Crewe Alex: The Man In The Middle

Normally I come out of games moaning about a poor decision made by the referee, which in the heat of the moment I often claim ‘robbed the points from us’, however today was and is a different story. I come out of Gresty Road praising a referee who managed a heated game well, especially the incident involving Chris Dagnall and the Stevenage FC goalkeeper (Jamie Jones).

Darren England (the referee) correctly, in my opinion, showed both players involved in the incident a red card. I believe Dagnall received his red through two yellow cards, though there has been a lot of confusion about how he did.

The incident which England handled correctly, escalated rapidly from an initial foul committed by Dagnall. I believe he was shown a yellow card for leaving his leg high and following through, into Jamie Jones’ shin. Then when Chris Dagnall appeared to check on how the Boro’ keeper was, Jones saw red (metaphorically) by lashing out at Dagnall – he appeared to slash a fist in the Liverpool-born strikers direction, which inevitably provoked a reaction. It was this reaction, from how I saw it, that Dagnall received his second yellow – thus being sent off. Honestly his reaction was booking worthy, he grabbed Jones’ neck and appeared to say some strong words (which I couldn’t hear). However despite the incident being something you never want to see in the beautiful game, it was how Darren England handled the incident that is why I am having an article on it.

In such a heated moment it is easy for a referee, of any quality, to drop his standards and perform inconsistently. England, today, did neither. He remained calm and collected and handled the situation expertly, when many League two referees would have folded under the pressure – the pressure of both fans and the actual situation.

Numerous occasions come to mind, even just with Crewe Alexandra, when I think of the phrase ‘poor reffing’ – both in this season and the last 6 I’ve had a season ticket for, some that have cost us points. However, I am weary of saying the ref cost us points as often the players missed opportunities to win. And though it may not seem like it, the referee isn’t playing for any team. I am not going to mention the names of any dubious decision-makers but there have been times when we have had what appeared clear-cut penalties turned down and infamous ‘ghost-goals’, which were never given. Even things as simple as offside decisions can lead to late winners, which demoralise players and supporters alike. However, as well as the big incident of today’s game, England and his linesmen (Craig Taylor and Alan Clayton) officiated the game precisely and consistently. I would like to give full credit to them all for that.

As he was exiting the field of play, I said he got the decision right and I also congratulated him for that and said ‘fair play, hats off to you’. To which he responded ‘Thanks, it’s refreshing to hear that compared to what the officials normally get when coming off the pitch’.