I am old enough to remember when BBC match of the day was in doubt after a referee was lambasted for allowing a Leeds [I think ] goal which was clearly offside - or something like that and so criticism of refs was banned from commentary on TV.
I don't remember that being reversed and so am surprised when commentators are now openly calling out errors in linesmen or refs errors.
Nothing in life is black and white - as a QS I learned that very quickly in life so it should be in football - there are three teams on pitch one of which is in all black and everyone tries their best, it adds to the disappointment which is why we love it!!
Yes, there are shortage of refs in every country, I think. I am more worried that we won't have any officials in the future than their decisions now. They are human and far too much attention is paid for their action by TV. It too easy to say a ref made a mistake after a few replays.
They make mistakes, but the players make ten times more mistakes. And I hate players (like Salah a week ago) going down when a defender touches them. Disgusting.
Of course the refereeing needs to improve but it is the system that needs improving. Like recruitment.
Up the Boro!
About the Derby match, Philip Tallentire commented on Twitter:
"Just something to mull over. After 29 league games last season Boro had 35 points. After 29 this season they've 40. Last Boro had scored 29 league goals, this season they've scored 32. Goals conceded last season after 29 was 36. This season it's 30. Make your own conclusions..."
Well, we need to find a way of scoring a goal or two. Up the Boro!
Does anyone know what Leo’s role is at the moment?
I would hazard a guess that any goalkeeping coaching concerns angles and positioning and shot stopping rather than tactics like hoofing the ball upfield to concede possession. That latter part I'm pretty sure like Pulis before him falls under the Managers behest.
In fairness to Leo, you can't make a silk purse out of a Sow's ear.
On Refereeing I think the biggest problem is one of vision. Now I know that historically there have been many jibes about Specsavers but I think a retired former Official with all the wisdom but without the legs and energy could be put to good use as a fifth official in the stands overseeing what goes on in the entirety of the pitch.
Referees and their assistants are often so busy watching intensely at what is happening they quite often and understandably cannot see the wood for the trees. Add in a TV monitor with the ability to maybe replay certain moments for the "Fifth Official" and it could only help in ensuring decisions are more accurate in real time with the ability to spot the little off the ball exchanges. I would much prefer that to the mess that VAR has created with giving offsides for untied shoelaces being ahead of the last defender's shinpad width.
Bitterly disappointed that Boro didn't really show up at Derby. I began to fear we would get seriously embarrassed when we went 2 down and still quite early in the game.
Re the referees debate.
I like that there is always the potential for genuine errors to be made. It keeps the whole experience human. I dislike that there are many "top" players that will deliberately and surreptitiously engage in foul play, put more simply to cheat.
Does it really matter that an elbow or a toe nail put somebody off side when it is obvious the player was genuinely trying to beat the offside rather than blatantly adopting an offside position to gain advantage? The spirit of that law was intended to stop 'goal hanging', not to make it illegal to be caught a fraction of an inch the wrong side of a defender, especially if you are clearly in the spirit of the game.
It is a physical, contact sport. Players will get their ankles and shins kicked many times in a game, mostly simply as a consequence of honest attempts to play the ball, not the man.
Let the referee be the arbiter.
On the other hand, teams and players are always in le lookout for opportunities to misuse the rules to their advantage. They are encouraged to do this because there is no effective sanction.
Rather than trying to apply technology with a 5th official reviewing thing in real time, I believe that the sports governing bodies should allow any incident or decision to be reviewed retrospectively.
A panel of ex players and officials should be able to agree if an incident occurred in the spirit of the game or if there was apparent intent.
A yellow card could be issued retrospectively if the panel adjudged a player to have been deliberately flaunting the offside rule in a match and the officials on the pitch missed it.
Dangerous play that was missed in the game could also be subject to a yellow card. So there would be a natural justice and the player being sanctioned does get to learn from his/her mistake.
Apparently deliberate foul play (cheating - including "simulation") should be considered a team offence resulting in a one point deduction in the league and forfeiture of the game in a cup.
I might be persuaded of the value of VAR during a game, but only to review goal and penalty decisions.
It is only by ensuring that there will be consequences for dangerous and foul play that you will begin to deter it. It is also only by making deliberate foul play (cheating) a team offence that you get the benefit of peer pressure on each player to play within the spirit of the game.
In my humble opinion I didn’t see the need to change the previous offside law. I’m sure OFB can describe it, but would like to hear his observations as to the reason for altering it. Also I think the law of not interfering with play is total nonsense.
On another subject it is 5 years since Ali Brownlee died. How I miss him. I rarely listen to Radio Tees commentaries today since Maddo was introduced. At least on Quest I can fast forward Colin Murray between matches, too much opinion and not enough football. I couldn’t stand him when he introduced Match of the Day 2 on BBC. Perhaps I’m becoming a clone of Victor Meldrew!
In Rugby League if a referee misses a dangerous tackle players can be put on report and a panel decides later in the week if any action needs to be taken. I’m pretty sure that in similar circumstances the Blackburn player involved in the DF incident would have received a retrospective ban.
I’m always disappointed by linesmen (in both football and RL tbh). They’re there to assist the referee but more often than not they bottle it and say nothing.
RL commentary on Sky usually has an ex referee included (Stuart Cummings) who tries to explain decisions taken on the pitch by the officials. He is a bit prone to backing referees even when they’ve patently called something wrong but, on balance, I think his presence helps fans understand things from a referees point of view.
Ken
The offside law was changed primarily for Television who wanted to see more goals and to stop unnecessary free kicks when an opposing player was permanently off side (remember Bernie Slaven?)
It’s got down to a fine art now with VAR and even an arm outstretched can mean a player being offside and it has often meant that assistant referees (linesmen) don’t make decisions for fear of making a mistake. There is no doubt in my mind that the strategy of recruiting referees needs changing.
It has often been mooted that ex professional players could be schooled in the art of refereeing and it is certainly something that should be considered.
Their are a lot of young academy players who sign professional terms but are subsequently injured and are unable to continue a playing career. They would be however fit enough to attend a full time refereeing school funded by the Premiership, Football League, FA and the PFA.
This would promulgate a new type of referee who knew about the game of football and what constitutes the difference from a dirty tackle to only a clumsy one.
There now appears to be a serious gulf in refereeing standards and not enough training given at grass roots level.
The decision not given by the ref regarding the recent Fry incident is a moot point as Someone is going to get seriously hurt unless action is taken.
OFB