The Premier League took a well-earned rest last weekend and we were treated to some FA Cup action. There weren’t many thrills or spills but some Premier League stars didn’t cover themselves in glory – whether that be players, managers or referees. The wallies this week come from Cardiff, Wigan and Liverpool so sit tight and bask in their misfortune.
3. Jurgen Klopp
Things don’t seem to be going Liverpool’s way at the moment; ever since that stunning victory over Manchester City a couple of weeks ago. Their win against Huddersfield on Tuesday night helps gloss over the fact that Klopp and his team failed to get past the FA Cup fourth round for the third year in a row. They went down 3-2 at the hands of the mighty West Brom and Alan Pardew as VAR gave the Reds a helping hand which they couldn’t take advantage of.
With the hosts trailing 2-1, West Brom had a third goal disallowed through VAR and then a penalty given against them with the use of the video replays. Roberto Firmino missed the spot-kick and Liverpool went on to lose the game. Jurgen Klopp vented his frustration, as many of us do, at BT Sport but this time it wasn’t about the quality of their punditry. He claimed that BT had had an influence on how much time was added on at the end – making the game shorter so they could talk about a classic cup shock. The goofy German seems to be feeling the heat.
2. Lee Mason and Co.
This isn’t the first time that this referee has made this shortlist and I doubt it’ll be the last. If ever you could personify incompetence then it’d look something like Lee Mason. Despite being on the Premier League officials list, Mason is often deployed as a fourth official than the actual referee and I can see why. He took charge of Cardiff vs Manchester City on Sunday and was involved in a couple of controversial decisions. On the advice of his assistant, he decided to disallow a perfectly good goal from Bernardo Silva when Leroy Sane was adjudged (somehow) to have been offside despite not being in the goalkeeper’s line of sight and being ONSIDE in the first place. Sane was involved in another baffling Mason decision when he was scythed down by Cardiff’s Joe Bennett, the defender connected with Sane’s ankle with his studs and completely wiped him out. As a result of the challenge, Sane had to go off at half time and it was revealed the day after that he’d damaged his ankle ligaments and would be on the sidelines for weeks. Lee Mason decided to give Bennett a yellow card for his awful challenge and that pretty much sums the referee up.
1. Arthur Masuaku
West Ham have been plagued by injuries recently and have a dozen players on the treatment table so the last thing David Moyes would have wanted was another absentee. His left winger had other ideas. With the Hammers 1-0 down away to League One Wigan in the FA Cup on Saturday, Masuaku thought it was a good idea to SPIT at Wigan’s Nick Powell and he was subsequently sent off. Masuaku had made himself a real fans’ favourite since the appointment of Moyes with his classy performances down the left-hand side but all that hard work was unravelled with one ‘despicable’ act – that was how his boss described the spit after the game. Moyes and West Ham went on to lose the game 2-0 and Masuaku was handed a six-game ban. I can’t imagine Masuaku is a particularly popular member of the dressing room at the moment – if he’s even allowed in.