In Praise of Alan Wiley

Having just watched the Manchester United-Liverpool game, it has to be said that Wiley did a fantastic job of refereeing the game. Considering the tensions, the profile, and the importance of the game, it was never going to be easy.

And true to form, it wasn't. There were tough decisions to be made. There were difficult calls, dubious penalties, potential sendings off, the simmering backstory of the 'Rafa Rant' which could hardly have not played on a referee's mind in this fixture.

Yet for me, he was man of the match. Usually that is cast as a negative, that the referee was man of the match; because it means usually that he gave all his decisions one way. This time, it wasn't. Every decision that mattered was correct. It is delighting that in a game packed with incident, the man in the middle barely got noticed, because he did excellently.

Now let's hope this isn't just a one-off!