Coleman's bogeyman referee back at Cottage
Fulham's worst FA Cup nightmare has occurred with the appointment
of referee Mark Halsey for Sunday's home tie with Tottenham after
manager Chris Coleman requested earlier this season the Lancashire
official should never be given another game at Craven
Cottage.
Coleman was seething back in September when a crucial decision by
Halsey went against Fulham while the home game with Chelsea was
goalless
Far more controversial was Halseys performance back in September,
2004 when he gave Fulham a penalty, only to take it away again
after being surrounded by Arsenal players demanding that he speak
to his assistant.
He also ruled out a Collins John goal, all before half-time, in a
game that Arsenal went on to win 3-0.
After the Chelsea match, Coleman said: "I will ask not to have Mark
Halsey because theres always a lot of controversy when he comes to
the Cottage. Ill ask and well probably have him in another six
weeks time!"
In fact the FA have waited a little longer, 21 weeks before making
such an insensitive appointment, especially in the light of Wigan
manager Paul Jewells verbal attack on referee Phil Dowd for
refusing a penalty at Arsenal that could have made it 2-0 for his
side.
The suggestion then was the smaller club got a raw deal and Fulham
will feel peeved as Tottenham, though not one of the Big Four, are
still regarded as the bigger club.
Ironically, Coleman has just admitted to a misconduct charge
against an official after the recent Premiership home game with
Tottenham, when he was angry over an assistant not giving offside
for a late Spurs equaliser.
Though the decision was later shown to be correct, Coleman still
insisted the official was not in a position to make the call.
Earlier this season, Coleman could not have been more critical of
Halsey who refused Fulham a penalty at 0-0 when Chelsea keeper Petr
Cech appeared to grab Michael Brown's foot as they went for a 50-50
ball.
Coleman then said: "I asked Mark about it and he said he had to
protect the keeper. I could not believe the decision."
Then Fulham claimed a Didier Drogba foul in the Chelsea penalty
area was ignored.
Coleman added: "Its not Chelseas fault its Mark Halsey's
fault. It's not the first time.
"When we played Arsenal he killed us. Hes a decent referee but
hes not decent when he comes to us. I had to calm the lads down in
the dressing-room as they werent very happy."
Coleman cares passionately about what he sees as injustices and
will feel particularly for his friend Jewell who now faces a
misconduct charge himself.
Halsey will now be under intolerable pressure if any decision
against Fulham is found to be incorrect.
