Rob Styles
Encyclopedia
Robert Styles is an English
football
Referee from Waterlooville
, Hampshire
, who officiates in the FA Premier League
, and for FIFA
. He has now retired.
and then the Isthmian League
before being appointed to the National List of referees in 1996. The year 2000 was a busy one for Styles. He handled a Football League First Division
play-off
semi-final, and a Second Division
play-off semi-final, plus the Second Division play-off final itself, between Wigan Athletic
and Gillingham
at Wembley, which ended 2–3 after extra time. He was also fourth official for both the Football League Trophy
final of that year between Stoke City
and Bristol City
, and the 2000 FA Trophy
Final, when Kingstonian
beat Kettering Town
3–2.
His promotion to the Premier League list also happened in the year 2000, and his first match in the top group was the 1–0 win by Leicester City
at West Ham United
on August 23, 2000, Darren Eadie
scoring the goal. He became a FIFA referee in 2002.
He was referee for the 2003 FA Youth Cup
Final when Manchester United
beat Middlesbrough 3–1. However, his highest honour was his selection as referee for the 2005 FA Cup Final
at the Millennium Stadium
, Cardiff
, between Arsenal
and Manchester United
, which the Gunners won 5–4 on penalties
after a 0–0 draw following extra time.
was quoted as saying that the decision was 'unbelievable'. "That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty" said Benítez after the 1–1 draw. All sports pundits on the live broadcast and later highlights shows agreed that it was not a penalty.
Proceedings took a bizarre turn when later in the same game, Michael Essien
was seemingly booked twice but not sent from the field of play. Styles showed John Terry
a yellow card and then, a minute or so later after having clearly putting the card away and walking several yards to talk to Essien (who was booked earlier in the game) and Fernando Torres
, lifted another yellow card in Essien's direction, although whilst looking towards Terry. However, it was subsequently confirmed by the fourth official, Phil Dowd
, that Styles had only booked Terry and not Essien. It was the putting away and re-showing of the card that confused spectators and commentators, as it meant that two separate yellow cards had been shown during the incident, when Styles only meant to show one.
As a result of his decision to award the penalty, and the confusion regarding the yellow cards, it was announced on August 20, 2007 by Keith Hackett
, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), that Styles would be "dropped" for one round of matches. He also sent an apology to the Liverpool manager. This was confirmed in a press statement on the same day, when Hackett said: "Having looked at a video and seen a better angle and a better view, clearly he (Styles) now recognises that he got it wrong and he's deeply apologetic for that. I think, in fact, he too will be making contact with Liverpool in order to offer his apologies."
a penalty 13 minutes from time during the Premier League game at St Andrews
on March 29, 2008, Styles caused many observers in the media to question whether the away side's Sun Jihai
had actually fouled home striker Gary McSheffrey
in the penalty area, or merely been punished for a legitimate shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, which would ordinarily have brought no sanction whatsoever.
The Manchester club's boss, Sven-Goran Eriksson
said: "We were not helped by the referee. The decision in awarding a penalty against us was, well, wrong."
Even though Birmingham had earlier been reduced to ten men through Franck Queudrue
's dismissal for the first penalty, Manchester City went on to lose 3–1.
with scores at nil all, giving United the lead at Old Trafford
in a Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers
. Jlloyd Samuel
made a clean challenge on the ball where Cristiano Ronaldo
went down under impact of the ball and challenge. None of the Manchester United players appeared to even appeal for a penalty, yet Styles pointed to the spot. TV replays clearly show a legal challenge by the Bolton defender. Ronaldo went onto dispatch the penalty and United won the game 2-0. Gary Megson
described the decision as a "Cataclysmic Cock-up". Styles would later apologise to Bolton for his mistake, but was left to continue officiating the next round of games by the Premier League.
with scores at nil all, giving City the lead at St. James' Park in a Premier League match against Newcastle United
. Habib Beye
was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Robinho
, though TV replays suggest that it was a legal challenge by the Newcastle defender, as Beye touched the ball before making contact with Robinho. Robinho went on to dispatch the penalty and the match finished 2-2. The red card was subsequently overturned, by an FA commission convened to rule on the situation, following an appeal from Newcastle United. Styles subsequently faced more criticism following the incident, leading to speculation that he was on the verge of quitting the profession.
who later went on to lose the game. In the following days the red card was overturned by the F.A.
