Simon Hooper- referee, cheat or just an incompetent buffoon?

brightonrock said:

He was just utterly incompetent. It wasn't just the one decision (genuinely one of the worst I have ever seen), it was more or less everything he did. The penalty was bizarre, they didn't appeal, no one else in the stadium even contemplated that it was anything other than a corner. They then had a decent penalty shout turned down, presumably because he knew he'd have been lynched if he gave a second one. Then we had a very good handball shout turned away, because he didn't want to look like he was evening things up. LuaLua's marker did very well against him but wasn't pulled up for two blatant, cynical chop-downs when Kaz did manage to get away from him. There were corners being given as goal kicks, throws the wrong way, and a very strange one shortly after the penalty when a long ball sailed 20 yards over Upson & Grabban's heads and he gave us a free kick for no apparent reason. They both just stood and watched it, didn't bother jumping for it, and apparently that's a free kick our way. He was constantly behind play, didn't bat an eyelid to some ludicrous time wasting, and demanded every set piece be taken from the precise blade of grass the 'foul' had taken place from, determined to be centre of attention. He was a joke from start to finish, and the most infuriating thing is he'll be back reffing next week. The likes of him, D'Urso, Pawson and the numerous other self-important little hitlers officiating this league are turning the season into an absolute farce. We have to improve our finishing but I'd rather be frustrated by that than walk away from 9 out of 10 games saying the ref was a cretin. You expect just a basic level of quality from refs who we're constantly told do such a hard job, but recently it's been embarrassing, sunday league fare at best.

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brightonrock said:

He was just utterly incompetent. It wasn't just the one decision (genuinely one of the worst I have ever seen), it was more or less everything he did. The penalty was bizarre, they didn't appeal, no one else in the stadium even contemplated that it was anything other than a corner. They then had a decent penalty shout turned down, presumably because he knew he'd have been lynched if he gave a second one. Then we had a very good handball shout turned away, because he didn't want to look like he was evening things up. LuaLua's marker did very well against him but wasn't pulled up for two blatant, cynical chop-downs when Kaz did manage to get away from him. There were corners being given as goal kicks, throws the wrong way, and a very strange one shortly after the penalty when a long ball sailed 20 yards over Upson & Grabban's heads and he gave us a free kick for no apparent reason. They both just stood and watched it, didn't bother jumping for it, and apparently that's a free kick our way. He was constantly behind play, didn't bat an eyelid to some ludicrous time wasting, and demanded every set piece be taken from the precise blade of grass the 'foul' had taken place from, determined to be centre of attention. He was a joke from start to finish, and the most infuriating thing is he'll be back reffing next week. The likes of him, D'Urso, Pawson and the numerous other self-important little hitlers officiating this league are turning the season into an absolute farce. We have to improve our finishing but I'd rather be frustrated by that than walk away from 9 out of 10 games saying the ref was a cretin. You expect just a basic level of quality from refs who we're constantly told do such a hard job, but recently it's been embarrassing, sunday league fare at best.

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e77 said:

I think people try to look for a higher meaning in life for most things but the simple fact is he wasn't very good.

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Braders said:

PARP PARP
View attachment 49884
(biggest picture I could find of him)

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fleet said:

Spot on - it was another "its all about me" ref performance. He should not ref at this level. The poor quality of referees is a major problem for the game.

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fleet said:

Has he actually had the good grace to apologise that he was wrong for the pen decision? That might make me feel slightly better about him.

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hans kraay fan club said:

He certainly wasn't very good, but you are very naive to ignore the facts:

1. The Bournemouth fans are pally with him and call him 'Hoops'.
2. He lives just outside Bournemouth.
3. He named his son Steve Ted Eddie Hooper.
4. He has a picture of Steve Fletcher, in a heart-shaped frame, on his mantle-piece.
5. He carried his whistle on an AFCB lanyard.

But yes, as you say, just innocent mistakes...

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