Meet The Ref - Latics v Chelsea - Martin Atkinson

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea on Saturday will be refereed by quite possibly the most biased top flight referee that there has ever been, the backside licking, free kick giving to the big boys, yep the incompetent Martin Atkinson, well that's three points to Chelsea then!

Atkinson is consistently bad and leans heavily to the supposedly 'big club' in all the games he officiates in, how this inept whistle blower has maintained his standing as a Premier League referee is totally bewildering, can you guess that I'm not that impressed with him?

To emphasise the point, last season Atkinson was in charge when the Latics travelled to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, the easily swayed bottler sent off two Latics players in a game that consisted of just 8 fouls being committed by both teams and no United players booked, even though Vidic scythed down Rodallega and N'Zogbia in the box and kicked Rodallega in the head! Still we shouldn't complain

The 40 year old whistle blower has been in fine form this season, he's been flashing the cards willy-nilly, the nineteen games he's been in charge of he's issued reds in eight!

In a recent interview Atkinson says the Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal game a couple of years back is the best he`s been involved in, hmm:

How did you get introduced into refereeing?

Started refereeing at the age of 16 due to the local team not having a referee to officiate games. I therefore took the FA Referees instruction course in order to make myself available. I was encouraged by a local referee who assisted me at the start of my career.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

There have been numerous highlights in my career to date including promotion onto the National List of Referees, promotion onto the Select Group of Referees. The highlights of my career so far are the appointment to the FIFA international list, refereeing the 2006 FA Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff and last seasons FA cup final at Wembley.

What is the best game you have officiated and why?

Best game involved in was the Liverpool v Arsenal re-arranged Carling Cup tie a couple of years back. I had to postpone the first game due to fog, then the re-arranged game produced nine goals in a 3-6 win for Arsenal. This was an end-to-end game of cup football and a pleasure to be involved in as a referee.

Martin Atkinson Card Watch 2011/12

Games - 19, yellows - 78, reds - 8

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea (5.30pm)
Referee: M Atkinson
Assistants: D Bryan, P Kirkup
Fourth Official: K Friend
Match Delegate: S Howey
PGMO: M Pike

















Latics and Proud



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