Officials are ruining our game

Yes a linesman would get replaced if he had a heart attack !! The game would also prob be called off as well !!

I'm sorry but it's human errors and the inability to get the correct decisions under pressure. Pressure within the game is becoming a big problem and people's reactions to pressure. Someone mentioned it this morning that the linesman reacted purely down to the pressure and the timing of the goal - I bet if that exact same goal happened in the 80th min then he wouldn't have raised his flag.

The refs and linesman are under extreme pressures to get everything right - one mistake and it costs teams money - lots of money. Players/Managers aren't helping situations by heaping more pressure onto the officials and the officials can't handle it.

But it also doesn't excuse the amount of mistakes that do occur - everything happens quickly in the game - they get a second to react to the situation and then act - it can't be easy but they get paid a lot of money to do it. What doesn't help is the constant analysis from the media as well - 20 different slow mo replays from every single angle to prove that the red got it wrong - well that's great if the ref can see every single replay from every single angle but they don't - they get one view and they don't see it again - human nature will already concede that they will get things wrong.

Send the linesman off ?! How exactly does the ref know that the linesman got it wrong to be able to "send him off"

You're kidding, right?

You've no sense of humour

Chill out mate.

You're kidding, right?

You've no sense of humour

Chill out mate.

Many a truth said in jest

Still a tad angry

You're kidding, right?

You've no sense of humour

Chill out mate.

As near as your gonna get to a wum, might even be "The Chosen One" himself.

As near as your gonna get to a wum, might even be "The Chosen One" himself.

So you have moved on from calling me a manc to now I'm Moyes ?!

Incredible - for someone who supposedly "ignores" me can never fail to chip in with a little dig.

Grow up

I did read a great article on Utd refs - where it listed a load of refs, and what happened after they awarded decisions against Utd (not the saboutage time article) - yet I cant find it... Would be good to post on here.

With regards to the standard - I regret that there is only two lines of action that can be taken IMO.

First off, we put up massive screens at all games and have a 10 second lag on them to use as a video replay or bring in video replays full time. This needs to happen - yesterday they could have held the game for 10 seconds whilst we saw the replay and the goal was awared. For all goals they should have a replay and stop the game for a second to see it. Yes it would break up the game (allbeit for 1 min tops whilst they look at replays - where needed, of course clear cut goals would not be viewed). They can also do this for all Red Card decisions - it really wouldnt slow the game down that much, as it takes about 2 mins before the game restarts.

Secondly - teams are taken off when refs make a compelete balls up, to the point where ala american sports either they go on strike or are replaced. We may lose about 6 moths of football - but to get things right we may need to retrain all the refs and get rid of the same refs making the same poor decisions. In this time they can implement a few new rules and actually make progress. Sometimes stopping, sorting out your house and carrying on is needed - we do this in every other walk of life, so why not in football. yes it would be a ball ache and rubbish etc - but would be for the good of the game.

Just my view - but I think it is fair to say it has now reached a point where the refs are not good enough to do their jobs - something has to change...

The problem is though with taking teams off and going on strike you then start to have a problem with people actually wanting to do the job ! They already struggle to get refs at grass root levels at the moment.

Part of the issue that's being ignored is the fact that players cheat to make ref's lives that little bit harder.  I quit refereeing at a very junior level, twenty odd years ago and it was going on then.  People thinking this is a recent phenomena are living in cloud cuckoo land, it is just highlighted much more nowadays.

And it is cheating to claim for a throw that isn't yours, it is cheating to ask for a fellow professional to be booked, fouling is a form of cheating and, rightly, cards are issued for it.  I made it simple when I refereed games, I told the players they left decisions to myself and the linesman, I also told them I would make mistakes and that they wouldn't be on purpose.  I also said if they failed to observe these rules, then I'd book them for ungentlemanly conduct.

This would cause chaos if implemented now, for a few months and then, the message would be out there again, much like the message a lot of us remember when we were growing up, you play to the whistle.  You don't question his decision, you don't crowd him if you don't like his decision, you accept it, get over it and get on with the game.  You question a ref, you get booked, simple as.  You expect a ref to get every decision right, you're a fool.  But as I've said, mistakes are part of the game, players and managers make them, so do refs.

