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How many times have you seen an EPL referee brandish a yellow card for a seemingly harmless offense? A lot of times for sure.
A little nudge in the back? Yellow card. Chucking the ball in the referee’s vicinity even though it is not going to hit him? Yellow card.
But fret not. For referee Lee Probert is here. And he likes nothing more than a good joke. In fact, he won’t even mind if you tackle him from behind. Because Lee Probert is a standout guy, and someone who the players love being around too.
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Don’t believe me? Have a look at these three separate incidents that prove that Lee Probert is a gem among referees, and someone who clearly loves a good but of fun.
a) Craig Bellamy pours water on referee
In the recent match between Cardiff City and Manchester City, during a break in play Craig Bellamy douses referee Lee Probert with the water bottle that he is drinking out of.
Normally, dousing the referee, even if he is on fire for some reason, will instantly get you a red card. No arguments, no discussions – straight to the dressing room.
Guess what Lee Probert does? He just laughs it off!
b) Probert gets tackled by Sidwell and Watson
In last season’s EPL match between Wigan and Fulham, Probert gets into a very tight spot and ends up being too close to the play. The result? Both Watson and Sidwell manage to knock him off his feet with a standard, crunching tackle-from-behind.
Probert rolls around on the ground, clearly reeling from a heavy blow. But inspite of this, he still has the presence of mind to jokingly show the red card to Sidwell. A classic referee-player moment if there ever was one!
c) Lee Probert sends Wenger off
In the dying moments of the 2-8 annihilation (sorry, Arsenal fans) at the hands of Manchester United last season, Lee Probert was the 4th official who noticed Wenger kicking a bottle of water. And much to Wenger’s frustration, Probert tells on him to referee Mike Dean and forces Wenger to stand in front of the home fans. Clearly, Lee Probert is a man who loves a good laugh.
Although in fairness, Probert did the right thing by telling on Wenger. What? Wenger could have ended the bottle’s career by kicking it so hard!
