Roberto was unable to see the match between Aston Vila and Chelsea for reasons beyond his control. As Roberto is returning to a normal lifestyle after the Christmas Season, he read about the Red Cards awarded to Carvalho and Cole from Chelsea and Knight from Aston Vila by Phil Dowd [referee].

Again, Roberto was able to see some video clips and was impressed with both teams but was angered at the arbitrariness of the Phil Dowd. While Phil Dowd has the difficult job of maintaining order within the game, he has gone too far and was unfair in his decision to Carvalho, Cole, and Chelsea. Phil Dowd was also unfair with Aston Vila and Knight.

While Carvalho deserves praise for apologizing to Agbonlahor and is not appealing, Dowd owes Chelsea and Cox an apology. Dowd also owes Aston Vila and Knight an apology.

Dowd owes an apology for his poor rulings. Cole did not intentionally head the ball off the line, he was playing the field. There is no evidence of Cole having used his hands on the goal line. There have been games in which the players received a yellow card for the same “offence” committed by Cole. It occurred in the Sept 2007 game between Miami FC and Charleston [which I saw personally].

Knight receiving a red card for his “offence” against Ballack did not deserve it. The least he could have received was a yellow card. The so called fouling of Ballack by Knight earned a yellow card in the same game seen by Roberto on Sept 2007.

The problem is that referees have too much power and the majority have yet to read some of the cardinal rules of football. What Dowd has done is proof that that there is a need for a training course with a licencing examination for referees. If Coaches have to take a UEFA Pro Licence, why cannot there be a UEFA Licence for Referees?

In closing, I would like to wish my readers a Happy New Year.