#5 Refereeing horror show mars a surprisingly foul-tempered outing
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An expected routine win for the home side given their run of form turned into something else entirely at the Theatre of Dreams and was punctuated by glaring refereeing mistakes.
Kevin Friend – the official for the game – failed to spot Zlatan pushing Tyrone Mings during the first half but his assistant caught it. Friend, however, did not deem it fit to punish the Swede for the offence but the latter’s inability to stop talking got him into the referee’s book for dissent.
Towards the closing stages of the first half, Mings came in the way of Rooney’s run into the penalty box, leading to both players ending up on the turf. An onrushing Zlatan also tumbled on the grass, courtesy of Rooney’s legs. What followed though was foolish from all parties concerned.
Rooney was up and about and in trying to stop him, Mings jumped over Zlatan but caught the latter behind the ear with his boot. A corner in the ensuing seconds saw the Swedish biggie jump high to get the ball, but also offer retribution to Mings by slyly elbowing him in the face.
Both offences should have been punished with straight reds but instead, it was Surman who was sent off for the far less deplorable offence of pushing Zlatan (it is a mystery how the big man fell to the ground, though, given his size and strength, but that is a discussion for another day).
What was even more laughable is that Friend brandished a yellow to Surman without remembering that it was his second booking. Surman – whose first yellow was certainly debatable – was finally shown off the pitch with a red only after about two minutes and several reminders from Rooney and co.
This wasn’t the end of Friend’s poor showing either. He failed to award United a free kick at the edge of the box after a foul and was also inconsistent by not booking Harry Arter a second time for a clumsy challenge.
Zlatan’s offence could face retrospective action for his elbow on Mings, though, and Bournemouth will be banking on the FA to restore a semblance of faith in decision-making.
