Steve Bennett (referee)

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Steve Bennett
Full name Stephen Graham Bennett

Stephen Graham Bennett (born 17 January 1961 in Farnborough, Kent[1]) is an English football referee who operates in the Premier League, and previously for FIFA as an assistant referee and then referee. Steve is married to the daughter of Sir Alex Ferguson and is an avid supporter of Wigan Athletic F.C.[citation needed]

Career

Steve Bennett has been a referee since 1984, starting out in his home county of Kent.[1]

In 1995 he began refereeing in the Football League, and since 1999 in the FA Premier League. In 2001 he was appointed as an official FIFA referee.[1]

Bennett took charge of an official friendly international match,[2] known as "The Other Final", in 2002, between the two lowest FIFA-ranked teams in the world at the time, Bhutan and Montserrat, at the Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan. This took place on the morning of the World Cup Final in that year, and the home side won 4–0. The subsequent documentary film, entitled The Other Final and directed by Dutchman Johan Kramer, was released in 2003.[3]

In 2004 Bennett was criticised by FIFA president Sepp Blatter for having sent off Everton's Tim Cahill for removing his shirt after scoring against Manchester City.[4]

Bennett refereed the 2005 League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium between Chelsea and Liverpool, which the London club won by 3 goals to 2.[1] In October 2005, he was in charge of the World Cup qualifier between Norway and Moldova, when the home side won 1–0 with a goal from Sigurd Rushfeldt.[5]

He took charge of the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg match in March 2006 between Benfica and Barcelona, the game ending 0–0. Barcelona won the return match 2–0, setting up a final with Arsenal.[6]

F.A Cup Final 2007

Chelsea1–0Manchester United
Drogba 116'

Makélélé Yellow card 83'
Kalou Yellow card 119'
Ferreira Yellow card 120'
A. Cole Yellow card 120'

Scholes Yellow card 58'
Vidić Yellow card 84'
Smith Yellow card 105'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 89, 826

Bennett was chosen to referee the 2007 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United on 19 May 2007, the first at the new Wembley Stadium.[7] Chelsea won by 1–0, Didier Drogba scoring late in the second half of extra time.[8] Bennett issued seven bookings, four of which came in the added 30 minutes.[9]

In the first period of extra time, Ryan Giggs got on the end of a Wayne Rooney cross, and although Petr Cech gathered the ball, Giggs claimed that the ball had crossed the line, despite sliding into the goalkeeper and seemingly forcing the Chelsea man backwards. Bennett waved play on, but after the game Giggs commented: "It was clearly over the line - that's what I was asking for. I could see it was over the line and the referee did not give a free-kick so it was a goal."[10] Carlos Queiroz, the Manchester United coach, said: "It is a clear penalty, there is no doubt about that. We are not surprised because after the pressure of the last 15 days it is natural the referee under pressure is not able to make the crucial decision of the game. The more pressure you put on referees the more it seems like some teams and some managers become compensated in the game because nobody does anything about that."[10]

Manchester United v. Liverpool, Premier League 2007-08

Bennett was involved in some controversy when he refereed the Manchester United versus Liverpool Premier League encounter on March 23 2008. He sent off Liverpool's Argentine Midfielder Javier Mascherano for a second bookable offence. [11] Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez has publicly defended his player. [12] Mascherano initially said: "I do not know why I was sent off. I asked the referee what was happening. I did not swear, I was not aggressive and I did not confront him. All I did was ask him what was happening, nothing else. So when he showed me the second yellow card and sent me off I could not believe it." [13] Mascherano later retracted this line, apologizing for his actions and admitting his behavior was inappropriate. [14] Mascherano admitted a charge of improper conduct, was fined two weeks wages by the club,[15] and attended a personal hearing before the FA on April 3. Following this, he received a further two-match ban and a £15,000 fine.[16]

Since the incident, The Sun national newspaper has launched a 'Shut It' campaign, urging footballers to respect the referee and curb their argumentative behaviour.[17]

Is has also been reported that he is a complete twat.

Later career

Bennett retired from the FIFA list of referees in 2006, at the compulsory age of 45.[18]

Career statistics

Season Games Total Yellow card Yellow card per game Total Red card Red card per game
1997/1998 36 128 3.56 12 0.33
1998/1999 39 162 4.15 10 0.26
1999/2000 33 107 3.24 2 0.06
2000/2001 31 87 2.81 8 0.26
2001/2002 33 105 3.18 8 0.24
2002/2003 38 148 3.89 7 0.18
2003/2004 35 103 2.94 12 0.34
2004/2005 42 169 4.02 10 0.24
2005/2006 42 141 3.36 12 0.29
2006/2007 45 151 3.35 14 0.31
2007/2008 41 128 3.12 9 0.21

(There are no available records prior to 1997/1998)

Facts

3 red cards in a game

10 cards in a game

References

  1. ^ a b c d Birthdate and Biographical detail: the Football League official website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  2. ^ Official International Friendly Match, Bhutan v. Montserrat, 2002: Bootan.com website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  3. ^ The Other Final (2003) at IMDB.com website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  4. ^ Sepp Blatter's criticism: BBC.co.uk news report. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  5. ^ Norway v Moldova World Cup qualifier: Football.co.uk match report. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  6. ^ Benfica v. Barcelona, Champions' League, 2006: from a report at the BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on March 27 2008.
  7. ^ Confirmation of FA Cup Final appointment, 2007: TheFA.com official website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  8. ^ FA Cup Final 2007, match report: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  9. ^ 2007 FA Cup Final, Chelsea v. Man. Utd.: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on March 27 2008.
  10. ^ a b Comments from BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
  11. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/03/24/ufnferg224.xml. Retrieved on May 5 2008.
  12. ^ Mascherano second yellow card for "persistent dissent": from a report at the Evening Times website. Retrieved on March 24 2008.
  13. ^ "Masch: I could't believe red card": from a report on the Liverpool F.C. website. Retrieved on March 24 2008.
  14. ^ ESPNsoccernet - England - Reds to appeal ban as Mascherano issues apology
  15. ^ "Javier Mascherano fined after improper conduct charge": from an article at The Times website. Retrieved on March 29 2008.
  16. ^ "Mascherano slapped with fine and increased ban" after personal FA hearing: ESPNsoccernet website. Retrieved on April 3 2008.
  17. ^ "Shut It" campaign: The Sun website. Retrieved on April 2 2008.
  18. ^ FIFA retirement, 2006: from a PDF file at TheFA.com official website. Retrieved on March 25 2008.
Preceded by FA Community Shield
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Carling Cup Final
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by FA Cup Final Referee
2007 		Succeeded by
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