Howard Webb

[Spirit of Elm Park]

Thankfully only 11 bottlers on display.

Best ref...end of. Why do I think we'll get Marriner in the final though?

[Woodcote Royal]

All the decisions right? Come on Ian. Griffin hugging Chopra was a stone wall penalty. And the others - well you couldn't really argue if Webb had given them.

Just like referees could give a penalty at most corners if they followed the letter of the law but don't. On that basis Griff would have been very lucky to have been penalised for something defenders get away with time after time (but I do wish this practice was outlawed)

[Handsome Man]

:D

You can't really argue with that!

He was brilliant for us tonight.

[roadrunner]

:D

my uglier twin brother, 'biously.

[floyd__streete]

Oh for f*cks sake, do we have to put up with inferiority-complex bleating from the principalities now? Ours was a stonewall pen, their shouts were iffy at best.

The irony is - after the FAW cleared Cardiff of wrongdoing following Leigertwoodg8 - those armchairs amongst us got to see Bellamy suffer and squirm in the stands after he got away with a ban before

[Ian Royal]

could have given a pen for Legs challenge on Bothroyd/Chopra early on. Could have given a penalty for Griffin hugging Chopra, could have given a penalty for a handball as well I think. Got all decisions right, but all were close enough it would have been hard to criticise for giving it.

Could have ruled out Shane's first goal for handball - would have been extremely harsh, but he could have done.

Superb refereeing display.

All the decisions right? Come on Ian. Griffin hugging Chopra was a stone wall penalty. And the others - well you couldn't really argue if Webb had given them.

Wasn't a penalty in the slightest. He was giving him a hug, Chopra was enjoying it and not trying to break free. Not being impeeded, if Chopra had tried to break away and been held in place, then it was a penalty, albeit a soft one.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

could have given a penalty for a handball as well I think

Outside the area in any case, per the totally homer-iffic Sky/Sportinglife text commentary douchebag (to whom, a propos match offici8ing, I emailed @ HT the PA match reports from the two league matches with CCFC during the regular campaign recently concluded)

[Terminal Boardom]

What was most noticeable is that he spent the whole game talking to players as individuals, explaining decisions, telling them to calm down, advising them if they were coming close to overstepping the line etc. Clearly won the respect from the players for this approach and far better from the jumped up little fuhrers who refuse point blank to engage in dialogue with players.

I picked up on this in the pub. Treating players with respect is half the battle. What dissent was there during the game? None!

[Super_horns]

I picked up on this in the pub. Treating players with respect is half the battle. What dissent was there during the game? None!

Might be wrong but reckon there is more respect at our level anyway for the officials (apart from our own manager ranting at offcials all game!) compared to the Premiership players.

If that was Man U v Chelsea Webb would still need to be hiding in a corner away from a baying mob of players and SAF.

Do agree the officials can help themselves though by not letting players get away with the dissent or as suggested just having a quiet word in a controlled situation.

[Mr Angry]

The difference between how Mark Halsey reffed the game on Friday night, and how Howard Webb reffed it last night, was immense.

No fake injuries, no blatant time-wasting (even when Harte was getting those oh-so tacky paper clapper things thrown at him, Webb told him to get on with it!) and total control of the game. Let the game flow for both sides, and showed a cool and calm professionalism in what could have been a bear-pit.

[Rawlie19]

:D

Webb's black?

[weybridgewanderer]

Personally I got the impression that Webb was not going to award Cardiff anything as the FA / FL / Police etc wanted to avoid a Swansea v Cardiff final.

You need a bit of class and a bit of luck, last night I felt we got both.

[TheMaraudingDog]

I turned off after Longs handball leading to his first goal. Charged it down like a rugby player charges a kick up field down, arms first!

[Maguire]

Brilliant performance from the referee - amazing the difference it makes having a strong official.

I would actually have booked Hunt for his late tackle in the first half but the Cardiff penalty claims were pretty desperate. Chopra dived, the handball simply wasn't a handball, and the one I worried about the most (when someone got a nudge in the back at the far post) on the replays showed there was barely any contact.

Mills' penalty was absolutely blatant and completely correct.

[Handsome Man]

If I was a Cardiff fan, I would be fuming: for so many handball decisions all to go in our favour was unusual. He should have seen Federici's - a red card then might not have won the game for Cardiff, but it would have stopped us spending the rest of the game attacking.

[Maguire]

If I was a Cardiff fan, I would be fuming: for so many handball decisions all to go in our favour was unusual. He should have seen Federici's - a red card then might not have won the game for Cardiff, but it would have stopped us spending the rest of the game attacking.

Oh yeah, forgot about that one!

Definite handball

[loyalroyal4life]

Please can we have him for the final.

Best ref for us this season, faultless performance!

[Royal Rother]

So many refs seem to have a mental tally going during the game of tight decisions that have gone one way or the other and then, if the balance is in one side's favour, will give the next tight decision the other way, just to balance it up. And we've all got so bloody used to it. I can't think of another English ref who would not have succumbed to the pressure and given Cardiff a decision or 2 last night - Webb just treated every decision on merit which is exactly how it should be but very rarely is. Top man.

[Maguire]

So many refs seem to have a mental tally going during the game of tight decisions that have gone one way or the other and then, if the balance is in one side's favour, will give the next tight decision the other way, just to balance it up. And we've all got so bloody used to it. I can't think of another English ref who would not have succumbed to the pressure and given Cardiff a decision or 2 last night - Webb just treated every decision on merit which is exactly how it should be but very rarely is. Top man.

Spot on

[No Fixed Abode]

I turned off after Longs handball leading to his first goal. Charged it down like a rugby player charges a kick up field down, arms first!

Again, the handball could have been given. Yes Webb let the game flow better than Halsey, but he missed some critical decisions in favour of Reading.