Abu Dhabi United Group (also known as Manchester City) vs Arsenal, September 22nd 2024, KO 16:30 (GMT)

[Niall_Quinn]

There is blatantly biased refereeing going on.

Michael Oliver is a cunt and Haaland is one ugly motherfucker.

Motherfucker? Fatherfucker I think. Have you seen the girly ponytail?

[Niall_Quinn]

Anyway, the old racial stereotypes can't be dismissed. Robbing Arabs right, we all know that. So shouldn't dwell on the fact we just got robbed by an Arab, its what they do. Shoud probably focus more on what a good performance the Arsenal team put up in that vile tented city. We've probably already lost too many points, thaks to direct ref decisions, to win, but we'll be there or there abouts and just have to keep doing the same until the gypos can't pay their bribes anymore. Always happens, scum come and go.

[Niall_Quinn]

Interesting because I actually reject conspiracy theories because I’m not an idealist. Conspiracy Theories are the refuge of those who believe that the ideal world they want is being prevented by the contrivance of others.

I also state that the most convincing conspiracies are cover ups in order to brush under the carpet the undesirable and the fuck up. But this is looking more and more brazen, like Pakistani bowlers throwing deliberate wides and no balls as part of a batting scam.
It’s nothing on a level that can’t be explained away because even if all was fair, you’d still have inconsistency because you’re dealing with human beings.

Michael Oliver needs to explain two things, a) why was Jeremy Doku not booked and b) why after 7 minutes of added time was it deemed necessary to add on further time.

It's not just Oliver who needs to explain. You kept hearing through the game - VAR check for this, VAR check for that. So there's more than one set of eyes on the proceedings. I know they have the rules carefully contrived so the primary cheat can't be over-ruled in all but the most ridiculous cases that would blow the scam and replace it with comedy (and even then, sometimes not), but the double standards simply can't be explained away. On one occasion maybe. But go back to that incident last year, Martinelli was it, getting sent off for fuck-all? It all seems a bit Vieira period like, when ONE player and one player alone was targeted by every ref. No, no, no pleaded the pundits, it was Vieira who was at fault, he was the one who had to learn to be a proper professional. Like Roy Keane.

Four absolutely vital points robbed in the first few games. That has virtually written out the final league table. Mission accomplished early doors.