They cheat and they have history of doing just that

The weekend gone was a great one for Arsenal with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester city dropping points. We are two points off the top and I fully expect us to be top of the table by the time Chelsea kick off against Birmingham. For me the game that intrigued me most last weekend was the Manchester United Vs Aston Villa game, which ended in a 2-2 draw. This game was refereed by Mike Dean who also happened to be the referee in our game against New Castle.

Mr. Dean sent off Laurent Koscielny for a professional foul some distance away from the goal and going by the law one can argue that was the right decision. However, when Wes Brown brought down an Aston Villa player inside the pen box he only booked him. Rio Ferdinand was not covering him and at best was level with Brown and the lack of distance to the goal from where the offence took place and the fact Rio had also dived into the tackle meant he would not have been able to cover Brown and Dean should not have hesitated to produce a red to Brown and yet he only gave him a Yellow. The subsequent penalty was taken and scored by A Young and he went to celebrate with the crowed and as by the rule book he was booked for the offence. Within 10 minutes Vidic scored to bring the score level at 2-2 and ran to celebrate with the fans and yet he was not booked. It must be noted that Vidic was already on a yellow and another would have resulted in him being sent off. Not only Villa would have had a chance to win the game but Vidic would have also been suspended for a game. Mike Dean has shown great inconsistency in that game and when you factor in the sending off of Kosielny it is even more baffling to understand the reasoning behind Mr. Dean’s decision making. Often it is claimed the Referees are under pressure from Old Trafford crowed and is given as an excuse for majority of decisions going Manchester United’s way at Old Trafford but this was a game played at Villa Park.

Now lets look at few other games where the referee’s have given unexplainable decision in favor of Manchester United. When they played Stoke at Brittania G. Neville should have got sent off and yet the referee did not deem his studs up challenge was worthy of a Yellow and it must be noted that he was already on a yellow and a early sending off could have left United with a near impossible task. These are two of many incidents which point out that united get big calls going for them not just at home and the referees tend to become very inconsistent when they officiate Manchester United games.

Now let’s go back in History to 1915 the former first division game between mid table Liverpool and relegation threatened Manchester United on the 2^nd of April 1915. Two of the oldest and biggest rivals in modern football locking hones would, almost always, lead to high octane and full blooded games with no quarter given. However, this game was anything but a fully blooded affair and Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners. Later suspicions were raised by the referee of the game and investigations proved that the game was fixed in favor of Manchester United. Players of both team made substantial amount of money through betting on the game and United avoided relegation by a point (win carried two points in those days) and it was Chelsea who got relegated that season.

The match fixing took place last century and the refereeing phenomena is of modern day. There is no way both incidents could be linked directly however when one observes the decisions Manchester United seem to get from the English referees am I wrong to ask if History is repeating it self. With their financial situation it is paramount that Manchester United stay at the top and challenge for honors every season.  Alex Fergeson has proved over the past that he will do anything to win and his own players have testified to this in the past. Players have been asked to dive and cheat and players have been asked to pull out of internationals when they were fully fit, which is the reason why FA brought in a rule saying players must report anyway to be assessed by the national team doctors.

Now who can honestly say that Manchester United do not pay the referees to get the decisions their way. I have no concrete evidence to prove so but the circumstantial evidence leaves me with an overwhelming impressions that there is something going on which is against the rules and values that govern the beautiful game and of course they have history and have the taste of cheating and who is to say they will not try again or are not doing so……..