Refwatch: Portsmouth

[Far Canal]

Reading v Portsmouth Saturday, 02 April 2011 15:00

Referee Kevin Friend

Assistant 1 Simon Beck
Assistant 2 Paul Thompson
4th Official Danny McDermid



39 year old Kevin Friend started refereeing at the age of 13 in his home county of Leicestershire.
He was promoted to the Premier League for season 2009/ /2010 for which his regualr employer, the Royal Mail, gave him a three year career break.
His first Premier League fixture was on 20 September 2009, a 2-1 victory for Wolverhampton Wanderers over Fulham.

Kevin upset Sunderland boss Steve Bruce (who hasn't?) a couple of weeks ago, when he initially awarded a free kick to Liverpool outside the Sunderland box, but awarded a penalty when advised by his assistant.
TV replays showed his original decision to be the correct one.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... anger.html

Mr Friend scores an average of 2.5 stars on rate your ref

http://rateyourref.co.uk/referee/Kevin-Friend

Career Stats:

Season........Games......Yellow cards......Red cards
2010/11.........27...............87................5
2009/10.........34..............133................7
2008/09.........46..............124................6
2007/08.........41..............100...............11
2006/07.........34...............87................6
2005/06.........21...............45................2

Averages for last three seasons: Yellow Cards: 3.21 per game; Red Cards: 0.17 per game

Reading FC record

Championship Su 26 Dec 2010 Reading 4 - 1 Bristol C
bookings:
Reading: Armstrong.
Bristol City: Caulker, Elliott, Rose, Skuse, Stewart
Championship Sa 24Apr 2010 Watford 3 - 0 Reading
bookings:
Reading: Griffin , Khizanishvili
Watford: Eustace , Graham , Martin Taylor
Championship Tu 08 Dec 2009 Reading 2 - 4 C Palace
bookings
Reading: -
Crystal Palace: Butterfield, Clyne, Moses.
Championship Fr 10 Apr 2009 Reading 0 - 1 Sheff Utd
bookings:
Reading: Armstrong, Duberry.
Sheff Utd: Howard.
Championship Sa 04 Oct 2008 Reading 3 - 1 Burnley
bookings:
Reading: Armstrong.
Burnley: Paterson, Caldwell, Jordan. Sent Off: Jordan (90 mins).
Carling Cup Tu 28 Aug 2007 Swansea 0 - 1 Reading
bookings:
Reading: Sodje, Halls, Cisse, Fae. Sent Off: Sodje (58 mins).
Swansea: Monk.
Championship Tu 09Aug 2005 Brighton 0 - 2 Reading
bookings:
Reading: Sidwell, Kitson, Oster.
Brighton: Reid.

[SpaceCruiser]

Really unsure whether he's friendly to Reading!

[fester_royal]

I don't often pay attention to refs but this is a man perminantly branded into my mind as woeful.. This plus our record against pompey doesn't look a good sign

[Elmer Park]

Never too sure if the Select Group/Premier League refs are really up for it when they get a Football League match.

Even though we won the match I haven't forgiven him for ignoring the blatant foul on Jobi in the build up to Bristol City's goal earlier this season. For those that don't hold grudges like me Jobi was pushed to the ground from behind as he ran infield and even the most biased of Bristol City fans wouldn't have argued with a free kick to us. However Mr Friend, who was well placed, chose to wave away the incident. Rant over.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

I thought Mr Friend handled the game well considering Pompey were intent on kicking us all the time.

Cotterill's post match interview stated Pompey got nothing from the ref. Learn to play the game fairly,don't kick teams of the park and surround the referee when a decision goes against you and you might get something, Steve.

[leicsRoyal]

The only way I could have rated him any higher yesterday would have been if he stuck his nut on Nugent! Probably the most over rated, whinging, whining, full of himself prat I have seen this season.

I am a bit old fashioned, I've no problem with any colour boots that compliment the kit but to wear bright orange ones you have to be a bit special!

[RoyalBlue]

The only way I could have rated him any higher yesterday would have been if he stuck his nut on Nugent! Probably the most over rated, whinging, whining, full of himself prat I have seen this season.

