Flops of England Referees

In the last 50 years, the men 100m world record has quickened by 0.5 seconds. Improved medical treatment and physiology helps athletes to be stronger and faster. Officials are expected to catch-up with the increased pace of the games. When the limit of human beings is being pushed to the boundary, technology is being called upon.

Various sports have already sought the assistance of technology. American sports have reasonable tolerance for in-game delays to allow for review systems. Even fast-flowing sports like tennis adapts Eagle-eye system and grant players opportunities to challenge questionable calls by umpire. Meanwhile, football has only begun to bring in goal-line technology to reduce controversy in close calls for goals, or even "ghost" goals.

Mr Mariner has been having a tough week

After all, as Mr Blatter insists, officiating is driven by human beings. Video replays still have to be reviewed by the referees. Also, there is certain scope of judgement still determined by referees rather than computers.

Officials in Premier League have been under the limelight lately. Unarguably one of the toughest leagues to officiate, the standard of the referees, though, are dipping worryingly. You can see referees giving out penalty although being 50 yards from the action, but also not giving one being obviously within eyesight distance. You can witness a red card being issued after two minutes of self-thinking. There seems to be no standard code of practice for officials, leading to inconsistency in judging level of punishment for cynical fouls and handling chaotic situation in games. Ultimately, players take advantage by trying to make the most out of the varying personal characters of referees.

When you look at Italy and Spain, the consistency of the standard of referees is outstanding. They may still make the wrong calls, remembering that they are not robots. However, the communication and understanding among the officials are excellent. They excel in establishing authority and controlling players' temper. They have clear criteria for physical contacts and more importantly, stone-hearted that they are not moved by the crowds or tempered players easily.

Chris Foy denied a conversation with Mourinho

It is understandable that referees make mistakes. With more cameras in the field, matches being broadcasted all over the world and local media also imposing pressure , modern officials are having tough time. Take Alberto Mallenco, or better known as the referee for El Clasico, as an example. Having got most of the calls right and done a relatively decent job to keep the intense derby flowing, he was widely criticised by Real Madrid for not having the fear-looking face as Pierlugi Collina and more importantly, wrongly sent off Sergio Ramos and awarding the penalty.

Fairly speaking, Neymar was sneaky to earn the foul. Mallenco could have granted Ramos the benefit of doubt. At least, he was logically correct to give the marching order after his determined penalty decision. Madrid had also benefited from Mallenco's excellence in spotting Dani Alves' clipping Ronaldo and earned a penalty, though the foul was marginally outside the box. Majority of the referees may not award the unobvious foul. Ancelotti's side should also count themselves lucky not down to ten men before half time, if Pepe's head-butting was appropriately penalised.

Howard Webb --- most respectable referee in England now

Premier League adopted a system to conduct post-match officiating correction. The effectiveness of it is in doubt. If Andre Marriner failed to identify Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be the ball-handler, should Chamberlain be banned while Kieran Gibbs' suspension is lifted? While Alan Pardew was given a seven match-ban for head-butting David Meyler, Joe Hart was only being booked for the same vigorous reaction towards Chris Boyd, with the latter being banned for three matches, having been seen spitting towards Joe Hart in the post-match review. Although the logic that incidents being dealt with within the match will not be overruled in order to maintain the creditability of referees is valid, to some extent it is contradicting, unless red card appeals are also forbidden.

Mr. Blatter is not wrong after all. Officiating is a human being's job. We have already seen how crucial one single referee's decision can impact the outcome of a match, ultimately the title of a league. While FIFA has little intention to introduce more technology into football in the near future, England needs to improve the standard of referees, as well as reviewing the system to prevent it from faltering. Officials should drive the standard of the league forward, but not dragging it from developing further. 

Some room to breathe, but still long way to go

To revert the humiliating scoreline at home on Sunday and advance to the last eight of Champions League is exactly the pain relief that David Moyes desperately needs. Another loss would almost mean the exit door is open for the "Chosen One".  It has been long since there was something supporters can cheer at Old Trafford. They will make the most out of it before the tough league fixtures in the week ahead.

Ryan the Saviour

On the scoresheet, it was Robin Van Persie who duly delivered the victory for the Red Devils. In truth, Ryan Giggs was deservedly the man of the match. The legs are well gone, but not the wisdom. Being economical with his touch, he kept United's attack flowing and was often the provider of threatening passes. His pinpointed diagonal overhead passes that led to the first two goals had said it all.

Giggs turned back the clock on Wednesday

At 40 years old, Giggs took advantage of the slower pace of the European football and has been far more productive in continental competitions. Being by far the best player on Wednesday evening, on one hand David Moyes cherishes the presence of the veteran, on the other hand fans would wonder who could they turn to in the more physical Premier League.

Can they go all the way?

Despite coming back from two goals down to win the tie, Manchester United was yet to show their invincibility. Being 3-0 up, Moyes again decided to opt for a conservative approach, rather than attempting to seal the deal. A more friendly deflection for Dominguez's freekick or if not of David De Gea's superb double saves, United would have been eliminated on away goal, let alone Olympiakos had been wasteful for the whole night.

