The non-fallout: Referee apologizes, linesman washes his hands clean, Mourinho not charged

When I first came to America almost 20 years ago now, one of things that really struck me as weird was how often people apologized for things.  Sorry this, sorry that, even about the most minor of incidents.  Very polite, we could say, but also a bit cheap.  Once you say sorry for breathing the same air as someone else, or say sorry for something that happens that's completely out of your control, saying sorry loses meaning in bigger, more serious situations when you might have actually done something for which you truly do need to apologize.  Not that an apology is going to replace that broken, one-of-a-kind family heirloom handed down from generation to generation, or guarantee true remorse and improvement in actions and behavior, but at least your emotions will be soothed a bit.  Of course, the biggest cheapening of the sorry is that stereotypical teenage version, said without even a hint of a thought or remorse as if the utterance of that one word, like a magic spell, automatically wipes away all your wrongs and mistakes and disrespect of others.

Or something.  It could just be that I'm a cold-hearted robot and I'm not sorry for your impending subjugation by the Metal Overmind.

In any case, here's a sorry you can take to the bank.  I should warn you though, at the bank, you will not receive two additional points for it, nor will they take away one (unappealable) yellow card from Cesc Fàbregas.  But, unlike Manchester City and Burnley's offside goal, at least you got to go to the bank!  Woo, the bank!  So money.

Blunder referee Anthony Taylor apologised to Jose Mourinho for failing to award a penalty when Cesc Fabregas was tripped at Southampton on Sunday.

It has emerged that Taylor, who instead booked Fabregas for diving in the 1-1 draw, said sorry to the Chelsea boss before both had left St Mary's.

-source: Mail

"Blunder referee..."  Isn't that redundant?

And here's World Cup final assistant referee Darren Cann washing his hands clean of the entire situation:

Mirror Sport can reveal that assistant Darren Cann tried to warn Taylor that it was a penalty rather than a dive.  Taylor is understood to have shouted down the officials' headset: "Not a pen, not a pen, simulation."  But Cann shouted: "It is definitely not simulation."

-source: Mirror

Mirror Sport had no revelations about the mysterious 18.5-second gap in the headset tapes.

Lastly, here's a throwaway line from the Press Association, which claims that Mourinho will not be charged for his post-match comments.  Considering that the FA have already handed down punishment for a Sunday incident (Papiss Cissé's elbow), maybe Jose has truly escaped any repercussions this time.