Referee Mike Riley will not be in charge of a Barclays Premier League fixture this weekend.
Posted on March 27, 2008 Filed Under Headlines
Referee Riley not playing this weekend after failing to send off Ashley Cole at Spurs
The West Yorkshire official appears to have paid the price for the controversial part he played in Chelsea’s fiery 4-4 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Riley came under heavy fire for failing to send off Chelsea’s Ashley Cole against Spurs and for not reporting Cole and team-mates for harassing him following the left back’s horror tackle on Spurs defender Alan Hutton.
Instead of being on top-flight duty, the referee has been handed the Coca-Cola Championship fixture between Charlton and Wolves on Saturday and Nottingham Forest’s visit to Carlisle - in League One - three days later.
Refs chief Keith Hackett will doubtless claim those fixtures to be big matches but there’s no escaping the fact that Riley is being punished. His demotion seems to be a sign of the Premier League’s dissatisfaction of Riley and he looks likely to be kept away from key games for the rest of the season.
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