Overthehills
Long term sufferer - Ever optimist
I can’t help but worry about the standard of officiating in recent weeks, what with some very blatant decisions going against us. I get that the rules have been amended in order to allow a degree of physical contact, which in turn would hopefully aid the flow of the game….but still we see highly dubious decisions and large scale inconsistency.
I read that Hecky recently had a meeting at Shirecliffe with EFL refereeing chief Kevin Friend. Apparently the gaffer came away from the meeting enthused and with an overall better understanding of things….but the standards of officiating since have been as bad as they get. You could argue that the poor standard of officiating has directly impacted the overall standard and flow of the game itself!
Whilst you could perhaps argue that a number of influences have gradually transformed the game into an almost zero contact sport, therefore they won’t be used to the sudden changes… I can’t help but feel the level of officiating doesn’t accommodate such changes.
Over time we have come to accept that officials will always have a different interpretation of very similar tackles, based on whether they are inside or outside of the box. But when you have identical challenges in non threatening / neutral positions of the pitch, in which referees are making differing decisions….the you are going to have problems aren’t you.
For instance the Billy Sharp v Hanley incident….. if we disregard the blatant niggly kicks at Sharp and just focus on the initial challenge. Billy does what billy has always done supremely well, in getting himself between the opposition player and the ball and planting his feet. More times than not, this leads to the opposition player bundling him onto the ground and giving away a free kick… Despite the more lenient approach to refereeing, a shove in the back and bundle to the ground like this is still a foul…… yet the referee doesn’t buy it and calls play on.
I guess we would all accept if the referee was consistent in his decision on similar tackles throughout…. But yet a short while later he blows for an almost identical challenge, why?… over in front of the benches, the Norwich lad puts himself in front of Baldock and the ball in a very similar style…. George gives him a mild nudge in the back and the player hits the deck. Yet the referee is very quick to blow up for a free kick. This shouldn’t be happening!… if you are going to let one go, then you have to let them all go. I can only assume that this wasn’t for the tackle itself, but more for the conduct of Baldock?? A player who he had his eye on due to a few earlier exchanges and battles.
Another argument has to be the role of other officials in decision making! In both the Blackpool and the Norwich games, we have seen some highly debatable events taking place right in front of the lino’s….. the referee has then run over and the linesman has failed to give insight? Why?…. What has happened to the days when players would be ushered away and the referee would walk over to the linesman to ask what they saw?? It’s all absolutely pointless…..
So here we go again…… with two games showing the potential benefit of VAR. From penalty shouts, to individual refereeing decisions…… the overall standard is poor and inconsistent, therefore perhaps having a TV to refer to is the answer?…. I know it has its pros and cons, but can it possibly be any worse that the current substandard officiating??
I read that Hecky recently had a meeting at Shirecliffe with EFL refereeing chief Kevin Friend. Apparently the gaffer came away from the meeting enthused and with an overall better understanding of things….but the standards of officiating since have been as bad as they get. You could argue that the poor standard of officiating has directly impacted the overall standard and flow of the game itself!
Whilst you could perhaps argue that a number of influences have gradually transformed the game into an almost zero contact sport, therefore they won’t be used to the sudden changes… I can’t help but feel the level of officiating doesn’t accommodate such changes.
Over time we have come to accept that officials will always have a different interpretation of very similar tackles, based on whether they are inside or outside of the box. But when you have identical challenges in non threatening / neutral positions of the pitch, in which referees are making differing decisions….the you are going to have problems aren’t you.
For instance the Billy Sharp v Hanley incident….. if we disregard the blatant niggly kicks at Sharp and just focus on the initial challenge. Billy does what billy has always done supremely well, in getting himself between the opposition player and the ball and planting his feet. More times than not, this leads to the opposition player bundling him onto the ground and giving away a free kick… Despite the more lenient approach to refereeing, a shove in the back and bundle to the ground like this is still a foul…… yet the referee doesn’t buy it and calls play on.
I guess we would all accept if the referee was consistent in his decision on similar tackles throughout…. But yet a short while later he blows for an almost identical challenge, why?… over in front of the benches, the Norwich lad puts himself in front of Baldock and the ball in a very similar style…. George gives him a mild nudge in the back and the player hits the deck. Yet the referee is very quick to blow up for a free kick. This shouldn’t be happening!… if you are going to let one go, then you have to let them all go. I can only assume that this wasn’t for the tackle itself, but more for the conduct of Baldock?? A player who he had his eye on due to a few earlier exchanges and battles.
Another argument has to be the role of other officials in decision making! In both the Blackpool and the Norwich games, we have seen some highly debatable events taking place right in front of the lino’s….. the referee has then run over and the linesman has failed to give insight? Why?…. What has happened to the days when players would be ushered away and the referee would walk over to the linesman to ask what they saw?? It’s all absolutely pointless…..
So here we go again…… with two games showing the potential benefit of VAR. From penalty shouts, to individual refereeing decisions…… the overall standard is poor and inconsistent, therefore perhaps having a TV to refer to is the answer?…. I know it has its pros and cons, but can it possibly be any worse that the current substandard officiating??
