LIVERPOOL 1-1 MANCHESTER CITY (27.11.2011)
Referee Atkinson enjoyed himself in an end-to-end, physically exhausting match but had some crucial decisions to take too.
Clearly referees have been told to watch out for Luis Suarez's exaggerated falls as although he earned a fair share of fouls during the encounter, on a couple of occasions Atkinson chose not to whistle when a foul seemed apparent. Yet Suarez on various occasions fell down too easily and Atkinson ultimately dealt well with the Uruguayan.
RED CARD - BALOTELLI: The biggest intervention from the referee was handing substitute Mario Balotelli a second yellow card in the space of seven minutes, and just 18 minutes after having come onto the field. Manager Roberto Mancini was unhappy with the second yellow card, given for an elbow on Martin Skrtel, as a result of undue influence from the Liverpool players.
Certainly it seems from the images that Atkinson is content just to award a foul without any further punishment before a handful of Liverpool players continue their protests, but it is important to remember that elbow offences are some of the hardest to judge and the referee was well within his rights to take his time.
Atkinson had to decide if the elbow was simply raised (free kick), was reckless (yellow card), or used excessive force (red card). In this case, Balotelli's elbow was not just raised but went in to Skrtel with a lack of control. It was by no means excessive, but a yellow card was justified given that Fifa asks referees to come down hard on these types of offences.
The first yellow card was correctly awarded after Balotelli grabbed the shirt of an opponent in an attacking position.
Atkinson's overall performance was solid and he let the game flow, allowing the 'little' fouls to go by and by no means over-whistling. His yellow cards were all justified and he never seemed in danger of losing control of the match.
Atkinson seems to be the man following in Howard Webb's footsteps - England's second-top referee and consistently in Champions League and International action. Recently, he reffed a Euro 2012 play-off between Czech Republic and Montenegro and last week was in Turkey for the Champions League game between Trabzonspor and Inter Milan.
His calm, controlled style, combined with accurate decision-making and minimum fuss, appeals to the referee committees at Uefa and Fifa and should Webb decide not to participate at the 2014 World Cup, surely Atkinson would be the one to go.
Referee Atkinson enjoyed himself in an end-to-end, physically exhausting match but had some crucial decisions to take too.
Clearly referees have been told to watch out for Luis Suarez's exaggerated falls as although he earned a fair share of fouls during the encounter, on a couple of occasions Atkinson chose not to whistle when a foul seemed apparent. Yet Suarez on various occasions fell down too easily and Atkinson ultimately dealt well with the Uruguayan.
RED CARD - BALOTELLI: The biggest intervention from the referee was handing substitute Mario Balotelli a second yellow card in the space of seven minutes, and just 18 minutes after having come onto the field. Manager Roberto Mancini was unhappy with the second yellow card, given for an elbow on Martin Skrtel, as a result of undue influence from the Liverpool players.
Certainly it seems from the images that Atkinson is content just to award a foul without any further punishment before a handful of Liverpool players continue their protests, but it is important to remember that elbow offences are some of the hardest to judge and the referee was well within his rights to take his time.
Atkinson had to decide if the elbow was simply raised (free kick), was reckless (yellow card), or used excessive force (red card). In this case, Balotelli's elbow was not just raised but went in to Skrtel with a lack of control. It was by no means excessive, but a yellow card was justified given that Fifa asks referees to come down hard on these types of offences.
The first yellow card was correctly awarded after Balotelli grabbed the shirt of an opponent in an attacking position.
Atkinson's overall performance was solid and he let the game flow, allowing the 'little' fouls to go by and by no means over-whistling. His yellow cards were all justified and he never seemed in danger of losing control of the match.
Atkinson seems to be the man following in Howard Webb's footsteps - England's second-top referee and consistently in Champions League and International action. Recently, he reffed a Euro 2012 play-off between Czech Republic and Montenegro and last week was in Turkey for the Champions League game between Trabzonspor and Inter Milan.
His calm, controlled style, combined with accurate decision-making and minimum fuss, appeals to the referee committees at Uefa and Fifa and should Webb decide not to participate at the 2014 World Cup, surely Atkinson would be the one to go.
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