Lee Mason (Hull City v Manchester City)

Hull City 0-2 Manchester City

Referee: Lee Mason

Assistant 1: Andy Halliday

Assistant 2: Adrian Holmes

4th Official: Anthony Taylor

TRR Assessor: Adam (Lancashire)
Date: 15/03/14
Venue: KC Stadium, Hull
Kick Off: 12:45
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Match Difficulty: Very Challenging

THE REFEREE

Foul Detection

GOOD

Comment...
The referee's foul detection was generally of a good standard. The referee was able to distinguish between fair and unfair challenges and was, on the whole, accurate in his interpretations. However, there was some controversy surrounding fouls not awarded during the course of the match. Prior to the challenge which saw Manchester City's #4 correctly dismissed, Manchester City had a strong appeal for a foul dismissed. Hull City also had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Manchester City's #25 clattered in to the back of Hull's #17 mid-air.

Positioning

GOOD

Comment...

The referee's positioning throughout the match was generally good. The referee adapted his positioning to gain a good view of key incidents and subsequently was able to 'sell' his decisions well to the players and crowd. There was, however, one occassion in the second half where the ball took a slight deflection off the referee, but this did not affect the course of the ball and the referee quickly moved a safe distance away from play.

Man Management

SATISFACTORY

Comment...

The referee's man management was satisfactory. The referee occasionally spoke to players, but this was mainly when they were contending a decision. The referee had several opportunities to speak to players who were perhaps becoming frustrated, but failed to do so. Notably, in the 68th minute, there was a heated exchange between Manchester City's #1 and Hull's #17, which resulted in a yellow card for the Man City player. The referee didn't  speak to the Hull player however, despite being involved in the confrontation.

Card Issuing

SATISFACTORY

Comment...
The referee's card issuing was satisfactory. The red card shown to Manchester City's #4 was the correct decision, however, the referee failed to show Hull's #27 a red card for a very dangerous, potentially leg breaking tackle on Manchester City's #21, and instead brandished just a yellow card. The referee also missed a clear dive by Hull City's #17, which should have resulted in a yellow card. The yellow cards shown to Man City's #1 and #5, and Hull City's #2, were fully justified.

Fitness

GOOD

Comment...
The referee's fitness was of a good standard. He was fully able to keep up with play throughout the 90 minutes.

THE ASSISTANT REFEREES

Assistant 1 - EXCELLENT [9.2]
Assistant 2 - EXCELLENT [9.4]

Comment...
The assistant referee's both put in an impressive performance in a match where there were several offside decisions to make. The assistants were also fully able to assist the referee in identifying fouls and restart of play.

OVERALL

SATISFACTORY

SCORE

7.9/10