League in U-turn over linesman appointment
FOOTBALL LEAGUE bosses have had to do a dramatic Uturn on the appointment of one of their officials for Cardiff City’s play-off crunch at Hillsborough after a WalesOnline story revealing he came from Sheffield.
Linesman James Bell has been stood down for the huge Hillsborough clash between Sheffield Wednesday and the Bluebirds and replaced instead by Ravel Cheosiaua from Worcestershire.
The change of official was made within hours of our online story citing the fact that original choice Bell is directly from the steel city itself.
Bell is viewed as one of the rising officials in the game and there is no questioning his integrity or impartiality.
However, the fact that a Sheffield resident was originally chosen for a key role in a match of such significance – Cardiff’s most important for two years – raised eyebrows amongst many Bluebirds fans.
Cardiff City were not saying anything officially about the matter yesterday. However, we understand they felt the appointment of Bell was inappropriate.
We also understand Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman con- tacted the league to raise the issue and was told the decision had been made to change Bell’s appointment.
His replacement Cheosiaua was initially put down to run the line in the less high-profile Nottingham Forest versus Wolves game this weekend. Instead, he and Bell swap matches.
Cheosiaua will be one of the assistants to match-day man in the middle Paul Tierney, who comes from Lancashire.
The other linesman is Paul Hodskinson, who is also affiliated to the Lancashire FA.
Original choice Bell was appointed to the Football League list last May and quickly received congratulatory messages from his local refereeing body, the Sheffield Referees Association.
At the start of the year, the sheffieldfa.com website featured a photo of Bell and congratulated him as a recruit of the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA.
Former top official Keith Hackett, who also comes from Sheffield, then tweeted: “I offer my sincere congratulations to James Bell.”
While Bell is in his first season as a league match official, and has only run the line in one Championship fixture, Cheosiaua has more experience at this level.
He has been assistant referee for a number of Championship games, including Cardiff’s 2-0 home win over Wolves back in August when Kenwyne Jones and Sammy Ameobi scored.
The following weekend, Cheosiaua ran the line for Sheffield Wednesday’s game against Middlesbrough which the Owls lost 3-1.
Cardiff manager Russell Slade says the fixture is like a cup final for his players. The Bluebirds have to win to take the top six race down to the final weekend.
A spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials Board, who make the appointments, said: “A software error led to James Bell being incorrectly appointed to Sheffield Wednesday’s match with Cardiff City, as he is normally prohibited from officiating at matches involving either of the two Sheffield clubs.
“The error has been rectified and James will not be involved in this match.”