REFEREE Mark Clattenburg has been punished by his bosses, not because he missed Craig Dawson's blatant elbow on Julian Speroni – but for attending an Ed Sheeran concert.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Clattenburg will not be given a game to officiate this weekend, after he allegedly broke protocol by travelling to The Hawthorns alone for Saturday's 2-2 draw between West Brom and Palace.

This enabled the 39-year-old to make a quick getaway after the match, to see chart-topper Sheeran perform in Clattenburg's native north-east.

However, the rules of referees' body, the Professional Game Match Officials, state that referees and assistants should travel to and from games together, for integrity reasons.

The experienced official had Palace fans and manager Neil Warnock raging with some of his decisions on Saturday, not least his failure to award Wilfried Zaha a seemingly stonewall penalty in the first half, followed by his missing Dawson's heavy challenge on the Eagles keeper in the second half, which led to the Baggies first goal.

Speroni had to be substituted, for what Warnock labelled an 'assault', but no retrospective action will be taken against the England Under 21 defender, after the FA's disciplinary committee reviewed the incident.

The Mail also suggests Clattenburg broke a further rule by speaking to Warnock after the match alone, again without his assistants present.

SHIRLEY van driver turned Saturday night TV star Ben Haenow is set to make the X Factor final, if the bookies are to be believed.

However, the odds suggest Ben may have to settle for third place as, priced 7/1, he's behind favourite Andrea Faustini (6/4) and Essex girl Lauren Platt (3/1) in the betting.

Ben has received plenty of backing on social media and from the show's judges, though mentor Simon Cowell was critical of his decision to sing Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing at the weekend.

A COUNCILLOR whipped up a Twitter storm after he announced Fairfield Halls is on the brink of closure at a residents' association meeting.

Michael Neal, Tory member for Croham, said at the monthly South Croydon Community Association meeting that Fairfield would fail health and safety tests if maintenance was not carried out within the next year.

But Tim Godfrey, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, has accused him of "cheap politics".

Cllr Neal said at the meeting: "£2 million needs to be spent over the next five years based on the amount of work that needs doing. If they [the council] don't spend that it is likely it will close."

The Friends of Park Hill Park tweeted this news, saying: "Fairfield Halls within 12 months of closure breaking news from councillor at @southCroydonCA meeting."

And quickly Croydon's Twitter community were convinced Fairfield was about to shut its doors, with Cllr Godfrey stepping in to quash the rumours, tweeting: "It's only breaking news if you are a Twitter mug. Tory refurb plans had a closure. We upped pace and no closure."

Cllr Neal has since said on his blog he was concerned at a council meeting earlier in the month when Cllr Godfrey refused to commit to giving Fairfield the £33 million the Conservatives promised for refurbishment when they were in power.

He said: "In the SCCA meeting last night I echoed concerns from the Conservatives and residents after the last full council meeting when Cllr Godfrey was asked whether all the £33 million allocated would go directly to Fairfield Halls and whether money would be spent on essential maintenance.

"Cllr Godfrey's reply was vague as reported in the Croydon Advertiser and non-committal, potentially leaving the Fairfield Halls with an uncertain future."

But Cllr Godfrey says the new council regime has spent £400,000 on Fairfield in the five months since Labour came into power, including refurbishment of the Arnhem Gallery, and the installation of studio space and live broadcast equipment.

He said: "It's why Croydon politics is seen to be poisoned. We need grown up debate about how we do these things and how we safeguard the tax-payers purse."

Cllr Godfrey said the £33million pledged by the Tories for the refurbishment is still in the budget, but Labour will try not to spend it all if they can help it.

He said: "The important thing is that Fairfield will be properly refurbished.

"If we can reduce that spend that will be a bonus for the tax payers of Croydon and the right thing to do, but we won't be putting at risk the full refurbishment of Fairfield."

The Advertiser has been unable to reach Cllr Neal for a comment.

THE Westfield/Hammerson Croydon Partnership has stressed its commitment to the town for the long-term, having admitted the development is likely to be completed a year later than originally anticipated.

The £1 billion redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre is expected to be completed in 2019, it was revealed at a meeting of around 100 businesspeople organised by the Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) last Thursday (October 23).

