After a week when in England passengers who play loud music on public transport could be fined £100 for anti-social behaviour – other offences being suggested are having a topknot, a pony tail if you’re bald and wearing crocs/sliders with socks – Real Mallorca, after a disappointing start to the season, are now starting to click into gear. Tomorrow (Saturday, October 24) they’ll be in where they play struggling Leganes in their Butarque stadium at 4:15pm.
Leganes have lost their last four games and appointed a new coach during the week, when Luis Carrion took over. He was on the short list for the Mallorca job during the Summer. Mallorquinistas will be delighted to see Dani Rodriguez again as he now plays for Leganes after leaving Mallorca under unfortunate circumstances last season.
Winning matches requires quality and personality and Mallorca had both of these assets in spades last Saturday against Eibar. We delivered a display of ambition and dominated play, especially in the first half, creating chances and putting Eibar under pressure. A lack of clinical finishing (three shots cannoned off the woodwork) and some truly appalling refereeing decisions prevented a well-deserved win, instead we got a 1-1 draw.
Saturday’s game and result were overshadowed by a diabolical referee called Galech Apezteguia on the pitch, and his side-kick Pulido Santana in the VAR room. The role of the referee is to enforce the rules of the game with impartiality, maintain order on the pitch and make split-second decisions. They are central to the game’s integrity.
Their performances and decisions are constantly under the microscope. The introduction of technology such as VAR has been a help and a hindrance in equal measure. The use of it has changed the dynamics of decision making with referees now having to balance their instinctive calls with input from technology, often under intense scrutiny from players, coaches and fans.
Last Saturday’s draw left a bitter taste as the match took a turn for the worse due to decisions that should have warranted closer observation by VAR. The referee awarded Eibar a penalty, sending off John Donald after he received his second yellow card without even consulting the pitch-side screen.
With all the protestations from Mallorca players regarding the incident, the referee could have viewed the monitor and consulted the VAR assistant who has up to 10 screens plus two assistants. If that incident wasn’t enough, there was an even more diabolical penalty controversy later in the game.
Young Mallorca midfielder Guille Fernandez didn’t even make contact with the opposition player who went to take a shot on goal and completely missed the ball, ending up kicking Guille! I’ve watched the replay loads of times and it’s clearly NOT a penalty. Again there was no VAR consultation.
In August the technical committee of referees in Spain put out a missive saying referees had to drastically reduce the number of penalties awarded for incidental actions (minor contact) inside the penalty area – minor contact should not be penalised. So both penalties awarded to Eibar on Saturday shouldn’t have been allowed.
When I saw the referee’s surname – Apezteguia – I thought that looked like a Basque name. Turns out he came from Pamplona in Navarra, which is pretty close to Basque country, and is in fact only a one-hour drive from Eibar. Make of that what you will ! Then I dug deeper and found out that Sr Apezteguia has “previous.” At the start of last season Apezteguia was appointed a La Liga referee.
In February he caused a scene when he sent off a Sevilla player just 15 minutes into the game (again no VAR was consulted). He also issued a red card later in the game to the Sevilla coach, refusing to give any explanation why, and the incident dragged on for five minutes. The referee wasn’t suspended for his mistakes, he was simply relegated at the end of the season, and we got him last Saturday!
The reality of all this is that many of the Spanish referees are complete “numpties.” Hardly worth their eye-watering 300,000 euros per season (half of that in the second tier), which combines match fees, image rights and bonuses. During the last World Cup, out of the 104 games officiated, Spain had but one referee, Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (so good they named him twice !), and he only officiated a single match, Brazil/Haiti, in the preliminary stages.
I can never understand why men/women become referees in the first place. Almost every decision is disputed, every throw-in argued over, and the most blatant penalties are dismissed as dives. I used to watch Sunday local league football on the island and learned lots of swear words! These games didn’t have linesmen or referee’s assistants and the man with the whistle used to have to do all these jobs. Woe betide them if they made a mistake. The official’s parenthood, eyesight, age, and sexual orientation were all up for debate.
AND FINALLY, the teacher was telling her class about the Birds and the Bees. She explained to them what happens when a man and a woman meet and fall in love. “Then, children, nine months later, the Stork usually brings them a little baby from its very own soft, feathery nest !”
Little Johnny at the back of the class stuck his hand up and asked the teacher “Hey, Miss, are you sure about the Stork bit ? I think you’re getting your birds mixed up ’cos my big sister just had a little baby and she said she got it from a Shag in Scarborough !!”