Two days later he subsequently retired from refereeing and stated he will not referee again.
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Referee from Waterlooville
Waterlooville
Waterlooville is a town in Hampshire, England approximately 8 miles north of Portsmouth.The town has a population itself of about 10,000 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendworth, Cowplain, Lovedean, Clanfield, Catherington, Crookhorn, Denmead, Hambledon, Horndean and Widley. It forms part of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, who officiates in the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, and for FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
. He has now retired.
Career
Styles began refereeing in 1987, officiating in the Wessex LeagueWessex League
The Wessex League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system...
and then the Isthmian League
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...
before being appointed to the National List of referees in 1996. The year 2000 was a busy one for Styles. He handled a Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
play-off
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
semi-final, and a Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
play-off semi-final, plus the Second Division play-off final itself, between Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
and Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
at Wembley, which ended 2–3 after extra time. He was also fourth official for both the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
final of that year between Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
and Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
, and the 2000 FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
Final, when Kingstonian
Kingstonian F.C.
Kingstonian Football Club are an English, semi-professional football club that are playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2011–12 season. The club has played at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames since 1989, after leaving their traditional Richmond Road ground...
beat Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...
3–2.
His promotion to the Premier League list also happened in the year 2000, and his first match in the top group was the 1–0 win by Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
at West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on August 23, 2000, Darren Eadie
Darren Eadie
Darren Malcolm Eadie is a former professional footballer, who made his name as a pacey left-sided midfielder with Norwich City. He later played for Leicester City.-Norwich City:...
scoring the goal. He became a FIFA referee in 2002.
He was referee for the 2003 FA Youth Cup
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
Final when Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
beat Middlesbrough 3–1. However, his highest honour was his selection as referee for the 2005 FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 2005
The 2005 FA Cup Final was held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 21 May 2005 between Arsenal and Manchester United. In a tense but surprisingly one-sided encounter, Arsenal ran out winners after 120 goalless minutes despite being outplayed throughout the game, becoming the first club to win the...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, between Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, which the Gunners won 5–4 on penalties
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
after a 0–0 draw following extra time.
Liverpool v Chelsea, Premier League, 2007-08
On 19 August 2007 Styles refereed the Premier League game between Liverpool and Chelsea, where he wrongly awarded a penalty to Chelsea. Liverpool manager Rafael BenítezRafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
was quoted as saying that the decision was 'unbelievable'. "That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty" said Benítez after the 1–1 draw. All sports pundits on the live broadcast and later highlights shows agreed that it was not a penalty.
Proceedings took a bizarre turn when later in the same game, Michael Essien
Michael Essien
Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...
was seemingly booked twice but not sent from the field of play. Styles showed John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
a yellow card and then, a minute or so later after having clearly putting the card away and walking several yards to talk to Essien (who was booked earlier in the game) and Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....
, lifted another yellow card in Essien's direction, although whilst looking towards Terry. However, it was subsequently confirmed by the fourth official, Phil Dowd
Phil Dowd
Philip Dowd is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire....
, that Styles had only booked Terry and not Essien. It was the putting away and re-showing of the card that confused spectators and commentators, as it meant that two separate yellow cards had been shown during the incident, when Styles only meant to show one.
As a result of his decision to award the penalty, and the confusion regarding the yellow cards, it was announced on August 20, 2007 by Keith Hackett
Keith Hackett
Keith Stuart Hackett is an English former football referee, who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield, Yorkshire, area in 1960...
, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), that Styles would be "dropped" for one round of matches. He also sent an apology to the Liverpool manager. This was confirmed in a press statement on the same day, when Hackett said: "Having looked at a video and seen a better angle and a better view, clearly he (Styles) now recognises that he got it wrong and he's deeply apologetic for that. I think, in fact, he too will be making contact with Liverpool in order to offer his apologies."
Birmingham City v. Manchester City, Premier League, 2007-08
In awarding Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
a penalty 13 minutes from time during the Premier League game at St Andrews
St Andrews (stadium)
St Andrew's is an association football stadium in the Bordesley district of Birmingham, England. It has been the home ground of Birmingham City Football Club for more than a century....
on March 29, 2008, Styles caused many observers in the media to question whether the away side's Sun Jihai
Sun Jihai
Jihai Sun is a Chinese association football player. He is currently playing for Chinese side Inter Xi'an and for the China national football team as a defender or a midfielder....
had actually fouled home striker Gary McSheffrey
Gary McSheffrey
Gary McSheffrey is an English footballer who plays as a left winger. He is currently in his second spell with hometown team Coventry City in the Football League Championship....
in the penalty area, or merely been punished for a legitimate shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, which would ordinarily have brought no sanction whatsoever.
