From Mark Clattenburg to Martin Jola A Dark Week in the EPL

One week ago, I wrote an article regarding referee Mark Clattenburg and his “punishment” for poor officiating during the Everton-Liverpool game.

At the time, the article was correct in its premise: The FA had indicated that Clattenburg was to be punitively dropped for the next weekend's matches.

The BBC, ITV, and Sky Sports all followed up—as did one Bleacher Report analyst, after inquiring at Soho Square

Less than 12 hours later, the FA reversed course. Clattenburg, it turned out, would only be taking a well-deserved weekend break after a midweek UEFA Cup gig.

Eh?

The websites hastily rewrote their stories as fans clamored for accuracy. Fair or not, the general feeling was that the sportswriters—not the FA—were inept.

Sure, that's the problem.

Speaking of questionable officiating, oft-vilified Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher could be in hot water again: In each of his last two Premiership matches, he's hauled down an opponent in the box (Lescott of Everton followed by Adebayor of Arsenal).

The result?

No penalty.

The video replays left commentators in both matches speechless. Many observers fear the non-calls may be part of a growing and not-unsinister trend of referees looking the other way.

Is Carragher being singled out unfairly? Perhaps—insofar as Liverpool's matches are more high-profile, and therefore more readily available to analyse.

But if the doomsayers thought the officiating fiasco was bad for the game, they must have been even more galled by the scene at White Hart Lane.

Never have we witnessed such a horrific mishandling of a bad situation. That Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy sacked manager Martin Jol—the man who made Spurs  contenders again—before the club had even played a UEFA Cup match is deplorable.

Jol didn't leave White Hart Lane with the grace and applause he so richly deserved. Instead, he was stabbed in the back by a Chairman who doesn't know the meaning of the word “protocol.”

In the past, chairman were encouraged to be honest and open in hard times. Now it seems the only thing that talks is money—and salesmen.

It's a shame when a Premiership Chairman and his faithless chequebook take precedence over a man so dedicated to his club, his players, and his fans.