I am a bit old fashioned, I've no problem with any colour boots that compliment the kit but to wear bright orange ones you have to be a bit special!

And the reason I don't rate Mr Friend highly for yesterday's performance was his abject failure to book the aforementioned whinging, whining prat for persistent dissent and one blatent display when he deliberately booted the ball high into the stand when he objected to be pulled up for being offside.

[Svlad Cjelli]

All in all a pretty poor display yesterday - we all know that the penalty was outside the box. But those are the rubs you get or don't get and I'm not judging him just on that. I thought his control of the game was pretty poor, I thought - there was so much petulance that he virtually ignored (Halford raging at the lino and Nugent kicking the ball high into the away stand are two that spring to mind) and to me he never seemed to have control of the game and it was always just on the edge of boiing over.

PS LOL at all the Reading supporters around me screaming blue murder for a "backpass" when as clear as day the Pompey defender played the ball back to Ashdown with his knee.

[Far Canal]

PS LOL at all the Reading supporters around me screaming blue murder for a "backpass" when as clear as day the Pompey defender played the ball back to Ashdown with his knee.

.....and I was one of them.
Firstly because I didn't know it came off his knee and secondly because I didn't know that "kneeing" the ball was allowed.
I do now because I looked it up:

In 1992, it was ruled that if a player deliberately kicked the ball with his feet for his goalkeeper and the latter touched it with his hands or arms, there would bean indirect free-kick against him. Heading the ball, playing it with the knee, thigh or chest were all still permitted, as it was felt that such situations, deprived of the accuracy of a pass with feet, might create a chance of the opposing forwards stealing a wayward back pass to their advantage.

http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=72050.html

Now be honest Dirk, did you really know this or did you have to check it out with Mr Google as I did?

[Svlad Cjelli]

PS LOL at all the Reading supporters around me screaming blue murder for a "backpass" when as clear as day the Pompey defender played the ball back to Ashdown with his knee.

.....and I was one of them.
Firstly because I didn't know it came off his knee and secondly because I didn't know that "kneeing" the ball was allowed.
I do now because I looked it up:

In 1992, it was ruled that if a player deliberately kicked the ball with his feet for his goalkeeper and the latter touched it with his hands or arms, there would bean indirect free-kick against him. Heading the ball, playing it with the knee, thigh or chest were all still permitted, as it was felt that such situations, deprived of the accuracy of a pass with feet, might create a chance of the opposing forwards stealing a wayward back pass to their advantage.

http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=72050.html

Now be honest Dirk, did you really know this or did you have to check it out with Mr Google as I did?

I absolutely knew that the key words in the law were "deliberately kicked."

[Avon Royal]

The only way I could have rated him any higher yesterday would have been if he stuck his nut on Nugent! Probably the most over rated, whinging, whining, full of himself prat I have seen this season.

I am a bit old fashioned, I've no problem with any colour boots that compliment the kit but to wear bright orange ones you have to be a bit special!

And the reason I don't rate Mr Friend highly for yesterday's performance was his abject failure to book the aforementioned whinging, whining prat for persistent dissent and one blatent display when he deliberately booted the ball high into the stand when he objected to be pulled up for being offside.

Agreed - that was shocking, no reason at all for not booking him.

[Far Canal]

I absolutely knew that the key words in the law were "deliberately kicked."

I also knew that, but I thought you could kick with parts of the leg (knee and above) as well as the feet , which is why I had to look at the FIFA explanation I pasted above.

[If you still hate Futcher]

Isn't there also something about "manufacturing" a back pass, i.e. you can't flick the ball up yourself and then knock it back to the keeper with your knee/thigh/head etc.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Isn't there also something about "manufacturing" a back pass, i.e. you can't flick the ball up yourself and then knock it back to the keeper with your knee/thigh/head etc.

Yes, but I think that's covered more under "ungentlemanly conduct" - or whatever the PC equivalent is now - than under this specific law.

[Cookie]

Two-Nill to the refereeee. Two-Nill to the refereee.