches them, he’ll realise he got a couple badly wrong, and the linesman…when someone’s two yards onside, like Adebayor was, how’s the linesman not seen it?”

I’ll just let that sink in for a moment. ’30…year…silence’.

Any road up, I watched the match and I missed both handballs in ‘real time’ (the first I thought was headed off the line, the second I plain didn’t see) as, I suspect, did many others.

I also assumed Adebayor was a mile offside when he swivelled and rolled the ball under Thomas Sorensen. Firstly because he usually is and secondly because, without stopping the footage at the precise moment the ball was played, it looked to me like Wilson had made it out in time…

The only one of the contentious decisions I though Foy got wrong in ‘real time’ was Younes Kaboul’s prissy second yellow. The challenge wasn’t dangerous in the slightest and therefore didn’t warrant the punishment. These things happen.

Of course, the correct decisions all became abundantly clear given the benefit of a raft of slow-motion replays and the ire began to rise. None were overly awful calls on Foy’s part and none were heinously wrong. You could forgive and forget any one of them if taken in isolation. It just so happened that all three fell in the same 90 minutes.

The long and short of it is that Spurs got a raw deal at the Brit. Nothing more, nothing less, and it’ll probably be someone else next weekend. Now, can we just move on with our lives?

Posted in FAIL, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur

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17 Comments

  1. Redskywalker says:

    Like I said before. The ref and lino should have no influence on the final scoreline whatsoever.

    Maby us watching on the tele couldn’t see things at first, but the linesman was in a perfect possition to see the handballs and Adebayor onside. Then they were obviously getting back at Kaboul late on for the goggle gesture. Was pretty petulant stuff from the officials yesterday. Very amateurish.

  2. Dan says:

    I really think you’ve got it a bit/very wrong here. First Crouch handballs to control in the build up to their first goal. If he doesn’t, the ball goes behind him and the lines are cleared. Fine he missed that, it was hard to see. And you may say Stoke deserved the 2-0 lead in the first half. In today’s game you cant kick out at a player in the box and expect to get away with it, that’s just how it is, it’s a pen. Then Kaboul was pulled down clearly in the box, his head would have been on the ball, but fine he thought it was 6 of one half a dozen of the other. To the handballs, he clearly sticks out his arm, that’s a pen and sending off, but fine it went quick and he missed it (although the linesman should have been in the right place to see it).And the other one was a bit innocuous. But how the linesman doesn’t see the Stoke defender playing Adebayor onside when he should be standing with the last man, who is actually on the 6 yard line making it easier to spot is ridiculous. 2-2 and 20 mins left. And then the cherry on the top, sending Kaboul off, he did look like he enjoyed it didn’t he. No common sense, a terrible display, but yet you seem to justify it. Well if that happened to your team on the last day of the season when they needed a point to stay in the league, i hope you will say ‘yes, fair enough’!

    • Chris says:

      @Dan: I’m only justifying it in so far as ‘these things happen from time to time’. Foy doesn’t deserve to be castigated for a few duff (but not inexcusable) decisions.

  3. Anonymous says:

    It seems like it’s okay when spurs get all the decisions their way, which to be fair it does a lot of the time, but as soon as things go against them there management, players and fans throw their toys out the pram.
    “they were obviously getting back at Kaboul late on for the goggle gesture”
    HAHAHAHA Priceless example…

  4. MIke says:

    What about Van Der Vart’s handball?

  5. Redskywalker says:

    ^at 3.@anonymous shut up. Im not a Spurs fan. Im stating what I saw.

    Your quote:
    “It seems like it’s okay when spurs get all the decisions their way, which to be fair it does a lot of the time, but as soon as things go against them there management, players and fans throw their toys out the pram.”

    ^Im sure we could say EXACTLY the same thing about the club you support.

  6. Scott says:

    Well said Chris.

  7. Dan says:

    @Chris: I agree that ‘these things happen from time to time’ but that’s entirely the point, if from time to time means every 18 minutes (or 5 big wrong decisions in 90 mins)then there’s something not right. If even one or two of the wrong decisions went Tottenhams way they could easily have come out with a win. Its the fact that so many wrong decisions were made in one game that i have the problem with.

  8. phil says:

    Since when did it become handball every time the ball touches a hand?
    For Stoke’s first, Couch chested the ball and it then rolled on to his arm, completely unintentional, so not handball.

  9. jon says:

    The offside was immediately after one of the handballs so really only one chance there, can’t be calling that a goal and a penalty not given by the ref as I’ve seen some Spuds doing.

  10. Glenn says:

    The worst refereeing I’ve seen in a long time. The way he didn’t book Woodgate again after a bad challenge, as he was already on a booking. The handball from Crouch in the build-up to the first goal. Manny getting called offside when clearly on. What happened to the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team?

  11. larryharry says:

    Foy does this time and time again. Did it to Chelsea and now us.

  12. oldun says:

    Only cretins and the immature use “clever” insults like “spuds” to jibe. Still the incapacity to write a coherent sentence might prove mitigation as it demonstrates an IQ lower than their age or hatsize. So jon acknowledges two wrong decisions. Presumably he thinks one or other SHOULD have been given.

  13. HotSpur922 says:

    the ref really did make some pathetic calls.

    I hope the fans find him on the street.

  14. stonedwasherman says:

    the spuds – insufferable cunts. period.

    shove the whines and complaints up your asses. They make you look like sad jokes otherwise.

  15. Alan says:

    As a West Brom fan, I suppose I’m biased, but I definitely thought Spurs were done wrong. That was ridiculous to watch.

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