Peter Cole, of Hammerson, told the meeting that the public inquiry into compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), needed by the partnership to secure ownership of the site, was now expected to be held in February next year. He said: "If everything goes well we are hopeful building work will start in 2016 and there will be a three year construction period."

The CPO inquiry is the next big hurdle facing the redevelopment scheme and realistically it is likely to be well into next year before a planning inspector publishes his decision on the 130 objections to the orders which, at present, have been lodged with Croydon Council.

The Partnership has already had some good news on the planning front with a High Court judge suggesting he was likely to dismiss claims made by major centre leaseholders, the Whitgift Trust, at a judicial review that the planning process was flawed.

The uncertainties about the planning process have meant that despite its original optimism, the Partnership has never made a concrete commitment to an opening date.

But their commitment to the scheme as a whole was emphasised by both Mr Cole and John Burton, development director for Westfield, at last week's meeting.

The redevelopment involves providing 1.5 million sq ft of retail space, combined with leisure facilities and around 600 homes.

Describing the existing Whitgift Centre as "sad and in need of investment" Mr Cole said everyone was passionate about Croydon and wanted to make it a great place.

He said: "We want to bring something which we will still be proud of in 25 years time."

Reiterating the point, Mr Burton added: "We are here for the very long term and that takes some backbone."

Commenting on the construction timetable after the meeting, Mr Burton added: "We are very pleased with the considerable progress that has been made towards ensuring the delivery of our £1 billion regeneration of Croydon's retail centre over the past twelve months.

"There are always a number of major milestones associated with large scale regeneration projects which remain out of the developer's direct control such as the timing of the CPO Inquiry and when a final decision is received as to the outcome.

"Croydon Council's recent announcement of the date of the CPO inquiry, in February 2015, has allowed us to forecast our anticipated project timetable including start on site guidance.

He added: "We will continue to review this as the necessary land assembly progresses."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

ADLENE Guedioura got 90 minutes under his belt for Crystal Palace's Development Squad on Tuesday night and he was delighted to score in a 3-1 victory.

Playing in his favoured position in central midfield alongside Hiram Boateng, the likes of Zeki Fryers and Dwight Gayle were also given game time against Brentford U21s.

After Kyle de Silva and Sullay Kaikai had given Palace a 2-0 lead at half-time, Brentford pulled a goal back before Guedioura made sure of the win with a brilliant finish.

"The manager (Neil Warnock) asked me to play to get some game time, I thought it was good to get 90 minutes under my belt," Guedioura told the Advertiser.

"It's good I can show I can play or to start and to show that I'm ready when he needs me.

"I played some minutes on Saturday but it wasn't a problem to play again. I will not complain when I can play games.

"Of course, I won't play every time (for the U21s) because I need to be focused on the first team matches, but it's good to play for the U21s.

"Maybe if it had been played on Monday, which they usually are, maybe it would have been different but I was happy to play 90 minutes.

"It's not bad for Gary Issott to call upon myself, Zeki and Dwight, we have good players available to start for him.

"It's good to have back-up. For me, it was to show I can play and available."

Palace dominated the first period and pinned the Bees back in their own half, but the visitors came out fighting in the second 45 and it looked like it could have been a game of two halves.

However, it took a moment of quality and brilliance from Guedioura to curl a beautiful effort into the far corner to ease any worries for the Eagles – and he hopes he can do the same for the first team soon.

"It was a good finish and I was happy with that," he said.

"Sometimes I try to take my chance and luckily this time it went in. I hope I can do the same for the first team, this is what I aim for.

"We tried to keep the ball, play out from the back and press Brentford high up from the start.

"When we got the ball we tried to play a bit, so it was good. In the second half we didn't start too nicely and they got a goal back.

"It's always dangerous when you're 2-0 up, as we saw at West Brom on Saturday. You have to score the third one or to keep the score at two.

"Luckily we got the third and made it safe."

A CAMPAIGN to rezone East and West Croydon stations started by Labour politicians earlier this week has been backed by their Conservative opponents.

Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell and Steve O'Connell, GLA member for Croydon and Sutton, have both pledged their support for the Zone4Croydon campaign, which aims to get the stations rezoned from Zone 5 to 4.