Having said all that, I do want reform.  Timekeeping should not be in the referees purview, we have an independent timekeeper who ensures we get 45 minutes of football, each half, not 25-30 minutes, this eliminates the option to players of timewasting.  The FA should review referee's decisions and have the authority to change decisions, including yellow cards.  This would happen after the referee has had a chance to review and audit his own performance.  A league table of refs should be published publicly, showing both in-game and the FA post-game review performance, the best refs, of course, will be the ones with the smallest discrepancies. This also goes for linesmen too, and speaking of linesman, I think it's time for 4 linesman and offsides would require both covering their half of the pitch to flag for an offside.

Lastly, I don't want video technology, I don't want sensors in the ball, I want players to stop cheating and I want refs (and players) held accountable for their actions.   Not too much to ask for, is it?

Just read Gerrards interview on the website.

'"I asked him after the game if it was offside and he said 'I think so'. That's not good enough. If every decision in this league is based on 'We think so' then we're in trouble."'

I entirely agree that referees are humans and they do make human errors but it's just a little fishy that controversies have happened way more often than it rains in the UK.

Three matches this weekend. Arsenal and United benefit from offside goals, while we got robbed off a goal. Furthermore, it was so late when the linesman raised his flag when Suarez scored. It wasn't up when he got the ball from Coates' nod down, it wasn't up when he put it into the back of the net, it wasn't up when he brought out his guns and kissed his wrist. It was so late .. and I wonder why.

Also, two big clashes involving United ended up with them winning via controversial decisions.

Can it not be anymore biased and obvious?

Just read Gerrards interview on the website.

'"I asked him after the game if it was offside and he said 'I think so'. That's not good enough. If every decision in this league is based on 'We think so' then we're in trouble."'

Isn't every decision based on what they think they saw, right or wrong? 

Part of the issue that's being ignored is the fact that players cheat to make ref's lives that little bit harder.  I quit refereeing at a very junior level, twenty odd years ago and it was going on then.  People thinking this is a recent phenomena are living in cloud cuckoo land, it is just highlighted much more nowadays.

And it is cheating to claim for a throw that isn't yours, it is cheating to ask for a fellow professional to be booked, fouling is a form of cheating and, rightly, cards are issued for it.  I made it simple when I refereed games, I told the players they left decisions to myself and the linesman, I also told them I would make mistakes and that they wouldn't be on purpose.  I also said if they failed to observe these rules, then I'd book them for ungentlemanly conduct.

This would cause chaos if implemented now, for a few months and then, the message would be out there again, much like the message a lot of us remember when we were growing up, you play to the whistle.  You don't question his decision, you don't crowd him if you don't like his decision, you accept it, get over it and get on with the game.  You question a ref, you get booked, simple as.  You expect a ref to get every decision right, you're a fool.  But as I've said, mistakes are part of the game, players and managers make them, so do refs.

Having said all that, I do want reform.  Timekeeping should not be in the referees purview, we have an independent timekeeper who ensures we get 45 minutes of football, each half, not 25-30 minutes, this eliminates the option to players of timewasting.  The FA should review referee's decisions and have the authority to change decisions, including yellow cards.  This would happen after the referee has had a chance to review and audit his own performance.  A league table of refs should be published publicly, showing both in-game and the FA post-game review performance, the best refs, of course, will be the ones with the smallest discrepancies. This also goes for linesmen too, and speaking of linesman, I think it's time for 4 linesman and offsides would require both covering their half of the pitch to flag for an offside.

Lastly, I don't want video technology, I don't want sensors in the ball, I want players to stop cheating and I want refs (and players) held accountable for their actions.   Not too much to ask for, is it?

That is it a cracking post

Well deserved +1

I've said for a while now that the game is turning in to a joke thanks to those who should be invisible on the pitch.

At almost £50 for a ticket it is getting in to the realms of being able to get a refund - the game is no longer played between two sets of eleven men.  Ultimately the result is decided by whoever the officials favour.  The games - especially between the bigger clubs - are decided by 'professional' officials.  They can call goals legal or illegal - send players off or hand cards out without any apparent logic or consistency. 

It really is almost getting to the point where some of these games are being decided like a wrestling match.

