Monday 3 April 2017 16:44, UK
Following another round of Premier League fixtures, Ref Watch returns to debate a number of the weekend's controversial talking points.
Former top-flight official Dermot Gallagher has been in the Sky Sports News HQ studio to give his view on a number of incidents from the latest round of Premier League games.
Late tackles, penalties that weren't and player confrontations all feature in this week's edition....
INCIDENT: Nacho Monreal appears to handle the ball but Manchester City are not awarded a penalty.
SCENARIO: Deep into injury time - with the score at 2-2 - Jesus Navas' cross deflected off Monreal and appeared to hit the arm of the Arsenal defender. Andre Marriner opted not to give Manchester City a penalty at the Emirates.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: I'm struggling to make up my mind, because I'm not sure if the forward doesn't actually kick his arm onto the ball.
It appears that Navas kicks his arm, which forces the arm up. The referee could easily have given a free-kick to Arsenal, which would have negated the appeal. So I wasn't convinced to be honest.
INCIDENT: Navas goes in late on Monreal.
SCENARIO: Navas and Monreal battle for a loose ball in the early stages of the game. The City winger's studs meet the Arsenal defenders shin after Monreal gets to the ball first but Marriner opts to show Navas just a yellow card.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: We've seen a lot of these challenges in the last couple of weeks. I think it's a yellow card, he has overstretched and hasn't gone from distance with speed and intensity. It's reckless rather than seriously endangering the safety of his opponent.
INCIDENT: Ross Barkley catches Dejan Lovren
SCENARIO: Having escaped a yellow for a challenge on Emre Can after six minutes, Barkley then goes in late on defender Lovren, catching the defender's shin with his studs. Barkley is shown a yellow card, which could easily have been his second of the game.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Red card for Barkley
DERMOT SAYS: You can only judge it on what you see. People will tell me different, but I think that's a red card. It's a dangerous tackle and Lovren was lucky not to have broken his leg.
In the referee's defence, it's a difficult tackle to spot in the natural game because it happens so quickly. I know Lovren was injured, but when you see a player react like that - the way he went down - it didn't look as if he fell naturally and had been hurt. I know he was, and I accept that, but I wonder if that played in the referee's mindset.
INCIDENT: Ashley Williams slides into Can
SCENARIO: Williams is shown a yellow card after he slides into Can. The Everton defender touches the ball with his left foot but the right foot ends up catching Can on the knee.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: Yellow card. He has gone low and won the ball, but that doesn't negate the foul. People say it's a red card because it's studs on the knee, but in actual fact it wasn't a terrible tackle.
INCIDENT: Peter Crouch bundles Shinji Okazaki over
SCENARIO: Crouch goes in to tackle Okazaki with his right leg and then catches then knocks the Leicester over due to the follow-through from his left leg. Crouch is shown a yellow card for the challenge.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: I'm starting to sound like a broken record. This is another late challenge. For me it's a yellow and not a good challenge. The referee's perfect position means he has got this one right.
INCIDENT: Coming together between Marouane Fellaini and Claudio Yacob
SCENARIO: Fellaini and Yacob square up to one another and the Man United midfielder motions his head towards the Argentine. The pair continue to stare each other down until Jesse Lingard comes in to diffuse the situation. Neither player is punished.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision, praise for Lingard
DERMOT SAYS: Sometimes you need players to help you and Lingard did brilliantly here. They've adopted an aggressive attitude and Lingard's quick action has stopped this turning into a very serious action. The referee has got it right, and Lingard deserves praise for helping the referee.
INCIDENT: Chelsea appeal for handball turned down
SCENARIO: Pedro latches onto a corner and his shot appears to strike the arm of Andros Townsend as it deflects out for a corner. No penalty is given.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Penalty, but needed replays
DERMOT SAYS: I think it should have been a penalty but I don't know how the referee would have seen it. When I saw that at speed I had no idea it was a handball until I saw the second replay. The Chelsea players had a better view of it.