The move, launched on Monday by Croydon North MP Steve Reed and Sarah Jones, Labour's prospective candidate for Mr Barwell's seat, could save commuters to central London up to £336 on their annual travelcard or £8.40 weekly.

Mr Barwell and Mr O'Connell have together requested a meeting with Transport for London (TfL) director Sir Peter Hendy and Mayor of London Boris Johnson to seek their support for a review of the zone boundaries across London.

Mr Barwell said he "fully supported" any initiative to reduce the spiraling costs for commuters in Croydon, but pointed out that it was an issue in other areas of London too.

"Whilst I agree with the principle behind the campaign, if you look at the current Transport for London zones, other parts of south London that are a similar distance from central London such as Sutton, Cheam and West Wickham are also in zone 5.

"It's not credible to pretend that this is just a Croydon problem - and indeed it's in our interests to involve other areas that are similarly unfairly treated."

Mr O'Connell said he would work to get Mr Johnson to add his weight to their call for a wider rezoning to take place.

"The concern that Steve [Reed] and Sarah are showing for the plight of commuters is admirable, and we all want to help alleviate the costly burden of public transport."

"That's why I think it's important that we get the thinking behind this campaign right. Firstly, they are wrong to suggest that the Mayor of London controls this area, in actual fact it's run by the Department for Transport and not Boris Johnson and second, as Gavin says, it's not just Croydon that finds itself on the wrong side of the zone boundary."

A spokeswoman for TfL said requests for rezoning were dealt with on a case-by-case basis, "addressing the cost and benefit to all those involved."

Before any rezoning can take place, the station's operators, TfL for West Croydon, and Southern for East Croydon, must get each of the Travelcard train operators to agree to the change before making a formal proposal to the Department for Transport, which could take at least a year.

MOST Crystal Palace fans are convinced Craig Dawson fouled Julian Speroni on Saturday - but not ALISDAIR KEMP...

VICTOR Anichebe's crucial goal at the start of the second half did more than just ignite West Brom's impressive second half fightback on Saturday. For the second week running, the man in the middle has become the focal point of Eagles fans' frustrations – and for the second week, in my opinion, unfairly.

Most of the criticism centred around his awarding of West Brom's first goal despite an elbow from Craig Dawson on Julian Speroni in the customary 18-yard box set-piece melee, as well as the injury-time penalty rightly given for a foul by Mile Jedinak on Anichebe.

Concerning the Dawson incident, despite my obvious frustrations in the away end at conceding such an untimely and soft goal, I was pleased for football that Mark Clattenburg – whom in my opinion is plainly the best referee in the country at the moment – allowed the goal to stand. It was indeed aggressive and painful-looking but I dispute any sinister intent or even recklessness on Dawson's part.

My vexation at the ridiculous over-protection that goalkeepers receive has been mounting for several seasons. It has reached the point whereby the draught caused by too swift a movement around the apparently fragile and brittle keeper seems to prompt immediate penalisation. Too often fans are deprived of exciting set-pieces and goalmouth scrambles because the referee objects to the players not parting like the Red Sea for the goalkeeper to saunter out and claim the aerial ball.

I am not for a moment implying that Speroni was exaggerating his injury but Clattenburg's allowing of Anichebe's goal will hopefully signal a paradigm shift in the treatment of goalkeepers.

Football is a contact sport, thus incidents like this are inevitable. I do not believe Dawson's intentions were malicious and I defy anyone to take a running leap as he did without raising their arms for balance. Unfortunately Speroni's cranium was in the way of the defender's elevated limbs; that does not, however, make it a foul.

Just as in Formula 1 crashes and scrapes can be deemed purely "racing incidents", whereby the fault is not attributable to any one person, incidents in football – even when injury may occur – should be adjudged to be "footballing incidents", for want of a more gimmicky term. This was one such incident.

Goals create excitement, which is naturally a massive plus for an entertainment sport. Therefore it is to be hoped that Clattenburg has set a precedent here in acknowledging that not every clash or collision involving a goalkeeper is a foul.

We should subsequently see fewer goals being chalked off for arbitrary reasons. Anichebe's goal set up a much more exciting second half than would likely have otherwise been the case and. Despite my disappointment at the result, that is to be heralded as we all go to matches to be entertained.

