Bad ref decisions - for and against - season 2025/26

[Lobworm]

If pulling hair is violent conduct, then it's a red, because he did it.
Grealish lost his head and made it easy for the ref. Totally unprofessional.

 

[BullensRoad]

Ban the nomark idiot from our games.

Check his hard drive too.

 

[Simo]

One of the poorest red card decisions i have seen in quite sometime. Violent conduct my ass. Get your hair cut or expect it to be grabbed. No common sense from the officials.

Exactly this

 

[NorthernBlue]

One of the poorest red card decisions i have seen in quite sometime. Violent conduct my ass. Get your hair cut or expect it to be grabbed. No common sense from the officials.

Quite blatantly went to grab the shirt it’s not anyone’s fault if a player has rubbish long hair. If that had happened to scabby Forest they would be demanding an enquiry.

 

[Somerset Blue]

I’m gobsmacked by that, all the pushing, shirt pulling that goes on in the box and yet a sending off in the middle of the park for touching hair ffs!

 

[terryefc]

7/4/26 Everton 1 Wolves 1

Finished with 9 men. Keane sent off for hair pull and Grealish giving sh@t to the ref.
Only this ref's 2nd ever PL game.
No complaints from me. Indiscipline again from both.

Match Officials​

Referee:Thomas Kirk
Video Assistant Referee:Chris Kavanagh
Assistant Referee 1:Adrian Holmes
Assistant Referee 2:Simon Long
Fourth Official:Simon Hooper
Assistant VAR Official:Craig Taylor

 

[BullensRoad]

If pulling hair is violent conduct, then it's a red, because he did it.
Grealish lost his head and made it easy for the ref. Totally unprofessional.

A clap about getting kicked about by other players is a yellow?

What do you want him to do stand up and salute?

There's a reason him and KDH are losing it as their previous teams never had these type of things against them.

 

[ToffeeTim]

The referee was terrible and the VAR was just as bad

 

[sladen90]

Could clapping a referee not be classed as subjective. Grealish might of genuinely been applauding what he felt was a good decision....don't get me wrong he was sarcastically clapping but surly it's subjective?

 

[bilyaletdinov_]

for everyone talking about this letter of the law stuff I’m fairly sure Hwang caught Armstrong about halfway up his calf and i’m sure the precedent had been changed to anything above ankle height was a red?

officiating in this country is the absolute lowest of low, i can’t believe the refs make it off of the pitch some weeks

 

[Number_25]

Why are they giving a child refereeing duties at Everton.

 

[steven]

Quite blatantly went to grab the shirt it’s not anyone’s fault if a player has rubbish long hair. If that had happened to scabby Forest they would be demanding an enquiry.

How some fans think it’s a red is beyond me. It feels like we have been fed a diet of dreadful decisions in football over the years that fans just accept it.

It’s so obvious he’s just trying to stay tight and grab his shirt, his hair gets in the way. Ref should just say act with common sense and have a word saying don’t do that again etc.

Just an awful decision.

The Grealish one is fair enough as well. Clear second yellow.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

It's amazing we have fans who believe football is officiated in the name of sporting integrity and bad decisions are no more than mistakes.

 

[Lobworm]

A clap about getting kicked about by other players is a yellow?

What do you want him to do stand up and salute?

There's a reason him and KDH are losing it as their previous teams never had these type of things against them.

No I want him to get up and get on with the game and earn the ridiculous levels of coin he gets paid.

I don't expect an experienced international footballer who has won pretty much everything at club level to sarcastically clap the ref whilst he's on a yellow, and we're already down to ten men.

 

[Jacko93]

The ref was having a decent game until VAR got involved. His entire game was shot from that moment forward.

Every player should now either grow their hair, or every player should wear a hair net. Or, if a player grabs an opposition players shirt at the point that hair may be reasonably expected to be grown, then it's a red for violent conduct.