Martin Atkinson caused great controversy in Sunday’s game between Liverpool and Manchester United at Old Trafford, along with a little help from VAR. The referee often seems to find himself at the centre of controversy when it comes to Liverpool – and now there are stats to show it.
Atkinson failed to award a free kick for a foul on Divock Origi in the build-up to Manchester United’s goal. Replays suggested that the Belgian had been kicked, but VAR officials refused to overrule the on-field decision by the referee and Liverpool found themselves behind.
A late Adam Lallana strike salvaged a draw, but Liverpool left the home of their rivals with a profound sense of frustration. The new interpretation of the handball rule had earlier led to a Sadio Mane goal being correctly ruled out, but there was a more general feeling that Klopp’s men had been harshly treated by Atkinson and his team.
This is not the first time the English referee has drawn the ire of Liverpool fans. An analysis of Google searches shows that interest in Atkinson over the past year peaked in the immediate aftermath of the 1-1 draw with Leicester City in January last season, a game which ultimately proved pivotal in the title run-in.
Google Trends shows a peak in searches for Martin Atkinson after he failed to award Naby Keita a penalty
Liverpool had to settle for a draw on that occasion after the referee refused to point to the spot in the second half when Naby Keita went down under the challenge of Ricardo Pereira. Replays showed a clear infringement against the Guinean, but the protests were waved away and two precious points were dropped.
Another high point in the searches came at the end of March this year, when Atkinson officiated Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham. While he managed to avoid particular controversy on that occasion, his very appointment generated a buzz among fans unhappy to see he had been put in charge.
In a somewhat prescient tweet from the time, Twitter user @HotActionKop tweeted: “Liverpool will beat Spurs 2-1 this coming Sunday, despite the best efforts of Martin Atkinson the mighty reds will prevail.”
The graph shows a steady increase in the wake of the United clash as fans seek answers about why Rashford’s goal was allowed to stand.
Hard stats also show that Liverpool tend to struggle more than usual when Atkinson is in charge. LFCHistory.net has records of 62 club games officiated by the Yorkshireman dating back to 2005 – of those matches, Liverpool failed to win in 34 of them. This is a win percentage of just 45%. The team’s overall league win rate over the same period is nearly 10% higher: 53.4%.
While some of this can be attributed to Atkinson getting assigned big games in recent years, where the chances of winning are lower irrespective of the referee, he has presided over plenty of matches where Liverpool would normally be expected to prevail. The very first time he took charge of a Reds match, just three months after they had lifted the Champions League for the fifth time in Istanbul, Fulham triumphed 2-0.
Upsets by Blackburn, Barnsley and Reading also crop up in a data set that at times makes grim reading. It is up for debate whether the correlation implies causation in this instance, but Liverpool fans can feel justified in being sick of the sight of Martin Atkinson.
James Martin
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