Howard Webb facing tough questions after another Man City error leaves Arsenal baffled again
Howard Webb continues to oversee Pro Ref amid more refereeing controversies in the Premier League(Image: Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
For the second week running, Manchester City have benefited from a major officiating error, which in turn has impacted title rivals Arsenal. From the hysterical decision not to disallow Erling Haaland’s goal in the Manchester derby, to a week later allowing Elliot Anderson to play basketball at the Etihad Stadium.
There have been some weak attempts to explain away Anderson’s “hand-flick”, which completely fall apart. Former PGMOL head Keith Hackett has been very active on social media in an attempt to explain that Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fee’s touch of the ball with his hand is completely unintentional, while Anderson’s is quite the opposite – to little avail, of course.
Tribalism in the sport has sadly undermined much hope of major change. Even last week, when Sunderland’s Dan Ballard had ‘judo rolled’ Ezri Konsa, and Mikel Arteta took the moment, having won the game, to therefore not incite any finger-pointing or excuse-making for a draw or loss, all that happened was angry Black Cats fans asking why the Spaniard was bothering after winning the game.
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He should “move on” and “get on with his life” after taking the three points. Completely ignoring the reality that had Arsenal not won, and he decided to point out the error, it would have instead been chalked up to being a ‘salty loser’ rather than honestly pointing out an error.
Despite dialogue with Pro Ref’s Howard Webb, it is not believed that an apology, similar to that received by Michael Carrick following the derby mess, arrived in North London. Declan Rice was fortunate to get away with a potential red card offence in the Brighton defeat after lashing out at Malick Yalcouye after the Seagulls players provoked a reaction from Rice.
Meanwhile, at Everton, Thierno Barry’s goal was ruled out for offside after Brennan Johnson was deemed to have been interfering with play in an offside position, affecting Christian Walton. However, the header from Barry clearly gives Walton zero chance of saving it regardless of Johnson’s position – it should have stood.
The weekend concludes with yet more refereeing controversy, which might give the likes of us and other media outlets plenty to talk about, but quite frankly, it’s getting tiring seeing this great sport spoiled by consistent bad calls and inconsistent decisions made across matches.
Officials can keep being stepped down from their positions after high-profile errors, but when will the spotlight land on Howard Webb and Pro Ref’s head? The game is being undermined every single weekend and the question needs to be asked when enough is enough?
Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV
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