We were shit and I doubt it would have mattered to the result yesterday as we were mauled 1-0, but the standard of officiating this year is just ridiculous. I really detest tactical fouling to break up a team's counterattack (probably because we've been a counterattacking team and also poor at tactical fouling for ages), and it's insulting intelligence that the ref didn't book Schär for his first foul on Fernandes to stop the break. The second foul, studs over the ball and onto the ankle, a clear yellow / borderline red. I mean this was the most obvious two yellow cards = one red you'll see all season. I suppose we should wait for the letters of apology and club statements?
And all this talk about refs letting the game flow. More nonsense. There was another tactical foul in the first half by Joelinton on Garnacho I think, where Joelinton turned around to apologise to the ref for the foul, only to find that the ref had played on.
None of this should disguise how bad we were and how deserved the Newcastle victory was, we weren't 'robbed by the refs', but it's been quite a long time since we've had such a dossier of shit decisions going against us (in PL and CL).