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       #Post#: 105132--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: olliebcafc
       Date: May 2, 2026, 12:43 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Exeter City FC (First Team) v Bradford City FC (First Team)
       Football League 1
       Referee: Yates, Ollie
       Assistant Referee: Williams, Ollie
       Assistant Referee: Staten, Thomas
       Fourth Official: Smith, Niall
       Credit where credit is due - the game wasn’t as difficult as I
       anticipated but you can only referee what is in front of you. He
       did very well
       #Post#: 105142--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: TheThingFromLewes
       Date: May 2, 2026, 1:57 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Ryanellis link ---
       >
       > Crewe Alexandra FC (First Team) v Cambridge United FC (First
       Team)
       > Football League 2
       > Referee: Hair, Neil
       > Assistant Referee: Archibald, Matt
       > Assistant Referee: Durnall, Steve
       > Fourth Official: Jackson, Aaron
       >
       > Wow, what an awful ending to the game. With, roughly, a minute
       to go fans near me were shouting out for stewards and then
       paramedics. A Crewe fan had gone into cardiac arrest. I’m only
       17, and this was the first time I’d saw CPR in action. It was a
       horrendous sight. An air ambulance has since landed on the
       pitch….
       > Hopefully positive news will follow.
       >
       > Onto the game and once again a very poor performance from
       Neil. He was too inconsistent in recognising offences. He gave
       Cambridge a penalty in the first half, personally this wasn’t a
       pen. I haven’t seen it back yet but it looked extremely soft and
       the Cambridge player made the most out of it. Crewe were
       dominating for the first 13 mins…. Until, surprise surprise, the
       Cambridge keeper went down!!! This needs to be sorted out for
       next season - immediately.
       >
       > I don’t think there’s much else to say - I wasn’t impressed by
       Cambridge at all considering we had 5/6 first team players
       missing. A 0-0 was a fair result, and I think both teams
       could’ve gone onto win it.
       >
       > Well done on Cambridge for their promotion. Bring on the Vale!
       (And a very interesting summer…. 👀)
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Hair seems to have gone off the boil recently… he was seemingly
       destined for higher things but sadly seems to have stalled
       somewhat…
       #Post#: 105151--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: Boz
       Date: May 2, 2026, 4:26 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Tranmere Rovers FC (First Team) v Grimsby Town FC (First Team)
       Football League 2
       Referee: Coy, Martin
       Assistant Referee: Ellis, Andrew
       Assistant Referee: Lehane, Jacob
       Fourth Official: Barlow, Michael
       Very little to say about the refereeing in this game. Mr Coy
       tends toward the side of leniency, when I have seen him in
       action. That was true here, his foul detection was sound, but
       there were one or two occasions when others might have produced
       a card, he let things go with a word. The only YC shown was a
       regulation for a pull-back on a Rovers player about to break
       upfield in added time. Mr Coy kept a firm grip on the game and
       seems to have evolved into one of the more reliable and
       consistent officials at this level. The archetypal safe pair of
       hands.
       As for the football, my over-riding sentiment is one of relief.
       #Post#: 105152--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: olliebcafc
       Date: May 2, 2026, 5:18 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Cambridge pen is defo correct, imo. Salford unlucky not to get
       one when Udoh was wiped out.. now that is a stonewaller
       #Post#: 105153--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: Driver1123
       Date: May 2, 2026, 5:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: elbee94 link ---
       >
       > Nice game for Carl Brook to pick up from Matt Corlett at
       Bolton. James Oldham takes over Carl’s original match, after a
       much maligned performance at Scunthorpe in midweek.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       An Oldham refereeing Oldham once again.  I've heard that's
       happened several times this season with either James or Scott.
       I don't write reviews of referees on here because I got banned
       last time I did so (even though it doesn't seem to be an issue
       for others to do so, and on a website with this name it was
       surprising at the time that I was apparently wrong for doing
       so).  But I will say that, as a Bolton fan, I wish they'd kept
       the original appointments.  Both Bolton and Luton were let down
       by all 4 officials more than once today.
       #Post#: 105154--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: ben
       Date: May 2, 2026, 5:42 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Driver1123 link ---
       >
       > I don't write reviews of referees on here because I got banned
       last time I did so (even though it doesn't seem to be an issue
       for others to do so, and on a website with this name it was
       surprising at the time that I was apparently wrong for doing
       so).  But I will say that, as a Bolton fan, I wish they'd kept
       the original appointments.  Both Bolton and Luton were let down
       by all 4 officials more than once today.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Making a new account having been previously banned?…
       #Post#: 105156--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: DBLTFC
       Date: May 3, 2026, 1:41 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       As for said Bolton v Luton match, I don’t necessarily agree with
       the above. I haven’t seen it back, but in real time I thought
       the first penalty should’ve resulted in DOGSO with no intent to
       play the ball which could’ve resulted in Bolton’s attacking
       threat being negated with one less player. Apart from that, I
       thought the officiating was relatively solid.
