[Football] Future VAR referees

[Razzoo]

We need mechanical, AI, robo, super- refs that hover asap. C'mon boffins.

 

[sydney]

what about a weekly review of refereeing performances on the telly box , another panel of pundits , refs present and past.....contentious decisions looked into maybe even with the referee concerned in the studio and held to account ....it would give some of these refs more of the limelight that they "deserve" and also encourage them to make sure the correct decision is made on match day , as things currently stand they are just unaccountable to anyone.

 

[The Large One]

what about a weekly review of refereeing performances on the telly box , another panel of pundits , refs present and past.....contentious decisions looked into maybe even with the referee concerned in the studio and held to account ....it would give some of these refs more of the limelight that they "deserve" and also encourage them to make sure the correct decision is made on match day , as things currently stand they are just unaccountable to anyone.

Well, they are accountable to PGMOL and the FA. It's just we don't get to see those findings.

I'm not convinced of a step-by-step public takedown of every contentious decision. That would, for me, be a step too far in undermining refereeing performances. I just want to see an improvement in decision-making.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

At the World Cup 2018 in Russia, there were no English referees officiating - on the pitch, nor in VAR. One can possibly infer from that that the best, current English referees aren't good enough for the top stage.

With that in mind, and given that VAR's main problem isn't necessarily its existence - more its application, should retired (ex-FIFA) referees take the VAR role in the Premier League, instead of the current, chummy, refereeing cabal at the moment?

Thoughts?

Clearly as they're working remotely, and - at the moment anyways - there's only one EPL game going on at any given time, a global crack team of VAR officials with impeccable credentials could fairly easily be assembled. Time to outsource?

 

[Pavilionaire]

I can't believe no retrospective action will be taken against Jordan Pickford and his challenge on Virgil Van Dijk.

That challenge is the very definition of a 'clear and obvious error'. Not only that but it is also the clearest cut case of retrospective action needing to be taken and the player banned for 3 matches.

In terms of horrific challenges it is right up there with Roy Keane on Alf-Inge Haaland in the Manchester derby.

The VAR rules are not fit for purpose and those that staff it don't have a clue what the remit is.

 

[Jim in the West]

What gets me is the sheer inconsistency of decisions. Not just from match to match, but in the same match - as we saw blatantly yesterday. If you are going to penalise Lamptey for his non-challenge on Batshuayi, then how is the obvious push on Connolly not a pen? And what about three very obvious examples of Lamptey being taken out as he bombed down the right wing? And what about all the argy-bargy at corners - mostly far worse than Lamptey's minor brush. It's a tough job being a ref, but those decisions were just ridiculous. One of the reasons we get so upset (well, I do anyway!) is that there is rarely any explanation for any decision, no matter how egregious. I'd love to know why the Ref (and the VAR official) didn't give the Connolly "pen", and why that slightest of touches in the penalty area by Lamptey was a pen, but other far worse challenges were not infringements.

 

[blue-shifted]

Agree with those saying

We can't keep on like this

Lower division refs and non UK nationals should be given a chance

ex players should take the chance to give something back to the game by reffing

The refs need to be more scared of the assessors than they are of the media and celebrity managers

Offside decisions should be naked eye. They can look at it on a screen once in real time, if not a clear and obvious error, stay with the original decision

Diving to be assessed retrospectively. So if a player clearly dives gets a penalty, that player can still be found guilty of an offense post match. The penalty for diving should be imposed on the club as a whole. The club should be deducted a league point. Diving would become a thing of the past at a stroke

 

[Perfidious Albion]

The very idea of a game of football being policed by a guy sitting miles away in front of a computer is an anathema to sporting people. Only the man on the spot can make the judgement calls necessary in a match.
We yearn for the times when the man in the middle made a quick decision. Of we disagreed with some but that is normal. We certainly do not accept that VAR must be right.
As an experiment it is a colossal and costly failure and the sooner the numpties running the game abandon it, the better.

 

[nicko31]

I can't believe no retrospective action will be taken against Jordan Pickford and his challenge on Virgil Van Dijk.

That challenge is the very definition of a 'clear and obvious error'. Not only that but it is also the clearest cut case of retrospective action needing to be taken and the player banned for 3 matches.

In terms of horrific challenges it is right up there with Roy Keane on Alf-Inge Haaland in the Manchester derby.

The VAR rules are not fit for purpose and those that staff it don't have a clue what the remit is.

Not as bad as Roy Keane, but actioned needed all the same

 

[drew]

At the World Cup 2018 in Russia, there were no English referees officiating - on the pitch, nor in VAR. One can possibly infer from that that the best, current English referees aren't good enough for the top stage.

With that in mind, and given that VAR's main problem isn't necessarily its existence - more its application, should retired (ex-FIFA) referees take the VAR role in the Premier League, instead of the current, chummy, refereeing cabal at the moment?

Thoughts?

Agree, being the saying the same for ages. You got the likes of Hackett, Poll etc who can use their years of experience. Unlikely, though as I think Riley would be threatened by their presence.

 

[SeagullDubai]

why not out source VAR to Estonia or Iceland ......at least you wouldn't have some absolute jockey like friend or pawson deciding the fate of the game.

Not sure that’s the answer. Look what happened to the Eurovision song contest


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hotchilidog]

VAR should be used to eliminate the error not to reinforce the ridiculous and it will not change all the time mates are reviewing each others decisions reinforced by rules that straightjacket the application of common sense and fairness.

