Premier League defends appointment of referee Andre Marriner for Baggies matchBirmingham-based official was drafted in to take charge of the Stamford Bridge game as a late replacement for Lee Probert
Premier League bosses have defended their decision to appoint Andre Marriner as referee for Albion's game against Chelsea - despite him being from the West Midlands.
The Birmingham-based official was drafted in to take charge of the Stamford Bridge game as a late replacement for Lee Probert, who suffered a knee injury last week.
Marriner's performance was marred by his decision to award a highly controversial penalty to Chelsea late on when Steven Reid was deemed to have fouled Ramires.
Eden Hazard scored from the spot. The decision caused uproar among Albion players, staff and fans.
There were further eyebrows raised among supporters when it emerged that Marriner has previously stated an affinity for Villa.
There has been absolutely no suggestion from any Albion staff member or player that anything was remiss about his performance, other than his decision to award the late penalty which drew condemnation in the post-match interviews.
However, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), who are responsible for the appointment of referees to Premier League games, have issued a statement to clear up the situation over their decision.
They are satisfied that any allegiance to Villa only stems back to Marriner's childhood and does not interfere with his current status.
They also state that the 42-year-old, last season's FA Cup Final referee, has previously taken charge of an Albion game, having officiated at the fixture at West Ham last season.
I also understand they do not regard Albion's rivalry with Villa to be as intense, or as sensitive, as other potential derbies within the Premier League.Furthermore there are many precedents of referees taking charge of games within their locality - Cheshire based Mike Jones presided over Liverpool's game with Fulham at the weekend, while Manchester official Anthony Taylor has previously refereed games at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium.
A statement from a PGMOL spokesperson: "PGMOL has a rigorous integrity process and our officials work to a high professional standard.
"We have a thorough procedure for appointments, that takes into account personal affiliations and geographical factors. Andre has refereed West Bromwich Albion previously without issue."
The appointment of officials for last weekend - which are drawn up six weeks in advance - was muddied further by last week's withdrawal of Howard Webb, who suffered a calf injury. He was replaced for the Southampton versus Hull game by Phil Dowd.
The pool of available referees within the 18-man group of 'select' officials was dwindled further by certain officials being unavailable due to European commitments last week. As a further logistical issue, referees are also not permitted to take charge of the same club in back-to-back games.
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http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-bromwich-albion-premier-league-6290138try telling a Villa or Albion fan that the rivalry isn't intense....
Im sorry but who makes up this rubbish, I know the rivalry is split between Wolves and Villa but for someone like myself or a lot of older Albion fans this is the second city derby and one that spans back over a 100 years so too say its not as intense as other derbies is just garbage and a way for them too get out of a difficult situation regarding the appointment of this Villa fan Ref.....
im sorry but this whole situation now stinks and im now being told that the rivalry with our biggest rivals is not even an intense local derby....
Lost a lot of faith in English football over this saga.....