And the officials escape without investigation, or coming out explaining their decision.  They should be made to admit their errors and hold their hands up.  They just don't do this.

I hate to say this - but the current set of officials are so poor - that it almost dictates the need for decisions to be confirmed by some kind of TV replay system. 

Yesterday the linesman and referee should have been able to view a replay of the goal before their decision.  It works in Rugby.  How often do you hear of poor officiating in that sport?

I posted this on Facebook when Chelsea had pulled it back to 2-1:

Chelski are getting stronger here, the ref had better get his cards out!

Predictable. Sickening.

Albert Pierpoint

The last hangman of Great Britain.

Video technology is a must.

Goal-line technology is a must.

Reducing the number of mistakes is paramount.

The time it would take to allow a replay once the whistle is blown for a red-card offence, once an offside decision is made on a goal / no goal or a penalty decision is so minimal that it would add virtually no time to the game anyway. The amount of time wasted by players crowding refs and arguing points that would be moot with replays shown would negate the time lost almost entirely and the only reasons I can believe that these systems haven't been put in place so far is that corruption is rife and this would remove the power for officials to influence the game in a biased way.

There of course should be accountability of referees, their decisions are influencing one of the biggest industries in the world and they lock themselves away and absolve themselves of all blame through silence, it's laughable that this is possible. I don't know how it became this way but this simple flaw needs addressing above all else in my opinion. To be able to hide away from all media attention when every other aspect of the game is open for scrutiny and questioning to the minute detail is giving them them absolute power and frankly I'm astonished it has been allowed to be this way for so long.

A panel made up of ex footballers and referees could sit down and spend the next day looking at all Prem games played the day before. Managers have 3 'calls' a season, where they can call for the panel to sit and review the game the next day.

Any mistakes leading to goals being scored or disallowed can be reveresed, and yes, that means points can retrospectively be added, or taken away. Same goes for divers and cheats, they can be retrospectively banned or bans can be nullified for those who are deemed not to have dived.

If this was done, there woud be no need for 'goal line technology', and referees wouldn't have such a stressful time refereeing.

If the FA cared about the game, they'd do something like this.

Just read Gerrard's interview with the Echo. He spoke to the Linesman after the game: "I asked him after the game if it was offside and he said, 'I think so'. That's not good enough. If every decision in this league is based on, 'we think so' then we're in trouble. The linesman got it badly wrong. The benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to the attacking player anyway"...

On video evidence, Football Focus once conducted an experiment and proved that it takes less time out of the game for a 5th official to review video evidence and radio down to the ref than time lost to players surrounding the ref and arguing the toss. They really have no excuses and simply want to continue being pretty little Princesses who can't be criticised.

Changing results ?! - that would be impossible to do - that would open up even more problems

What happens if the mistake happened in the first minute and then a team defended for 90 mins to win 1 nil - why should the club then get punished for a refs mistake ?

Retrospective action against players etc can be done but chalking off goals or adding them after the match is impossible to do

Changing results ?! - that would be impossible to do - that would open up even more problems

What happens if the mistake happened in the first minute and then a team defended for 90 mins to win 1 nil - why should the club then get punished for a refs mistake ?

Retrospective action against players etc can be done but chalking off goals or adding them after the match is impossible to do

Don't mean chalking off goals I'm talking about points, like they do for financial issues, only not as many.

Changing results ?! - that would be impossible to do - that would open up even more problems

What happens if the mistake happened in the first minute and then a team defended for 90 mins to win 1 nil - why should the club then get punished for a refs mistake ?

Retrospective action against players etc can be done but chalking off goals or adding them after the match is impossible to do

If the team scores in the first minute and it's clearly offside, and the game ends 1-0, the game is deemed a draw.

That's how you do it.

If the team scores in the first minute and it's clearly offside, and the game ends 1-0, the game is deemed a draw.

That's how you do it.

But the early goal may change teams way of playing - their tactics would change because of an early goal or in fact any goal.

It would make a total mockery of the sport to reduce wins to defeats etc and would open it all up to court cases etc .

Don't mean chalking off goals I'm talking about points, like they do for financial issues, only not as many.

So punish a club points because a ref made a mistake ?

Why is it the clubs fault ?