The Manchester club's boss, Sven-Goran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....
said: "We were not helped by the referee. The decision in awarding a penalty against us was, well, wrong."
Even though Birmingham had earlier been reduced to ten men through Franck Queudrue
Franck Queudrue
Franck Queudrue is a French footballer who plays as a left back for Lens. He began his career with Lens, for whom he played in Ligue 1, and went on to play in the Premier League for Middlesbrough, Fulham and Birmingham City, and in the Football League for Colchester United.-Lens:Queudrue began his...
's dismissal for the first penalty, Manchester City went on to lose 3–1.
Manchester United v. Bolton Wanderers, Premier League, 2008-09
On 27 September 2008, Rob Styles controversially awarded a penalty to Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
with scores at nil all, giving United the lead at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in a Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
. Jlloyd Samuel
Jlloyd Samuel
Jlloyd Samuel is a Trinidadian footballer who last played for Bolton Wanderers as a defender. He is a Trinidad and Tobago international.-Aston Villa:...
made a clean challenge on the ball where Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
went down under impact of the ball and challenge. None of the Manchester United players appeared to even appeal for a penalty, yet Styles pointed to the spot. TV replays clearly show a legal challenge by the Bolton defender. Ronaldo went onto dispatch the penalty and United won the game 2-0. Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
described the decision as a "Cataclysmic Cock-up". Styles would later apologise to Bolton for his mistake, but was left to continue officiating the next round of games by the Premier League.
Newcastle United v. Manchester City, Premier League, 2008-09
On 20 October 2008, Rob Styles controversially awarded a penalty to Manchester CityManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
with scores at nil all, giving City the lead at St. James' Park in a Premier League match against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
. Habib Beye
Habib Beye
Habib Beye is a French born Senegalese footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Aston Villa and for the Senegal national team...
was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Robinho
Robinho
Robson de Souza , more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club AC Milan...
, though TV replays suggest that it was a legal challenge by the Newcastle defender, as Beye touched the ball before making contact with Robinho. Robinho went on to dispatch the penalty and the match finished 2-2. The red card was subsequently overturned, by an FA commission convened to rule on the situation, following an appeal from Newcastle United. Styles subsequently faced more criticism following the incident, leading to speculation that he was on the verge of quitting the profession.
West Bromwich Albion v. Manchester United, Premier League, 2008-09
On 27 January 2009 Styles took charge of this game, and with the scores 1-0 he wrongly sent off Paul Robinson of WBAWest Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
who later went on to lose the game. In the following days the red card was overturned by the F.A.
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
Two days later he subsequently retired from refereeing and stated he will not referee again.
.
Career statistics
| Season | Games | Total | per game | Total | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/1998 | 35 | 151 | 4.31 | 16 | 0.45 |
| 1998/1999 | 40 | 213 | 5.32 | 17 | 0.42 |
| 1999/2000 | 40 | 96 | 2.40 | 10 | 0.25 |
| 2000/2001 | 31 | 98 | 3.16 | 12 | 0.38 |
| 2001/2002 | 28 | 108 | 3.85 | 8 | 0.28 |
| 2002/2003 | 35 | 119 | 3.40 | 13 | 0.37 |
| 2003/2004 | 37 | 123 | 3.32 | 16 | 0.43 |
| 2004/2005 | 41 | 124 | 3.02 | 9 | 0.21 |
| 2005/2006 | 45 | 148 | 3.28 | 5 | 0.11 |
| 2006/2007 | 44 | 143 | 3.25 | 10 | 0.22 |
| 2007/2008 | 34 | 117 | 3.44 | 15 | 0.44 |
| 2008/2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
External links
- Rob Styles Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com
- Rob Styles 2005 FA Cup Final interview at the Football AssociationThe Football AssociationThe Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
- Retrospective feature on his 2005 FA Cup Final performance, by Guardian UnlimitedGuardian Unlimitedguardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
online