Every cloud has a silver lining and I believe that football as a whole may benefit from Saturday's controversial incident.

CRYSTAL Palace captain Mile Jedinak has been ranked the fifth best footballer in Europe, according to fantasy football game developer Oulala. 

The Aussie midfield general is only headed in the list by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette and Vitorino Hilton of Montpellier. 

His 397 points outranks every other Premier League player, including Eden Hazard (320), Diego Costa (315), Leighton Baines (312) and Angel Di Maria (282), while his nearest midfield rival in Europe is Paris Saint-Germain's Lucas Moura (357).

Oulala bases its detailed scoring matrix from official Opta related statistics.

A CHILDREN'S football team has been handed a sponsorship boost for the season ahead.

Croydon FC Under 8s, who play at Croydon Arena, are being sponsored by Selsdon Park Lodge 5005, from Croydon Masonic Halls.

The youngsters were able to wear the shirts, with the sponsor's logo, for the first time at their home game against Beckenham Reds earlier this month.

Andy Percival, team manager, said "We are a new team, this being our first season, and the boys are getting better week on week.

"The most important thing is that the boys are loving it. Any support we can get is very much appreciated."

Tony Pearson, from the Selsdon Park Lodge, said: "This is the start of what I hope will be a long association between Croydon FC youth and local Freemasons from Selsdon Park Lodge."

THE London to Brighton Veteran Car Run will pass through Croydon this Sunday.

A parade of vintage vehicles will make their way down Southbridge Road, Croydon, at around 8am, before travelling down the Brighton Road through Purley and into Coulsdon.

The route later takes in Merstham, Redhill, Horley and Crawley, before it makes its way to the south coast.

This year, for only the second time in more than half a century, the veteran cars will start the 60-mile adventure from London to Brighton by driving down The Mall, London's "Red Carpet Drive".

Although a regular part of the route in earlier years, The Mall has only been used once since 1962 – that was in 1996 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original Emancipation Run.

Come rain or shine, the first cars will set off at sunrise on Sunday – 6:56am.

The oldest car on the event is a c.1888 Truchutet, a 4hp open tonneau and entries include steam-powered cars, electric cars and three-wheelers as well as petrol-powered four-wheelers.

As ever, Croydon petrolheads will get a glimpse of the cars though, as the Advertiser reported last week, the route will not this year take in its traditional stop at Kinghams car garage.

Instead, it will travel down Southbridge Road and into Brighton Road, missing the newly-refurbished South End.

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

NEIL Warnock says Palace are looking to get young star Sullay Kaikai some game-time on loan.

However, no one has come in and made a firm offer for the attacking midfielder despite impressive for the Development Squad.

Kaikai went out on loan to Crawley Town last season, while he has been involved with the first team on and off in recent months.

He scored his first goal for the senior squad against Newcastle United in the Capital One Cup in September too, while he hit a stunning free-kick for the U21s against Brentford on Tuesday at Selhurst Park.

"We took Sullay with us last week to West Brom give him more first team experience, he's up and coming, for sure," Warnock told the Advertiser.

"We still haven't had an loan enquiries for him. Last week they had a game and he played poorly when there were around four people watching him, but hopefully we can get him somewhere to play."

DRIVERS will be able to park for £1 on Thursdays for late night shopping in the run-up to Christmas.

Croydon Business Improvement District has announced that six car parks will be charging the flat rate in the late afternoon/early evening on Thursdays for a month, from November 13 to December 18.

The car parks at Centrale, the Whitgift Centre, West Croydon Car Park, Jubilee Bridge, Spices Yard, and Wandle Road will be charging the flat rate, which is supported by Croydon Council.

More than 1,800 parking spaces will be up for grabs at the cheap price after the hours of 3pm.

Matt Sims, Croydon BID chief executive, said: "I'm delighted that we have managed to garner so much support for this initiative.

"It's a fantastic example of organisations coming together to support the local business community."

The 'Park for £1' offer applies at:

Centrale Shopping Centre Car Park (950 bays): From 3pm onwards every Thursday, from November 13 to December 18.

