[Albion] Roberto De Zerbi doesn't like 80 per cent of English referees

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Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
Massive fine incoming. I remember Gus Poyet getting a £15K fine for criticising referees.
He’s right, though.
Watching World Cups, Euros etc shows how much better other referees are, and excluding the AEK game at the Amex where VAR overruled the Ukrainian ref twice, better in our games too.
 


5Ways Gull

È quello che è
Feb 2, 2009
1,183
Fiveways, Brighton
i don’t know if it is the referees fault or the rules but I think we need a refresh of the way games are played, top of the list:

- offside should be for obvious offsides where the players gain a genuine advantage by being further down the pitch by a clear margin, not a pube sticking out from their armpit - if lines are drawn to gauge whether they are offside then it is onside

- handballs / pens - maradona hand of god is a handball - a ball kicked at a defender that touches the side of their upper arm isn’t a handball

- more but I’d start with the clear and obvious errors they have made in the way they apply rules
I completely agree re your offside point. Goalhangers gaining an unfair advantage was the reason offside was introduced. I would say there needs to be a clear gap between the attacking and defending player for it to be offside.
Bit concerned by the concept of pubes coming from players armpits though!
 




Stato

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2011
7,367
As often seems to be the case with RDZ, I think that his English has led to a slight misinterpretation of what he was saying. In the context of the question it seemed to me that he was suggesting that although the red card decision was correct, he didn't like Brooks' performance, but that this was nothing to comment on because he felt the same about the referee in 80% of games.

After seeing the penalty that Brooks and the VAR didn't give, I'm not surprised. We'd have got our first clean sheet of the season in our first match if the refs hadn't decided that the ball bouncing off your body onto your arm exception doesn't count if you're Lewis Dunk. Yesterday, they decided that doing a version of the wing flapping from the Birdy Song dance is keeping your arm in a natural position.
 




kevo

Well-known member
Mar 8, 2008
9,800
Not sure it was a wise comment tbh. Can't see refs giving much in our favour after that! Didn't think the one on Sat got too much wrong, except for missing the handball (which VAR wouldn't have overturned and would probably have won us the match). Also no card for the deliberate foul just outside the area right at the end.
 


Baldseagull

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
11,839
Crawley
I'm struggling to identify the other 20%.

“I am honest and clear, I don’t like 80 per cent of English referees. It’s not a new thing, I don’t like them. The behaviour, I don’t like their behaviour on the pitch.​
“England is the only country where, when there is VAR, you are not sure the decision is right. In other countries, you have to be sure the referee is 100 per cent right. In England, no, I’m not able to understand.”​


He hates the other 20%
 


Uh_huh_him

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2011
12,113
Since he's been here, he's had 2 visits from Howard Webb to apologise for result changing decisions.
Watched countless inconsistencies where his generally clean playing team pick up yellow cards for timewasting, whilst opponents get away with the same offences.

Off the top of my head, this season we have had a ridiculous penalty given against us vs Luton
A straight red card ignored against Fulham
A stonewall penalty ignored vs Sheffield United
Blatant timewasting ignored/encouraged vs Fulham
Yellow cards given against us for timewasting.

I can see why he doesn't like them.
We have a lot more contentious decisions given against us, than for us.
When was PGMOL apologised to one of our opponents for an incorrect decision, which gave us points?

I'm sure we aren't alone, and I'm "looking through blue and white specs," etc, etc.

But I frankly don't give a f*** if RDZ is making a mistake saying this.
How much more can the referees take it out on us.?
 




Uh_huh_him

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2011
12,113
Not sure it was a wise comment tbh. Can't see refs giving much in our favour after that! Didn't think the one on Sat got too much wrong, except for missing the handball (which VAR wouldn't have overturned and would probably have won us the match). Also no card for the deliberate foul just outside the area right at the end.
When do they ever give much in our favour?
Still waiting for the first game changing, contentious VAR decision in our favour....

Because they "even out over the course of the season" don't they?
 


CheeseRolls

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 27, 2009
6,230
Shoreham Beach
Don’t like this. There are issues with officiating at the moment due to the way we have incorporated VAR. There need to be major changes made there but I am not a fan of criticism of individual referees, they make mistakes like all players and managers, they’re not corrupt, it is an incredibly hard job and they are not being helped at all by the system currently in place. I don’t like it when Klopp, Arteta etc do it and I don’t like it when RDZ does it.

And it’s not even like the ref had a bad game yesterday?!

I can’t see how these comments help us as a club and ultimately that’s all RDZ should be worried about. Same as his histrionics on the touchline yesterday didn’t help us. The team lost the plot on the pitch for about 10 minutes after the red and they desperately needed a calm head directing them.
Before the sending off, there was a Sheffield attack which fell apart as the ref was positioned centrally on the edge of the D and they had to play around him. We then tried to clear the ball and gave it back to them, as again we failed to play around the ref. The bar is very low in the premier league.
 








kevo

Well-known member
Mar 8, 2008
9,800
When do they ever give much in our favour?
Still waiting for the first game changing, contentious VAR decision in our favour....

Because they "even out over the course of the season" don't they?
I was trying to explain this to someone about last season.

Against us we had:

FIVE decisions away v Spurs.

The most obvious penalty you will ever see not given at home v Villa.

Other CLEAR penalties not given v Leicester (a) and last minute v Brentford (h).

VAR incorrectly ruling out a goal by drawing the line in the wrong place at Palace.

That potentially cost us TEN POINTS - which would have meant fourth spot and Champions League.

Decisions that went for us? I am really struggling, but I think there was one where Dunk may have possibly blocked a cross with his arm.

I try to not be myopic about these things, but you're right these decisions very rarely seem to go in our favour.
 
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Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
I was trying to explain this to someone about last season.

Against us we had:

FIVE decisions against us away v Spurs.

The most obvious penalty you will ever see not given at home v Villa.

Other CLEAR penalties not given v Leicester (a) and last minute v Brentford (h).

VAR incorrectly ruling out a goal by drawing the line in the wrong place at Palace.

That potentially cost us TEN POINTS - which would have meant fourth spot and Champions League.

Decisions that went for us? I am really struggling, but I think there was one where Dunk may have possibly blocked a cross with his arm.

I try to not be myopic about these things, but you're right these decisions very rarely seem to go in our favour.
Only in Europa games where we don't have English referees.
 


Greg Bobkin

Silver Seagull
May 22, 2012
16,033
Lol…so tell me how u think it did
Jim Shite sets the scene, explaining to Simon Jordan (and whoever else is on with him) what RDZ. Opens it up with "Simon? Does De Zerbi not have a point, Simon?"

There then follows a word salad from Jordan who says that he's entitled to his opinion, but he should keep his mouth shut. Adding that it is masking a bad period for the club on the pitch and asking why RDZ should be special when "every single team, up and down the country, every single weekend" has decisions that go against them.

Shite then counters it with some examples (as posted on here) where the refs got it wrong and how they've apologised to RDZ/the club for facking it up so many times.

Jordan then doubles down on his argument that every team gets decisions given against them, RDZ is making himself look foolish, undermining "referees in this country and he should learn to keep his trap shut. He's already been sent to the stands multiple times – and he's just not learning from his mistakes.

Enter the third party (is it Martin O'Neill on a Monday?) who will side with either Shite or Jordan (that one is on the toss of a coin by the Talkshite bosses) and the three of them get into a heated debate – all talking at the same time – about referees in this country, the trouble with VAR, blah, blah, blah.
 






Albion my Albion

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 6, 2016
19,654
Indiana, USA
I heard on another thread that he thinks they are arrogant, the Refs that is.
 




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