Outrageous action from the Premier League

It is farce worthy of the most poorly managed of Sunday morning leagues, but this bizarre footage comes from England’s top flight and the match between Liverpool and Sunderland.

As part of Steve Bruce’s Herculean challenge to complete post-match press conferences without picking up a fine, referee Stuart Atwell decided to award Dirk Kuyt’s goal despite Sunderland’s protests that the free-kick had not been taken.

Given that the free-kick was already being retaken because Atwell had said it had initially been taken too far forward, and given that Michael Turner nonchalantly flicks the ball back in the general direction of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet without so much as a glance, it is not hard to see why the Black Cats were furious.

As alluded to in our Top 10 conclusions, these bizarre incidents follow Stuart Atwell around like a bad smell.

Anybody view the incident differently?