Not the first time referees have cost us the game!

No matter what people say, I will not accept that Phil Dowd did not cost us the game on Saturday. The two phantom penalties and not sending Kevin Nolan off for the same stunt that got Diaby the red card shows very clearly that Phil Dowd is not a professional. I would say Mr Dowd has it in him to see any team but Arsenal win.

It is not the first time he has cost us points. The last time we gave up a 2 or more goal lead (it was against Spurs at the Emirates), guess who was in charge. None other than Tubby Dowd himself. The goal that lead to Spurs winner that day was a freekick which was given only because he wanted to give Spurs a chance of victory. If they have not scored I am sure he would have given them a penalty, like he did on Saturday.

Another one of his many tricks to see Arsenal lose points is to prolong the match, like when he decided to let game go on until Sunderland scored to grab a point at the stadium of light. Clearly time was over but Tubby chose not to blow the whistle just because we were leading.

There are a couple of excellent referees in the Premiership but with guys like Mason and Dowd, you would think that it could be better to get neutral referees from the continent so that we can actually get some fair play going on. It is difficult to see how the "Respect the Referee" campaign can be successful when the referee's do not respect the game enough to do a good and professional job.