Even though it seemed apparent to me that that one ref in particular had an agenda against us from the start, I will say that I thought Diarra was acting more like a fan and less like a player throughout much of the game, so he was an easy target.
And I will also say that, as much as I like Hurley--and I do--I can see how he can rub the refs the wrong way, also from the get go. The way he walks and carries himself, it looks like he's looking for confrontation. I have a few close friends like that and I get it, but it's an initial impression I'm sure he makes on a lot of people. I also get that JC had a healthy amount of that attribute, but he was physically imposing and intimidating, whereas Hurley is not. He's not diminutive like Cronin, but in a similar way I think his presence and manner probably annoys refs more than intimidates or persuades them. He's going to have to work on the art of riding them without having it backfire. I do see him and the players trying to make nice with them at various points during the game, so I think they are conscious of it, but the results need to change.
