Wolverhampton Wanderers sporting director Matt Hobbs was handed a one-game suspension for calling referee Anthony Taylor "absolutely f****** useless", the Football Association (FA) has confirmed.In a hearing earlier this month, it was alleged that Hobbs said the phrase towards Taylor after Wolves' 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at Molineux on October 28.Taylor alleged that Hobbs passed by him as he was leaving the field and remarked: "Absolutely f****** useless as usual."The referee then outlined to Hobbs that his attitude and behaviour were unacceptable to which he, and assistant referees Adam Nunn and Gary Beswick, allege Hobbs replied: "We look forward to your apology again."The game in question included a contentious VAR call where Hwang Hee-chan was adjudged to have fouled Newcastle defender Fabian Schar, with Callum Wilson scoring the resulting penalty. The FA charged Hobbs with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3.1 and issued a punishment of a one-match ban, which he has already served as well as issuing a £4,000 fine.Wolves have been the centre of VAR controversy on several occasions this season, with manager Gary O'Neil suggesting he had been "turned against VAR" after his side's 3-2 defeat to Fulham on Monday.Wolves are next in action against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
I can actually see it get to this point.
They are so intent on not letting the corrupt pricks get abused that its something they would do instead of actually doing their job
They have no intention of doing their job, everyone with eyes can see it. But don’t worry, we actually have proof.
There was a big investigation endorsed by Kick it Out and the FA into the referee observer system, the pipeline that gives us refs from the grassroots to the top and it concluded that they were incredibly racist.
One observer is alleged to have told one referee: “You lot can all run fast, but that’s all you are good for.” Another is claimed to have said: “If you want to progress, you need to cut your dreadlocks.” Another made an offensive comment about throwing a banana
the FA’s 14-strong referee committee overseeing the diversity initiatives has no black, Asian or mixed heritage members. It is headed by David Elleray, a former referee who was sanctioned by the FA in 2014 after allegedly making racist comments to another official.
during one diversity meeting, a senior FA official had suggested that additional black referees could be recruited from among people leaving prison.
The fall out from this? They’ve “suspended” a whopping THREE assessors in two years.
With just two non-white referees in the professional game, John Davies, a current member of the FA Refereeing team responsible for refereeing observations, allegedly stunned colleagues during a session on anti-discrimination by saying: “I didn’t see any issues with the slave trade” and using the word “coloured” repeatedly.
Davies will serve 12 weeks with eight suspended for 12 months. He is the third referees’ assessor to be found guilty of racist conduct after the FA suspended another, Mick Ewen, for four months for similarly offensive language last summer.
And in January this year, another observer, Frank Smith, was suspended for just 42 days, told to complete an online education programme and fined £35 after he too was found to have used racially offensive language.
These assessors were not sacked. These assessors were not removed. The system saw no change.
Huh, I’ve always felt the prem refs are almost all white bald blokes, and found it weird. I’ve wanted to say there must be some racism involved but didn’t want to jump to conclusions, and well, there you go… This is so sad.
It’s mindboggling the original news drop got almost no attention on /r/soccer.
This should be part of the discussion in every single conversation about referees but half the time it’s always deflecting to fixing abuse to fix the pipeline which nobody can do nothing about except moralise and handwringing.
If the crowd sings “The ref’s a jolly old wanker”, is the FA going to make the home team play without fans?
Well a “Fuck Paul Tierney” chant was already ringing around Anfield a few weeks ago… surprised more wasn’t made of it in the media tbh
I can actually see it get to this point.
They are so intent on not letting the corrupt pricks get abused that its something they would do instead of actually doing their job
They have no intention of doing their job, everyone with eyes can see it. But don’t worry, we actually have proof.
There was a big investigation endorsed by Kick it Out and the FA into the referee observer system, the pipeline that gives us refs from the grassroots to the top and it concluded that they were incredibly racist.
The fall out from this? They’ve “suspended” a whopping THREE assessors in two years.
Davies will serve 12 weeks with eight suspended for 12 months. He is the third referees’ assessor to be found guilty of racist conduct after the FA suspended another, Mick Ewen, for four months for similarly offensive language last summer.
These assessors were not sacked. These assessors were not removed. The system saw no change.
Huh, I’ve always felt the prem refs are almost all white bald blokes, and found it weird. I’ve wanted to say there must be some racism involved but didn’t want to jump to conclusions, and well, there you go… This is so sad.
Damn that’s interesting as fuck, thanks for sharing.
It’s mindboggling the original news drop got almost no attention on /r/soccer.
This should be part of the discussion in every single conversation about referees but half the time it’s always deflecting to fixing abuse to fix the pipeline which nobody can do nothing about except moralise and handwringing.
Honestly they’re so thin skinned if the crowd started chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” they’d probably have a mare over it.
Watching the game could constantly hear “Premier League, corrupt as fuck”, so I expect a 7 point deduction for Wolves.