I KNOW HOW STROUD FEELS

KEITH STROUD is an excellent referee with a huge amount of experience who has dealt with massive pressure. And yet for some inexplicable reason he got wrong a basic law known to every local park referee. Wednesday night, sitting in the referees’ dressing room at St James’ Park, he will have been overwhelmed by sadness, incredulous that he could have made such an error. There would have been some very awkward moments between the four match officials. Some acute embarrassment and perhaps a little finger-pointing. After all, the chaps with the flags are assistant referees and are supposed to assist him. Clearly David Avent and Matthew McGrath did not. Neither, inexplicably, did Tony Harrington, the fourth official who should have interjected and corrected Stroud before play was restarted. The only good thing is that it had no effect on the outcome of the match, for which they will all be immensely grateful. As will the Football League, who would have faced calls to replay the match — FIFA did precisely that in 2005 when a team of Japanese officials made exactly the same error. Stroud, as leader of the group,g p will carry the burden of his team’s mistake into the future. The other three will retain their relative anonymity. They won’t be the people remembered for ‘that penalty at Newcastle’. Who were my assistants or the fourth official in Stuttgart on my fateful night of the three yellow cards for the Croatian player in the 2006 World Cup? I continue to be derided for my moment of madness and Stroud will have to take the stick for his. It will take him weeks, or even months, to come to terms with the fact that he could make such an error. However, he will know who his friends are as they support and encourage him and I wish him well. I know exactly how he feels.