Holy hell.
Leicester's improbable surge to the Premier League has been about unheralded men stepping out of the shadows of obscurity: Claudio Ranieri, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Wes Morgan, N'Golo Kanté. So many have emerged, it has been difficult to decide who to praise.
Today's ludicrous 2-2 draw with West Ham has seen another man leap from backstage anonymity to hog the limelight: referee Jon Moss. The Premier League hit the headlines this week when they removed Leicester-born arbiter Kevin Friend from Tottenham's game tomorrow night for fear of Friend being compromised by his roots.
Jon Moss took the whistle at the King Power this afternoon with the singular determination of a man desiring to make his mark on this Premier League season.
Such was the sheer swell of emotion and good sentiment behind the Leicester challenge, there has been a feeling that referees were affected by this also, with the Foxes benefitting from very kind decisions in recent weeks, most notably the failure to punish a Danny Simpson handball in the penalty area against Southampton.
Well, Moss was determined not to be open to such a charge and turned in a kind of one-man crusade against the concept of narrative. He only went and bloody well sent off Hollywood's Jamie Vardy for diving, which we have examined frame by frame here and decided that he made the correct decision.
With Leicester increasingly desperate in clinging on to the 1-0 advantage Vardy had bequeathed before quite literally falling upon his sword, Moss then gave West Ham a penalty for what seemed a soft challenge from a corner by Wes Morgan upon Winston Reid:
That was also a dive in my opinion. This time a penalty is given ... and West Ham are level
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) April 17, 2016
Morgan bear-hugged Reid. Carroll penalty. 1-1. Been far worse holding offences both ends. Moss inconsistent at best.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) April 17, 2016
Some high-profile observers were less than impressed by Moss' decision to punish Leicester once again:
Is that ref on drugs
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) April 17, 2016
Is this ref a spurs fan!?
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) April 17, 2016
I'm too biased to comment, I know, but the inconsistency of the refereeing is remarkable.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) April 17, 2016
Just minutes later, West Ham went ahead through a stunning Aaron Cresswell volley. And then, with Leicester tailing for the first time in months, Robert Huth was blatantly hauled down under a cross in the penalty area, yet the referee remained unmoved, as Moss gathered his emotions to resemble a kind of patrolling stone.
Ogbonna has arm round Huth's neck. No offence, apparently. Jon Moss is a really poor referee. So inconsistent.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) April 17, 2016
Sorry but this ref most be the worst ever.
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) April 17, 2016
And then, with the penultimate action of the game, Jeffrey Schlupp fell over following gentle contact with Andy Carroll, in a clash that, if punished, would yield an exceptionally soft penalty.
Cue soft penalty.
Generous.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) April 17, 2016
Was he waiting to even it up?
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) April 17, 2016
I don't think that's a penalty, to be honest but sod it! Great point.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) April 17, 2016
Extraordinary. Ulloa equalised with the final kick of the game, to leave Leicester eight points from the title, with the referee's performance the most notable aspect of another wild game:
Once spent a day with Jon Moss. He's a nice man and a very good head teacher. I'll leave it there
— Matt Dickinson (@DickinsonTimes) April 17, 2016
Moss (King Power 2016) goes into the top 3 worst refereeing displays I've covered along with Collina (Goodison 2005) & Ovrebo (Bridge 2009).
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) April 17, 2016
If it wasn't the #LCFC chairman's helicopter, I'd suggest this was the safest way for Jon Moss to leave the ground pic.twitter.com/Ruun3sxNJK
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) April 17, 2016
Moss ended up giving so many wrong decisions he ended up being right. It's an interesting twist on Beckett's advice: Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better.
