Spoiler

Thong Chankethya - can't help himself

Seriously, what was the point of referee Thong Chankethya's red card for Odion Obadin this afternoon, four minutes before the half-time interval. Completely brainless. For reasons known only to himself he loves to act as the judge and jury and couldn't wait to wield his authority and enjoy a red card moment against a foreign player in Phnom Penh Crown colours. He disregarded that this was a practice match, scheduled to give both Crown and the Cambodian national team some warm-up game-time before both teams head off for important Asian cup competitions. Instead of asking the Crown coach David Booth to replace the player to allow the two teams to maintain 11-a-side, he threw commonsense out of the window and flourished his yellow and red cards in quick succession, reducing the game as a spectacle for the good-sized crowd. Despite the fact that the Cambodia team scored a goal five minutes into the second half, they then failed miserably to put Crown to the sword despite the extra advantage and will not have impressed any of the audience in the grandstand. The referee had earlier cautioned two of Crown's foreign contingent, Kingsley Njoku for complaining, after just seven minutes and Obadin for pulling an opponent after 18 minutes. He has a history of  flashing his cards, which I've commented on many times before, and his interpretation of Obadin's second challenge, a high foot on Tum Saray, was extremely harsh. As if to compound his handling of the game, he over-ruled his assistant referee when Khieu Vibol's free-kick skidded under the dive of Crown keeper Samrith Seiha, just after the break. The assistant had spotted two Cambodian shirts, Om Thavrak and Khim Borey, in the line of sight and in offside positions and flagged to inform the referee. Instead Chankethya decided to allow the goal as neither player had touched the ball, ignoring the fact that the goalkeeper's sight was obscured. This went down like a lead balloon with Seiha, who stormed off the pitch after remonstrating with the referee, quickly followed by his teammates. It took another five minutes for order to be restored with the referee announcing his assistant had made a mistake and Crown coach David Booth ordered his payers to resume the game. Two controversial incidents with Thong Chankethya firmly smack bang in the middle, as usual.

Referee capers

Thong Chankethya - never far from trouble

Controversy is never far from referee Thong Chankethya. And yesterday afternoon was no exception with the match official dismissing three Army players as they were downed 3-1 by the National Police, who moved to the top of the Metfone C-League table. Games between the services and military departments always have an extra edge that often boils over and this was no different. Chankethya issued his first red card in less than ten minutes to Army skipper Khek Khemarin and then whipped it out again to dismiss Cambodia's number 1 goalkeeper Sou Yaty with twenty minutes to go. Yaty didn't go quietly with the Army team incensed by the decision. Add a third red card for Ung Dara and the Defense Ministry team will not want to see Chankethya in charge of their games for a long while. As for the Police, they handled the situation by scoring goals and keeping out of trouble, with midfielder Man Ritavann netting a hat-trick. Phlong Chanthou scored for Army. The next batch of games this weekend will see Naga take on Preah Khan Reach in Saturday's early start, followed by Phnom Penh Crown against Chhlam Samuth. Missing from Crown's line-up will be the suspended pair of Emmanuel Frimpong and Henry Asonibe as well as the ligament-damaged Kouch Sokumpheak. Sunday's games will pair Kirivong with Western Uni and BBU against Boeung Ket.

Trial by replay

Ah, football television replays, don't you just love them. I've now had the opportunity to study closely and numerous times the 4 penalty incidents that were waved aside by referee Thong Chankethya (pictured), in the Phnom Penh Crown v Preah Khan match on Saturday. All four incidents were against Crown and were caught on film by the live TVK cameras who covered the season's opening match. Unfortunately, they don't have multiple camera angles or slow-motion to really get up close and intimate with the action, but for two of the incidents, it's clear to me that the referee got it badly wrong. The other two are inconclusive from the television coverage, so for those the official gets the benefit of the doubt.
Incident 1: 18 minutes. Crown striker Kingsley Njoku took on the Preah Khan defence and as he shaped to go past Suon Thuon, the last man, Sok Rithy raced back and brushed against Kingsley, sending him sprawling inside the box. His fall wasn't automatic and I think that may have swayed the referee's decision not to award anything.
Incident 2: 41 minutes. Kouch Sokumpheak's lofted ball into the box sailed over Njoku's head and appeared to strike the hand of the last defender Nen Sothearoth. The referee awarded a corner though he may've been blindsided by the player's body obscuring his view. The immediate shouts from two Crown players close to the action told him otherwise.
Incident 3: 57 minutes. Chan Chaya took on the last defender in the penalty area, slipping the ball through the legs of Nen Sothearoth and was pushed over by the PKR man as he tried to go past him. Clear penalty. Chaya's fall was a mite theatrical but it should have been a spot kick. Instead Chaya was booked for simulation. So a double-whammy cock-up by the official.
Incident 4: Last but not least, Sokumpheak weaved his way into the box, surrounded by four defenders before his right leg was clipped by the recovering Nen Sothearoth (the young defender must've done something good in a former life to get so much fortune in 1 game) and the striker was sent sprawling. Chankethya waved play on, standing just five yards from the incident. It's strange that he was so close and yet he couldn't see the blatantly obvious.
So there you have it. Trial by television camera replays. 50% wrong and the other 50% inconclusive. Referee Thong Chankethya later added insult to injury by dismissing Chaya for a 2nd yellow card when he was the victim of a chest-push by Moul Daravorn. I hope the men in suits take a close look at the TVK coverage of the match and draw their own conclusions.