“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”Romeo and Juliet – Act 2 Scene 2
Whereas William Shakespeare may have been using Juliet to question the importance of a name to the warring Capulet and Montague households, it seems that the Football League were doing the very same thing.
Today’s game pitting home side Blackpool against visitors Portsmouth was hardly anything approaching the warring households of Shakespeare’s well-known tale of love intertwined with tragedy, but there was a tipped hat towards names.
It all revolves around a High Court decision on Monday against much-maligned Tangerine owners the Oystons. A decision in the courts ordered the Oystons, father Owen and his son Karl, to buy out minority shareholder Valeri Belokon to the tune of £31 million. This was due to what were termed “fundamental breaches” of the their ‘duties as directors’ as reported in the Telegraph.
The conclusion of this court process saw a further announcement by the club that, in a statement on the Tangerines official website, that the Oyston family were “in a position…to market for sale Blackpool Football Club Limited and Blackpool Football Club Properties Limited.”
All that leads up to the change in referee for the game today, the named official being replaced by a Premier League referee. Apparently, in light of the decision handed down by the High Court in London and the barbed accusations from fans towards the Oyston ownership the EFL thought it best to employ the services of Jon Moss.
Why? Apparently, with the furore surrounding the Oystons, the original choice of Ben Toner was thought not appropriate.
It didn’t take Twitter long to get in on the change of match officials, with many a jibe being had.
The greatest referee appointment in football history – the official taking charge of #Blackpool v #Pompey is, wait it for it…. Ben Toner.
— Jordan Cross (@pn_jordan_cross) November 9, 2017
Maybe @EFL does have a sense of humour. The referee for Saturdays game v #Pompey is Ben Toner (Bent Owner)#BanTheOystons
— Tangerine Knights (@KnightTangerine) November 8, 2017
🗞 The Football League reportedly stood down referee Ben Toner from Blackpool’s game against Portsmouth today because his name sounds like 'Bent Owner'… 😂 pic.twitter.com/mcw0BHBqDO
— Oddschanger (@Oddschanger) November 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/stucrow/status/929391597975846913
https://twitter.com/smithycrs92/status/929354593330434048
The ref for today's match had to be changed because his name was Ben Toner & it sounds like 'bent owner' 😭😭 wtf
— Emily (@_emilybdavidson) November 11, 2017
DROPPING A REF BECAUSE HIS NAME (Ben Toner) SOUNDS LIKE 'BENT OWNER'.
THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD. Ridiculous reasons you've been stood up or dropped please to @talkSPORTWSB
— Georgie Bingham 🇺🇦 (@georgiebingham) November 11, 2017