       The bigger issue I have is the potential “ghost goal” which
       occurred about 30 seconds before Luton’s winner at Stevenage.
       I’ve watched it back about a dozen times and I have no idea if
       that has crossed the line or not. Assistants get 1 look in real
       time whilst trying to look in a million other directions. I’m
       not sure how they can give that goal with confidence. It was
       incredibly marginal, just like at Rochdale last week.
       I don’t know how much GLT costs but to not have it throughout
       the EFL, you’re going to have situations like that one. That was
       a real “hospital pass” of a situation at such a critical moment.
       #Post#: 105159--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: Ryanellis
       Date: May 3, 2026, 2:23 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: olliebcafc link ---
       >
       > Cambridge pen is defo correct, imo. Salford unlucky not to get
       one when Udoh was wiped out.. now that is a stonewaller
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Yeah like I said I havent seen it back yet. I was looking
       directly behind it you see, and it looked like the Cambridge
       player flopped to the floor.
       However - Salford’s pen I have seen and that is ridiculous how
       that isn’t given!!
       #Post#: 105178--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: Acme Thunderer
       Date: May 3, 2026, 5:56 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Ryanellis link ---
       >
       > Crewe Alexandra FC (First Team) v Cambridge United FC (First
       Team)
       > Football League 2
       > Referee: Hair, Neil
       > Assistant Referee: Archibald, Matt
       > Assistant Referee: Durnall, Steve
       > Fourth Official: Jackson, Aaron
       >
       > Wow, what an awful ending to the game. With, roughly, a minute
       to go fans near me were shouting out for stewards and then
       paramedics. A Crewe fan had gone into cardiac arrest. I’m only
       17, and this was the first time I’d saw CPR in action. It was a
       horrendous sight. An air ambulance has since landed on the
       pitch….
       > Hopefully positive news will follow.
       >
       > Onto the game and once again a very poor performance from
       Neil. He was too inconsistent in recognising offences. He gave
       Cambridge a penalty in the first half, personally this wasn’t a
       pen. I haven’t seen it back yet but it looked extremely soft and
       the Cambridge player made the most out of it. Crewe were
       dominating for the first 13 mins…. Until, surprise surprise, the
       Cambridge keeper went down!!! This needs to be sorted out for
       next season - immediately.
       >
       > I don’t think there’s much else to say - I wasn’t impressed by
       Cambridge at all considering we had 5/6 first team players
       missing. A 0-0 was a fair result, and I think both teams
       could’ve gone onto win it.
       >
       > Well done on Cambridge for their promotion. Bring on the Vale!
       (And a very interesting summer…. 👀)
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Totally agree on the cardiac arrest incident which took place in
       front of me as well. Thank goodness that the St John's Ambulance
       personnel were in close attendance and full marks to the chap
       who started off CPR until they arrived. I have heard rumours
       about the outcome but nothing more, so will leave it at that. A
       sad ending to the game and season, and I was thinking of what
       might have happened if the incident had taken place 5-10 minutes
       earlier, bearing in mind that the protocol seems to be for the
       players to leave the pitch and possible abandonment of the game.
       I suspect Neil and the mangament were made aware that there was
       a problem, hence no 4O board or announcement for added time, and
       they must have decided to keep the game going for the required 6
       minutes of added time to allow for the possibility of crucial
       goals being scored at Crewe and/or Crawley. If that is the case,
       I applaud what they did as well as sympathise with all those
       involved.
       So to the game and, for once Ryan, I'm going to disagree with
       you, in that I thought Neil had a good game and showed all his
       experience in keeping a lid on a game which was both tense and
       entertaining. When a Crewe player was dumped to the ground in
       the 1st 5 minutes without getting a yellow card, I wondered
       whether this was going to be a horror show, but it didn't turn
       out that way and Neil allowed tackles to be made without malice
       which I thought was good. Yellow cards were correct in my view
       and Neil seemed to maintain empathy with the players which I've
       not seen in every game I've attended at Crewe this season.
       Cambridge penalty - it looked soft but I watched the highlights
       last night and the decision was correct. Memo to Neil - unless
       my recall of the laws is not up to date, Neil was wrong to
       instruct a Cambridge player to stand behind the ball at the
       taking of the penalty (he was on the pitch and outside of the
       penalty area on Neil's side but in front of the ball and behind
       Neil). OK, the player would have been offside if the ball had
       rebounded to him, but I'm sure he was not wrong in law standing
       in front of the ball, but I'll stand corrected on that one.
       Salford penalty incident at Crawley - I couldn't believe it
       wasn't given.
