Quote Originally Posted by dejavoodoo44 View Post
Yes, having now looked at the Sinclair incident on replay, instead of the distant ground replay screen, it definitely should have been a free to Sinclair. I originally thought that it was half side/half back, but he turned before contact and was definitely struck squarely in the back by Gardner. Interestingly, the replay angle was the same as the angle that umpire Schmitt would have seen, but Schmitt should have had the advantage of being much closer.
So if he had paid the obvious free kick, one of our players would have kicked the goal, while Sinclair got the appropriate medical attention and the ridiculous and already tedious 'stretchergate' would have been avoided. That decision just adds to the impression that he was giving an umpiring performance that was worthy of a MacLaren or a Stevic. And of course, my suspicion of Schmitt was further increased while watching the replay, by the fact that Dermott Brereton was affectionately referring to him as Schmitty.
Though I suppose that it would be far too childish to suggest a nickname that rhymes with Schmitt?
If it was Schmitt that was the umpire nearest, then I'm not surprised that there wasn't a free kick given. He came up with several 'interesting' calls in that last quarter to say the least.