Phil Dowd

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Phil Dowd
Phil Dowd

Phil Dowd is an English football referee in the FA Premier League. He is based in Stoke-on-Trent.

Phil joined The Football League's list of referees in 1997, aged 34. The 2005/06 Premiership season will be his 5th year refereeing the top flight of English football. His relatively late start as a referee seems to have prevented his nomination to FIFA's list of international referees.

Phil Dowd was the fourth official at the 2006 FA Cup Final at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Contents

[edit] Criticisms

Wigan boss Paul Jewell recently described Dowd as "incompetent", after Dowd's performance in Wigan's 1-1 draw at Blackburn on 3 April, where both sides had goals ruled out and Rovers scored a late equaliser.

Afterwards he called Dowd's decisions "nonsensical" and said his team had been "robbed" of three points. Jewell was annoyed that Arjan de Zeeuw had a first-half goal ruled out. He was angry that Dowd did not blow for a foul when Lucas Neill challenged keeper John Filan in the build-up to Shefki Kuqi's late equaliser.

This is not the first time this season Dowd has faced accusations of poor officiating. He has the highest cards-per-game rating of 4.70 this season (2005-06) in the top flight. Compare this with the FA's senior referee, Graham Poll's 3.81, still one of the higher statistics. However it would be unfair to base opinions entirely on these statistics as they do not take into account the nature of the games (many were local derbies in which strong refereeing decisions bring stability and order).

In the 2006-07 season, Dowd received scathing criticism for his performance in the Blackburn match against Tottenham at Ewood Park on November 19, 2006. After influential Turkish midfielder Tugay had put Rovers ahead with a spectacular volley in the first half, Dowd controversially awarded Tottenham a penalty in the 60th minute after Tugay was judged to have brought down Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly in the penalty area. Tugay was not only deemed the guilty party but, after Dowd consulted with his sideline referee, sent off for being the last man. Jermain Defoe slotted home the penalty, the game's equalizer, in the 62nd minute.

In the same game, in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Dowd made another heavily criticized decision. He showed Ghaly a straight red card for leading with his elbow in an aerial challenge on Blackburn defender Michael Gray. The resulting melee, which saw Dowd escorting Ghaly off the pitch with his left arm locked around Ghaly's right arm, enraged Tottenham boss Martin Jol, who knew his player would be automatically suspended for three games. Based on Dowd's reaction to his outburst, Jol thought he had been red-carded as well: he finished watching the game off the touchline but only a few feet into the tunnel that leads to the locker rooms. Later, Dowd clarified that he had not in fact sent Jol off but had merely issued him a warning.

[edit] Career Statistics

Season Games Yellows Y per game Reds R per game
1998/1999 32 125 3.91 3 0.09
1999/2000 33 85 2.58 4 0.12
2000/2001 33 120 3.64 10 0.30
2001/2002 29 109 3.76 13 0.45
2002/2003 38 130 3.42 8 0.21
2003/2004 28 104 3.71 6 0.21
2004/2005 36 115 3.19 7 0.19
2005/2006 46 183 3.98 8 0.17

[edit] Trivia

[edit] England Team Members Sent Off

  • Dowd issued 10 yellows and 2 reds in the derby match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield in March 2006. First, he gave Steven Gerrard his marching orders for a second bookable offence after booking him just moments earlier, and then Andy van der Meyde, just five minutes after he had come on.

[edit] See also

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