He made up his own rules- Ipswich demand answers from EFL after Bobby Madden costs them three points

Bobby Madden’s career as a referee in the lower divisions in the EFL is under threat after an incredible blunder at Saturday’s match between Oxford and Ipswich.

At the start of the second half it was obvious that fog was making playing the game increasingly difficult, with the score at 1-1 both managers agreed that the game should be abandoned and replayed.

That decision was given to the Fourth Official who informed Madden.

Bizarrely the Scottish referee made up his own rule that if the match was abandoned beyond the 75th minute the score would stand with one point of little use for teams. Ipswich are sitting third chasing automatic promotion with 10th placed Oxford aiming for a play-off spot.

Madden ensured that the game continued in farcical conditions, Oxford scored a late winner with Ipswich losing out to a referee that either didn’t know the rules or just decided to make them up to suit himself.

Speaking to his club website Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna said:

“We certainly couldn’t see the ball from the sidelines and the players couldn’t see it on the pitch. We made that clear to the referee, and there was a discussion around it, and I think the game should have been played on another day.

“Both Karl [Robinson, Oxford manager] and I voiced our opinion to the fourth official at the start of the second half. We said we couldn’t see the ball and there were mistakes on the pitch in account to that.

“We spoke to the referee in the 74th minute and again called the fourth official over. At that point both sets of staff and players had the feeling of ‘let’s come back and fight another day’.

“The referee said, though, that because the 75th minute had ticked past on the stopwatch that the result would have to stand and it would have to be a draw and there would be no replay.

“My team wanted to win so we thought ‘we’ll take our chances’ and see if we could get the winner. The frustration and confusion is that our Club Secretary told us those aren’t the rules and there is nothing in the rule book about that. The game should not have been played in those conditions.”

The Club will be seeking clarification from the governing bodies on the reasoning for today’s actions and decisions at Kassam Stadium.

Madden was widely touted as Scotland’s leading referee, based mainly on his friendly third party connections through the media.

In February 2021 he was travelling to Ross County for a match against Celtic when the SFA took him off that fixture because he should have been self isolating after being in close contact in Greece with David Roome who had tested positive.

Last season Madden took charge of seven Celtic matches, more than any other referee.

Financial problems are believed to be behind his move to England although he is expected to get a senior role at the SFA when he is forced to retire on account of his experience in two countries.

He didn’t know the rules.https://t.co/KI8BJFVqKE

— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) January 24, 2023