Whitgift Centre Surface Car Park (400 bays): Between 3-7pm every Thursday, from November 13 to January 1, 2015.

Croydon Council's West Croydon Car Park (56 bays), Jubilee Bridge Car Park (80 bays) and Spices Yard Car Park (134 bays): Between 3-7pm every Thursday, from November 13 to December 31.

Croydon Council's Wandle Road Car Park (255 bays): From 4-7pm every Thursday, from November 13 to December 31.

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

CRYSTAL Palace boss Neil Warnock is going to carefully assess whether Scott Dann will be ready to make his return from injury against Sunderland on Monday.

The centre-back has been out of action since October 4 when he hurt his knee against Hull City, but he has been running and stepping up his fitness.

Warnock certainly has options at the back for the clash at Selhurst Park, especially with Damien Delaney available again following a one-match ban.

"Scott has done some running this week following on from the straight running previously, and he was a little bit sore." said the boss.

"He is set to push his training up though on Thursday, so we'll have to see.

"With Damien Delaney suspended last week, it's given people like Brede Hangeland an opportunity, and he's taken it, hasn't he? I thought he was super on Saturday."

FOOTAGE of a pub landlord giving two convicted burglars the fright of their lives with a baseball bat has been branded 'too hot for TV' by the BBC.

CCTV evidence of brothers Michael and John Ryan's interrupted break-in into The White Horse, in Selhurst Road, has already proved popular online – showing its topless former landlord Danny Foley defending his premises with a commemorative Celtic FC baseball bat.

But producers of BBC programme Caught Red Handed indicated this week it was unable to go ahead with its previous plan to show the incident, captured in November last year, as it was too violent.

Michael Ryan, 40, was jailed for seven years in May after admitting to a string of burglaries while his brother John, 42, was sentenced to 30 months last week.

Watch the video here...

KNIFE crime campaigner Eliza Rebeiro has been included on a new list celebrating inspirational women.

The Lives Not Knives founder features on the BBC's 100 women for 2014 list, which includes everything from human rights campaigners and politicians to charity fundraisers and sporting stars – with the 100 taken from a worldwide sample.

Eliza, 21, started Lives Not Knives aged 14, to give young people a support network after two of her friends were stabbed – one to death.

She has since turned it into a registered charity and last year opened a base at Centrale shopping centre, for young people to access free help and advice, particularly on accessing jobs and training.

Writing on Twitter earlier this week, Eliza simply said it was "pretty cool" to be included on the list.

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

YANNICK Bolasie says he's had to change his style of play in the Premier League and believes it's producing better results.

The winger has had to adjust to life in the top flight during the last 14 months and find out what works and what doesn't.

And Bolasie says he hopes to show the fans that his game will continue to improve this season.

Sometimes players, in particular wingers, try to do too much and come unstuck in the Premier League, but Bolasie is learning that doing the easy things is paying dividends.

"I am trying to simplify my game, because a lot of the full-backs tend to stand off me now and are waiting for me to run at them," he said.

"I just don't want to complicate things. A lot of the time I found myself complicating my own situation this season, but now I am simplifying it and getting better results.

"It is better off playing in a team-mate but I have been working hard on my end result and I'm pretty confident the fans are going to see a lot better this season.

"I have been recovering a little bit still from international duty but I'm hoping next week I am back feeling fresh again.

"I would like to think I'm naturally fit though."

Bolasie was on fire at times against West Bromwich Albion last Saturday, and the competition for places is certainly keeping him and others on their toes.

In recent weeks, Palace have had to change things up due to suspensions and injuries, most notably at the back.

And Bolasie, who felt Julian Speroni was fouled for West Brom's first goal, also thought fellow winger Jason Puncheon was upended in the build-up to the Baggies' equalising penalty.

"I felt it was a foul on Julian when they scored first, it looked like he was elbowed and all the boys said he did too," he said.

"The referee should have seen it, but we should have seen out the game afterwards. Every player wants to stay on the pitch, Jules is a fighter, but the gaffer made a decision to take him off.

"It happens in football and unfortunately it happened to us. Victor Anichebe changed the game for them, he was strong and physical to get them back into the game.

