Referee Dean got Tyne-Wear derby spot-on

The laws of the game do not state that the referee should take into account the time of an incident or that the game is a local derby.

They do however say that the game is refereed based on the opinion of the referee in the decisions he makes.

This is exactly what Mike Dean did. He applied the law perfectly for 90 minutes and whilst leaving the field of play.

Lee Cattermoles first minute lunge on Cheik Toite could have easily been a red card. But thankfully for the sake of the game referee Mike Dean gave Cattermole a stern talking to and rightly issued the yellow card.

The next 30 minutes saw five cards issued and a penalty correctly awarded for a blatant shirt pull by Mike Williamson.

However it would be a great help to the game if more referees were bold enough to give more penalties for blatant infringements inside the penalty area. Although admittedly not all of them are quite as obvious as today's.

Dean had no option but to show the red card to Stephane Sessegnon for swinging his arm although contact was quite minimal. The reaction from the Newcastle man was highly embarrassing and hopefully he will be quite disappointed when he sees a replay.

Mike Dean also awarded Newcastle a clear penalty for a foul on Shola Ameobi which will be one of the easiest decisions he makes this season.

The sending off of Lee Cattermole was also spot-on. He followed the officials almost the whole length of the pitch debating numerous decisions and I shall leave it to the lip-readers to work out what he said just before he was given the red card.

A strong and physical game which you would expect from the two teams, although along with their managers lost their heads at times. However referee Mike Dean kept his for the whole 90 minutes and produced a fantastic display and reminded many that there is still a very high standard of refereeing in the Premier League.

Even Match of the Day gave him 9.5/10!

Referee Stuart Attwell removed from Premier League refs list

Football referee Stuart Attwell has been demoted from the select group of Premier League Match Officials (PGMO) after four years which have been dogged by controversy. 


For many top flight clubs and managers in the Premier League this decision by Mike Riley, Professional Game Match Officials Limited general manager, has come just short of four years too late. 


Attwell became the youngest referee to officiate in England's top division, when aged 25, he overlooked the game at Ewood Park between Blackburn and Hull in 2008 after just one year on the national list. 


So why has he been demoted? 


The above game finished without incident, but this can not be said for many other games that Attwell has been in charge of. 


High profile errors. 
1. He incorrectly awarded the 'beach ball' goal between Liverpool and Sunderland in 2010. 
2. December of last year he sent off then Bolton defender Gary Cahill for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity, despite the foul taking place on the halfway line. This was overturned by the FA. 
3. He was accused of 'losing control' of a Derby/Nottingham Forest Derby in which he disallowed two Derby goals in the final stages, booked eight players, and sent off Nottingham Forests Lewis McGugan. 
4. He awarded Sunderland a free-kick inside their own half against Liverpool. A Sunderland defender knocked the ball back for his goalkeeper to take the kick, however Attwell ruled the play to be active, and allowed Torres to take the ball and score. 


And obviously he allowed the infamous ghost-goal at Reading back in 2008. 

I shall let you make your own minds up. 


Removing an official half way through the season could be deemed as harsh, however the high standards that the PGMO referees strive for in today's modern game, are not helped by such high-profile errors. 


Hopefully he will grasp the chance with both hands, gain the necessary experience, and should bounce back to become one of England's top officials as he was once tipped to be.