/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/2325657/113063085.0.jpg)
Neil Warnock has never been my favorite manager, but this morning he proved that he might need a handler when he's speaking to the media. The Telegraph had the following quote to attribute to Warnock:
"You know my relationship with referees but I have got to say I am disgusted with what’s gone on. I’m on Mark Clattenburg’s side. We ask referees to man-manage and that’s what he does. I’m sure he might have said a few things but are you telling me if Chelsea had won that game that there would have been one iota of a complaint?"
"He’s not had the best of games but the Torres one was the one decision he got slightly wrong. I think he has made a mistake but they are trying to kill him and I don’t agree with that at all."
Did I miss something here? I wasn't aware that Mr. Warnock was privy to the comments made by Mark Clattenburg in Sunday's match. Actually, I wasn't aware that he was even in the stadium at the time. Unless he has some inside information that we aren't being told about, I don't see how he can have any sort of educated opinion at all.
Here's the thing Neil, winning and losing Premier League games would probably impact whether or not Chelsea complained about the decisions made by the referee during the match. Implying that Chelsea as a club decided to levy allegations of racial abuse against a referee that made some questionable calls in a loss is absolutely idiotic. Maybe you should think next time before saying something so stupid about a matter you likely don't know anything about.
Ian Darke decided to chime in on the idiot train this morning as well. Darke is usually one of the commentators that I really enjoy listening to, but this tweet absolutely got my blood boiling this morning:
For once I tend to agree with Neil Warnock - would Chelsea be reporting Clattenberg if they had won? Very serious if true. But is it?
— Ian Darke (@IanDarkeESPN) October 30, 2012
Seriously, what on earth possess people to say such stupid things? Ask yourself Ian, if Chelsea had a player racially abused by a referee, should winning and losing matter at all when reaching a decision about how to handle it? Why would you even think that it does, unless your just looking to create a story out of nothing. If you really don't have the self control to think things through before you post them, maybe ESPN should be rethinking whether or not you can reasonably be expected to call a game live.
Too many idiots in the media are chiming in with opinions about what might have happened and how they'd deal with it. The simple fact is that at this point, nobody outside of the players and referee involved really know what happened. There are limitless possibilities about what might have happened, and neither of these gentleman has enough information to reach any sort of conclusions as to what did.
Facts will come out, that's why the matter is being investigated. Is it really that hard to stop acting like you know what's going on for long enough for the investigation to conclude? Until we know what really happened, Mark Clattenburg deserves the benefit of the doubt. Chelsea FC and the players involved should also receive that benefit. Don't speculate about what you don't know guys, focus on what you do. You'll look a lot less foolish that way.