Liverpool vs Manchester United: Controversy yet again

It's not to be mistaken - the match between Liverpool and Manchester United brings sweat and tears to fans of both sides, and almost as usual, there was controversy.

As all Liverpool and Manchester United-fans already know, the referee has been fairly criticised about decisions involving Carragher.

Here's some of the things written in articles on a site called The Republic of Mancunia, which obviously is a fan site for Manchester United.
One article begins like this:


"Jamie Carragher hauled Owen to the ground and as the last man somehow managed to escape a red card. Given that Nemanja Vidic was shown a straight red card for pulling Steven Gerrard down at Old Trafford last season when he wasn’t the last man, a decision which was supported by the commentators and press alike, it is odd that Andre Marriner, who surely had a Liverpool jersey underneath his black referee’s shirt, missed such a blatant red card."

To be honest, at first, I thought just the same after the game. But the fact is that with different referees comes different opinions. You can't use that as an example as Marriner didn't do that game.
Besides, if this person is bitter about the red card, it wouldn't make that a big difference if it were yellow or red - the fact is that Aurelio scored on that very free kick, giving Liverpool a 3-1 lead which would be very difficult for United to catch up.

Furthermore:
"A clear goalscoring opportunity was taken away from us (1), with even Liverpool fans surely big enough to admit that the likelihood is Owen would have scored from that position (God knows they saw him do it enough times for them!), yet our only consolation was a freekick. A truly woeful decision which cost us all the points today. Saying that, this is the referee who allowed Lucas Levia nine fouls without a booking and missed our two penalty shouts. (2)"

1) In my opinion this wasn't a CLEAR goalscoring opportunity as Owen had to run to the left to recieve the ball, then run far right to get a good position for shooting. Yes, Owen is quick, but running such a big curve and controlling the ball at the same time isn't that easy without losing ground to the other players behind you. So I think it's not a clear goalscoring opportunity. But I have to be honest - I believe that was a red card.

2) When it comes to Lucas and his tackles, I can't remember much of it, but this guy may be right - come to think of it, Lucas was involved in many tackles. On the other hand - what difference would it make if Lucas got a yellow card?

According to this guy, the referee missed two penalties as well. Which two penalties? The only situation I can remember is the one with Carragher's tackle on Carrick. The United players surrounding the incident didn't scream for a penalty, including Carrick himself.
Alex Ferguson said that the ref was pressured by the atmosphere throughout the game to make the decisions go Liverpool's way. In that situation, I think it was the lack of penalty claim from the United players that made his decision just as much as the atmosphere.

"Carragher ploughed in to Carrick in the box, bringing the man down and touching, yet not winning, the ball. Had Carrick not been brought down he would have happily kept possession in the box as Carragher did not play the ball out of his path. As it was, Carragher brought Carrick to the ground and denied him an effort on goal just yards out."

Though the ref had a good view of the situation, I believe it's a difficult decision as he most likely saw that Carragher was touching the ball in that tackle. That situation is very difficult to me, as there are good arguments from both sides: Yes, he touched the ball but didn't win it. The ball made its way to another United player, though, so I don't know if the ref was thinking advantage or anything...
But the last line claims that Carrick would have a shot on goal if it wasn't for Carragher. I'm not sure about that one as Kuyt was the one running after him and Johnson stood right in front of him when this situation occured.

"Fernando Torres took his goal very well and Rio Ferdinand will have to wonder how he allowed the Spaniard to get past him with such little effort. However, seeing Torres throw himself to the floor every time he was challenged reminded me what a relief it is not to have such blatant cheat in the team. Ronaldo, we wish you well, and whilst I don’t miss his diving, it would have been nice to have someone willing to have a go from the edge of the box today. I imagine Liverpool fans are happy to have a diver in the side if he scores vital goals like that though, just as we were with Ronaldo."

He is absolutely spot on here. Torres is a diver as well as a fantastic player, just as Ronaldo is. I was really pissed each time Torres went to the ground, and I simply don't like him for that. I want none of it.

"Their fans claim we will always be in their shadow, but after winning our 18th title last season and seeing their players celebrate as though they had actually won a trophy (something which has evaded them for years) it is clear the tide has changed. The last time I saw our goalkeeper run the length of the pitch to celebrate with our players was when Giggsy scored our second against Wigan the season before last, wrapping up the title. It seems as though just beating United at home is reason enough for Reina to do the same. Saying that, Reina conceded the title in mid-september, so it is no surprise playing United is his cup final."

Now this is pathetic! That is a bitter, bitter comment. Why the hell criticise Reina for running the length of the pitch to celebrate? Fair enough, there's a few goalkeepers that does that these days, especially in a league match. But this guy should've been a goalkeeper for Liverpool - a team struggling like hell in the league, going through defeat after defeat, and suddenly winning 2-0 against Manchester United in a game that could turn the tide (which it apparently hasn't, though), in a game that every Liverpool and United fan are looking forward to each season. Not to mention the fact that both teams at that point had ten men, United was pressuring Liverpool the minutes before the goal and the fact that N'Gog scored on United's huge injury time. Doesn't that sound like a huge relief for a goalkeeper in a game such as this? A guy that's passionately talking about how the referee ruined the match in a big game as this should definitely understand. He's just bitter.

This guy fails to mention the things that didn't go Liverpool's way, though:
Where was the penalty that Kuyt should have been given after Berbatov tore his jersey apart? And where the fuck did the whole FIVE minutes of injury time come from? I think one certain Alex Ferguson decided for rather than suggestion those five minutes.

The conclusion is - yes, the ref definitely wasn't at his best in that game, but the same thing can be said about Manchester United. I can't remember any other big chances than Valencia's shot in the crossbar and Rooney's header right on Reina.
But I should have the Owen situation in mind, though, which will be a neverending discussion.