Possibly the most sensible thing I have seen written about VAR. If only it was used in such a manner

 

[GT49er]

Agree with those saying

We can't keep on like this

Lower division refs and non UK nationals should be given a chance

ex players should take the chance to give something back to the game by reffing

Maybe better if ex-players were giving the job of the VAR rather than referees.

And for heavens sake, let's have a sensible definition of 'clear and obvious error' - for instance, if a player is a couple of millimetres offside (or onside by a similar margin for that matter) whichever way it is called, while it may be an error, it is not a 'clear and obvious error'. The purpose of VAR (and ex-footballers might get this better than referees) is not to suck the life out of the game with petty-fogging minutiae, but to spot occasions where the referee has made a clear and obvious ricket,

 

[sydney]

Well, they are accountable to PGMOL and the FA. It's just we don't get to see those findings.

I'm not convinced of a step-by-step public takedown of every contentious decision. That would, for me, be a step too far in undermining refereeing performances. I just want to see an improvement in decision-making.

the only way thats going to happen is make the twatts explain in public why they have erred , why they didn't use VAR when its is there to remove doubt....make them accountable , fans normally spend , collectively , hundreds of thousands of pounds attending games and on pay tv subscriptions , do they not deserve the best version of the game possible...? at the moment there is no accountability because any adverse sentiment from PGMOL stays behind closed doors.

 

[drew]

Well, they are accountable to PGMOL and the FA. It's just we don't get to see those findings.

I'm not convinced of a step-by-step public takedown of every contentious decision. That would, for me, be a step too far in undermining refereeing performances. I just want to see an improvement in decision-making.

Not quite sure I would describe them as being accountable in the normal understanding of the word. The PGMOL is the referees. And whilst in theory they are accountable, they have the FA and EPL over a barrel as who else would they have ref games if not the PGMOL.

 

[The Large One]

Maybe better if ex-players were giving the job of the VAR rather than referees.

And for heavens sake, let's have a sensible definition of 'clear and obvious error' - for instance, if a player is a couple of millimetres offside (or onside by a similar margin for that matter) whichever way it is called, while it may be an error, it is not a 'clear and obvious error'. The purpose of VAR (and ex-footballers might get this better than referees) is not to suck the life out of the game with petty-fogging minutiae, but to spot occasions where the referee has made a clear and obvious ricket,

If there's one group of people I wouldn't trust with officiating the Laws of the Game, it's ex-players. Have you seen the level of intelligence from ex-players as pundits, encouraged to come up with such gibberish as 'he deserved to go down there' or 'his momentum took him over' or 'he's forced the referee to make a decision...' etc.

At least, ex-players who haven't been on the full referees' courses. And those that do, would probably spend the entire time unlearning what had gone before. In which case, the roles should be taken be someone who, whether they were a former professional or not, has completed their referees' exams.

In other words, 'referees'.

 

[Mackenzie]

We used to have very good referees in England, not any more. We recruit the best players from around the world in our league and I see no reason not to go for the best referees from abroad too. I don’t trust our refs.

 

[sydney]

We used to have very good referees in England, not any more. We recruit the best players from around the world in our league and I see no reason not to go for the best referees from abroad too. I don’t trust our refs.

referees...?? just look at our politicians & teachers ...!! we are shit at everything because for the last 30 years people in power have brought in foreigners on less money to increase profits.......the only places this has not been practicable are the two mentioned above , two areas in which standards have plummeted......there is no reason that English referees can't be as good as their Euorpean counterparts other than there is no expectation for them to be so .....we have been conditioned to accept bang average across the board.I remember when i was in 5th year at school we had a temp teacher from Nigeria ....Simon Nambdi , he got all the wall bars out and gym apparatus and we played pirates in P.E , we never even knew the wall bars had wheels on them so they could be wheeled out at right angles to the walls ....4 fecking years at that school ffs.

 

[Springal]

I was under the impression that Championship and PL refs are on a retainer of between £30-50k PA, PL you get something like £1200 per game, Championship £600. I don't know how that scales down to L1 & 2 etc. It's not exactly 9 till 5, 5 days a week is it for that. You can probably supplement those earnings with coaching etc. Many ex-Pros from lower down go into trades etc.

You're right though, the structure of producing referees is a long process of starting low and working up through assessments taking a long time. Surely it's time to review that process and how we might go about producing better officials?

I mean, we are at a desperate point when you're looking at Craig Pawson & Michael Oliver being the best of the bunch at the moment.

The problem is - to become a referee means losing 3-4 hours of a Saturday or Sunday and probably getting £30 including petrol money.

After 2-3 seasons if you are decent you might get put into Youth leagues at Isthmian level and then from there could potentially make the step up to County Leagues, Non-League etc.

Then the big commitment and jump is into the EFL - but realistically you're talking a good 7-10 year to do so on crappy money.

I don't buy the notion that just because someone has played at any level means they know how to referee or control a game and should be fast tracked into any real level

 

[The Large One]

just look at our politicians , teachers etc. we are shit at everything because for the last 30 years people in power have brought in foreigners on less money to increase profits.......the only places this has not been practicable are the two mentioned above , two areas in which standards have plummeted.

No idea why you'd throw in teachers into the same level of societal respect as referees and politicians.