       Neil was neither the best nor the worst I've seen at Gresty Road
       this season, but I do think he contributed to an entertaining
       last game of the season. Yes, it would have been nice to at
       least get to the playoffs but in the end, it was never going to
       happen. Thank you for all your informed views and I look forward
       hopefully to resuming the discussions in three months time.
       #Post#: 105180--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Final League Match – Sat 2nd MAY 2026
   DIR By: Ryanellis
       Date: May 3, 2026, 6:11 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Acme Thunderer link ---
       >
       > [quote author=Ryanellis link=topic=7955.msg105130#msg105130
       date=1777742314]
       > Crewe Alexandra FC (First Team) v Cambridge United FC (First
       Team)
       > Football League 2
       > Referee: Hair, Neil
       > Assistant Referee: Archibald, Matt
       > Assistant Referee: Durnall, Steve
       > Fourth Official: Jackson, Aaron
       >
       > Wow, what an awful ending to the game. With, roughly, a minute
       to go fans near me were shouting out for stewards and then
       paramedics. A Crewe fan had gone into cardiac arrest. I’m only
       17, and this was the first time I’d saw CPR in action. It was a
       horrendous sight. An air ambulance has since landed on the
       pitch….
       > Hopefully positive news will follow.
       >
       > Onto the game and once again a very poor performance from
       Neil. He was too inconsistent in recognising offences. He gave
       Cambridge a penalty in the first half, personally this wasn’t a
       pen. I haven’t seen it back yet but it looked extremely soft and
       the Cambridge player made the most out of it. Crewe were
       dominating for the first 13 mins…. Until, surprise surprise, the
       Cambridge keeper went down!!! This needs to be sorted out for
       next season - immediately.
       >
       > I don’t think there’s much else to say - I wasn’t impressed by
       Cambridge at all considering we had 5/6 first team players
       missing. A 0-0 was a fair result, and I think both teams
       could’ve gone onto win it.
       >
       > Well done on Cambridge for their promotion. Bring on the Vale!
       (And a very interesting summer…. 👀)
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Totally agree on the cardiac arrest incident which took place in
       front of me as well. Thank goodness that the St John's Ambulance
       personnel were in close attendance and full marks to the chap
       who started off CPR until they arrived. I have heard rumours
       about the outcome but nothing more, so will leave it at that. A
       sad ending to the game and season, and I was thinking of what
       might have happened if the incident had taken place 5-10 minutes
       earlier, bearing in mind that the protocol seems to be for the
       players to leave the pitch and possible abandonment of the game.
       I suspect Neil and the mangament were made aware that there was
       a problem, hence no 4O board or announcement for added time, and
       they must have decided to keep the game going for the required 6
       minutes of added time to allow for the possibility of crucial
       goals being scored at Crewe and/or Crawley. If that is the case,
       I applaud what they did as well as sympathise with all those
       involved.
       So to the game and, for once Ryan, I'm going to disagree with
       you, in that I thought Neil had a good game and showed all his
       experience in keeping a lid on a game which was both tense and
       entertaining. When a Crewe player was dumped to the ground in
       the 1st 5 minutes without getting a yellow card, I wondered
       whether this was going to be a horror show, but it didn't turn
       out that way and Neil allowed tackles to be made without malice
       which I thought was good. Yellow cards were correct in my view
       and Neil seemed to maintain empathy with the players which I've
       not seen in every game I've attended at Crewe this season.
       Cambridge penalty - it looked soft but I watched the highlights
       last night and the decision was correct. Memo to Neil - unless
       my recall of the laws is not up to date, Neil was wrong to
       instruct a Cambridge player to stand behind the ball at the
       taking of the penalty (he was on the pitch and outside of the
       penalty area on Neil's side but in front of the ball and behind
       Neil). OK, the player would have been offside if the ball had
       rebounded to him, but I'm sure he was not wrong in law standing
       in front of the ball, but I'll stand corrected on that one.
       Salford penalty incident at Crawley - I couldn't believe it
       wasn't given.
       Neil was neither the best nor the worst I've seen at Gresty Road
       this season, but I do think he contributed to an entertaining
       last game of the season. Yes, it would have been nice to at
       least get to the playoffs but in the end, it was never going to
       happen. Thank you for all your informed views and I look forward
       hopefully to resuming the discussions in three months time.
       [/quote]
       We must sit right near each other then!!!!
       Yes it was a really weird situation that the FO didn’t put the
       board up. I wonder if that did have something to do with the
       medical emergency?
       Having looked at the highlights, a soft pen but I think it’s
       correct.
       That’s my 3rd full season completed on RTR. A massive thanks to
       Acme and Shav, fellow Crewe fans, who have all kept each other
       up to date with the refereeing at Crewe games. And of course to
       all the contributors on RTR.
       *****************************************************
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