"But I thought it was a foul on Jason before their penalty too. The referee decided to play on and then they get a penalty from it.

"Marouane (Chamakh) coming back in definitely helped us and he played a crucial role for us last year. You can see why he's so important to the team.

"Everyone else who has come in, like Adrian Mariappa, came in for his first start and did really well.

"I think the fight for places is crucial in our team, it keeps everyone on their toes. Winger-wise, we have great wingers here at the club so it's good and healthy for the team."

POLICE evacuated Lunar House in Croydon town centre this morning after receiving reports of a suspicious package in the building.

The Met have since confirmed the package found at the building on Wellesley Road was non-suspicious.

They cordoned off street around the building at 10.45am this morning, while workers in nearby offices were told not to leave their workplace.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "Officers attended and a cordon was put in place but the item has since been confirmed as non-suspicious. The area has now been reopened."

A BURGLAR who went on a crime spree across Croydon and Bromley, including breaking into schools and Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park, has been jailed for two years.

David Foster, 32, was given the sentence at Croydon Crown Court yesterday (October 29) after admitting to 18 non-residential burglaries across the borough and Bromley between July 17 and August 19 this year.

Foster, of no fixed abode, was caught when he was linked by forensic evidence to a burglary at a Salvation Army building in Bromley on July 30.

He was originally charged with that and five other burglaries though detectives managed to link Foster to other the other burglaries through further forensic and CCTV evidence.

He stole alcohol from a catering box at Selhurst Park on July 7 and continued on his spree until August 19, mainly stealing cash or electrical items, such as laptops, DVD players and cameras.

Many of his burglaries were at shops and restaurants in Westow Street and the Crystal Palace Triangle area in August.

Foster also targeted a number of schools, burgling two Harris Academy schools in Beckenham and South Norwood, Cypress Junior school in South Norwood, the Phil Edwards Centre in Upper Norwood and Ravensbourne school in Hayes Lane, Bromley.

Detective Constable Drew Dunmill, one of the officers from the forensic conversion team based at Croydon, the unit that carried out the investigation, said:

"Foster targeted shops, business premises and schools over the summer months and along with the value of the goods or cash that he stole, he also caused several thousand pounds worth of damage to the premises.

"He was extremely prolific and was responsible for a big proportion of non-residential burglaries in the Bromley and Croydon area over the summer.

"A number of my colleagues worked on this case and thanks to their efforts, Foster was convicted of 18 burglaries and will be behind bars for a considerable period, which will be reassuring for the local community and those affected."

JULIAN Speroni has exclusively told the Advertiser his disappointment at not receiving an apology from West Bromwich Albion defender Craig Dawson following his dangerous challenge last Saturday.

The custodian was on the end of an elbow from the Baggies man as he went to claim the ball, which Victor Anichebe got to first to grab a goal back early in the second half.

Speroni says he didn't know who the offender was until he watched the replay back on television and says it could have been even worse had Dawson caught him elsewhere on his head.

"I am really disappointed with the whole situation – I can't understand how he got away with it really," the goalkeeper said.

"The fact this guy (Dawson) just ran from outside the six-yard box just towards me with no intention whatsoever of playing the ball and elbow me like that.

"Somebody has to do something. There has been no apology from him and it disappoints me. I was expecting something from the guy.

"It is hard to see these things not getting punished. What are people waiting for? I was quite lucky – if he caught me in a different area it could have been a lot worse than it was."

Speroni's full interview is set to feature in Friday's Croydon Advertiser and online over the weekend. 

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

YANNICK Bolasie says he's had to change his style of play in the Premier League and believes it's producing better results.

The winger has had to adjust to life in the top flight during the last 14 months and find out what works and what doesn't.

And Bolasie says he hopes to show the fans that his game will continue to improve this season.

Sometimes players, in particular wingers, try to do too much and come unstuck in the Premier League, but Bolasie is learning that doing the easy things is paying dividends.

"I am trying to simplify my game, because a lot of the full-backs tend to stand off me now and are waiting for me to run at them," he said.

"I just don't want to complicate things. A lot of the time I found myself complicating my own situation this season, but now I am simplifying it and getting better results."

For the full interview with Bolasie, don't miss Friday's Croydon Advertiser.