Whether it was Moyes' tactics or the team chemistry not working well, in simple terms they appear to be the weakest among the last eight in the competition. While Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are obviously more superior, individual flair of PSG and the pace of Dortmund could easily tear them apart. They might have a shot at Chelsea but Jose Mourinho's European experience gives Chelsea the edge. Atletico Madrid is distracted by local title race, but quality of Diego Costa, as well as the characters shown by the whole team under Diego Simeone has been sensational so far.

Maybe slightly over-optimistic

Weaker teams usually ride on strong spirit to spring a surprise. Nevertheless, inconsistency has often halted United's momentum and fails them to enjoy a long spell of victory throughout the season. The dream to qualify for next season Champions League by crowning the current campaign sounds more unrealistic than it used to be, when Sir Alex was still on the bench.

Europa maybe?

It is almost impossible to think about finishing in top four now, being 14 points away from Arsenal and Liverpool. A Europa berth at least limits the damage done this season.  Manchester City's League Cup title means the Europa place is extended to the sixth position, somewhere United would not have imagined they would finish at, not even outside. At the moment, they are three points behind Everton, who sits at sixth place with a game in hand, and are further five points away from Tottenham, a team who has a far more turbulent season than United does.

Mata: Lost

Moyes still struggles to find his best Eleven in Premier League. He could not get his new recruits going. Placing Juan Mata on the right is a strange move that never gets the best out of the Spanish, whereas Fellaini's mobility is well-exposed. Together with the aging defenders, this team is nowhere near promising.  

 Among the three in the race for Europa, Manchester United faces the toughest fixtures, having yet to be played Manchester City, Newcastle and Everton, with the latter two games away from home. The squad have the winning mentality to inspire a strong run to end the season, but from now they must treat every single match as an elimination tie. Victory in the derby next Wednesday could be the perfect catalyst.  

Can Milan take some positives from this season?

Those were the days

Recent success at San Siro has been painted in blue more often than red. Inter Milan notched up five straight Serie A titles since the infamous match-fixing scandal. AC Milan managed to bag one before Juventus recovered fully from the scandal to dominate Serie A again. During this period, Milan parted away with Carlo Anchelotti, the coach who brought them European triumph twice, and also transited from veteran-based squad to more youth-based.

Although Massimiliano Allegri was still able to engineer a league title during the transition, the board has finally exhausted their patience in this turbulent season and decided to offer club legend Clarence Seedorf his first club to manage. A complete turnaround is close to impossible as they are still six points away from Europa football and ten from Champions League, but could Seedorf and Milan supporters take some positives out of this campaign and hope for a better future?

The future pillars are growing

Undoubtedly Mattia De Sciglio is the most exciting prospect of Milan in recent years. A solid fullback with good sense of positioning and strong with both feet, De Sciglio also shows glimpse of brilliance on the attacking end, gradually drawing comparison to the legendary Paolo Maldini. Conquering injury and the pressure of expectation will lead him to become another star at San Siro.

Another bright points are the two midfield youngster Riccardo Saponara and Bryan Cristante. Their playing opportunity is still relatively limited but has already showed some refreshing sign in their brief appearance. Compared to Cristante, the highly-rated Saponara will face even stiffer competition at attacking midfielder position, but also offer Seedorf the option to field three playmakers to support Mario Balotelli.

Don't forget new recruit Keisuke Honda. He is still yet to hit the ground running but the Japanese's ability is proven in the European stage. Even though Milan might have made a mess in acquiring him, there is a good reason why they are his long term admirer. Honda and Kaka could be a devastating attacking pair in Serie A.  

The belief is there

Clarence Seedorf is a statue of success, having title-winning season in four different countries, including at San Siro, and of course notably the three Champions League trophies with three different teams. His tactical knowledge might not be as wealthy as Allegri, but his team-talk might be more inspiring to a group who has not used to enjoying regular success.  

Seedorf is an inspiring figure to the squad 

Adel Taarabt and Urby Emanuelsson in particular seems to have been encouraged by the arrival of Seedorf and showed a much better display in second half of the season. They might not have seen the results come yet, but the way they played lately demonstrates more self-belief and surely is more enjoyable for the fans to watch.

Challenges ahead

Their defence is no longer as solid as traditionally it was and have let them down numerous time this season. If De Sciglio is projected to be their long-term right back, a strong left-back, at least defensively, than Constant or Emanuelsson is needed. Also, Daniele Bonera certainly has passed the peak , while Philippe Mexes' decline and temperament is worrying. There are many loopholes at the back.

Behind Super Mario, Milan is also short of options in striker position. Even with El Shaarawy returning fit and healthy, it is obvious that they miss a clinical finisher, like Seedorf's old teammate Filippo Inzaghi, to convert the creativity of their midfield to goals.

Honda (facing)  represents the future of Rossoneri

Allegri transformed Milan to play at a higher pace and press opponents fast and furious high up the field. However, this is not a young group and individuals like Robinho, Essien and Kaka often run out of steam before the final whistle. The aging centrebacks are also well-exposed playing a high line defence.

There are holes to be filled. The glorious history and the honour to play at San Siro is still appealing,  but likely without Champions League football, also with Financial Fair Play coming into effect, can they compete with teams like PSG and Manchester City to attract young talents to join Seedorf's revival project?