Do you believe that the FA is corrupt?

[Alex]

Chelsea have had 11 penalties and only 1 against. So your stat proves nothing. Man Utd have had 7 for a none against.

If anything it proves that they dont make stupid mistakes in the box.

[Shaggy]

We should've had one against them at Anfield then the ref gave one to them for **** all when Valencia just fell over

[Arn]

Chelsea have had 11 penalties and only 1 against. So your stat proves nothing. Man Utd have had 7 for a none against.

If anything it proves that they dont make stupid mistakes in the box.

What it proves is that if you have enough power then you can get away with almost anything.

That is corruption.

Do you think a club like Fulham would get away with the same things?

[Arn]

We should've had one against them at Anfield then the ref gave one to them for **** all when Valencia just fell over

Have I mentioned that the referee visited a charity dinner a few days before? I don't remember who organized that dinner........can you help me out please

[Darkon]

[BobTheCharmer]

Arnold, relax mate, you'll do yourself a mischief otherwise.

[Reece]

[Alex]

Liverpool are second in the average goals per game charts. Behind no other than......wait for it everyone.........wait..........Manchester United

We have 1.914 per game and they have 2.257. I rest my case....corruption.

[Neil Young]

There's a not very good article about refereeing bias in yesterday's Guardian drawing on a statistical analysis of several sports. Perhaps the original work is ok but the article is unconvincing, as it raises as many questions as it answers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/apr/28/referees-home-team-sean-ingle

[red g]

Chelsea have had 11 penalties and only 1 against. So your stat proves nothing. Man Utd have had 7 for a none against.

If anything it proves that they dont make stupid mistakes in the box.

i find that hard to believe when Jonny Evans plays so much

[baitman]

TIME FOR A BUMP, FOLLOWING SCUDAMORES DODGY QUOTES...

Well well well, Richard Scudamore comes out to say utd failing is bad for the premier league brand. Obviously with their worldwide appeal it will mean less interest if they are struggling, but should he come out and say this? It basically calls into scrunity the integrity of the game. If you have a massive brand and the biggest pulling point is doing **** you have a problem. To give utd a helping hand from time to time is in the leagues best interests. We've all suspected foul play at some stage but I really do believe the game is corrupt as ****. I don't think the premier league would allow utd to be **** for ten years. It would lose billions. I preferred it when the game was a sport.

well said, Bob.

[Leyton388]

Yeah I saw this morning what Scudamore had said and to be honest we shouldn't be surprised. Ever since the inception of the Premier League united have always been positioned as the poster boys of the league. It is in the leagues best interest and always has been to see their prized asset do well.

Over the years they have allowed Fergie and United to bully their way around and receive favourable treatment. IMO there is no greater example to this than when he FA allowed United to forfeit their place in the FA cup in 1999/2000 to go and play in the world club championships.

After the European ban for English clubs in 85 that lasted 5 years and 7 years for Liverpool the FA were desperate to move English football on from the dark days and united were in the right place at the right time as the emerging force in English football.

[Rigadon]

I've thought for a very long time that the FA, Premier League and Sky have acted in a way to protect Man Utd. Irrespective of how we feel about them, Utd are massive. Their global appeal ensures big money from advertisers, sponsorship and TV companies - to the Premier League and Sky (who, up to very recently, dominated TV rights to Premier League football). Utd, the Premier League and Sky had a mutual interest in Utd's success.

Fergie was also a master politician - he knew he needed the media and governing body/bodies on his side. He's a winner and a control freak - willing to use anything to gain an advantage over his opponents.

[Fosterbloke]

Francis Underwood of football. Cunt.

[Yozza]

And while we're at it... by M Samuel

Here is what hurts the Premier League. When the chief executive of the Premier League says that Manchester United’s poor form hurts the Premier League. That’s what hurts the Premier League.

He is usually a smart cookie, Richard Scudamore, so what was he thinking? There are enough conspiracy theories flying around as it is, without giving the impression that the man in charge is sitting in his office calculating ways to get Manchester United back in the mix.

In an interview with La Stampa on December 29, 2008, Michel Platini said that, as UEFA president, he would love to give the trophy to his old club Juventus. He described himself as a Juventino.

We expect little more from Platini; he’s not the brightest, but Scudamore must surely know the potential for harm in his words.

Referees, by definition, like and respect authority. In the days when the royal family and senior government ministers sat side by side in the royal box at the Bernabeu stadium, visiting teams thought it very hard to get decisions against Real Madrid.

Even if Scudamore does not carry the same cachet as a king, his words still have resonance, even sub-consciously. Referees now understand it is in some way good for business if Manchester United thrive. We will never know if that suppressed notion has surfaced the next time United get a soft penalty.

Even if the referees are immune to it, the fans are not. They already suspect that many of Manchester United’s 20 titles were part of an elaborate conspiracy involving Sir Alex Ferguson, Howard Webb and any official who ever gave a contentious decision at Old Trafford post-1991. To hear that the chief executive of the Premier League in part regrets Manchester United’s failing campaign is exactly what they have long presumed.

Not that Scudamore’s take is wrong. Manchester United are the biggest club brand in English football and as such operate as the flagship for the Premier League in the same way that Bayern Munich’s power and success promotes the Bundesliga. El Clasico in Spain would not carry the same prestige and worldwide resonance, and therefore not be of as much worth to La Liga, if Real Madrid and Barcelona were battling it out for seventh place.

Fine, we know this; just don’t say it if you are in a position of influence within the competition. And, if you do, don’t be surprised if the next time Chelsea have a tough away fixture kicking off at 12.45pm after an important tie in Europe, while Manchester United are at home to a relegation candidate on the Sunday, outlandish conspiracy theories fill the airwaves.

Didn’t the chief executive of the Premier League say it helped when Manchester United were successful? Yes he did. Incredibly, he did.