It seems that despite the fact that referees are professional, they are worse than ever. There have been quite a few dodgy decisions this year, we should have had a couple of penalties in recent weeks and on Saturday there was the shocking red card that Taylor got sacked as a direct result of (I know the results in the past 8 months may have contributed as well) but you know what I mean.

Are refs getting worse? Or is it just that the cameras pick up more of their mistakes?

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Answers

I think a number of refs are not coping with the increased scrutiny of their decisions. There were some pretty poor decisions on Sunday, not anything that might affect the result (in particular Glynis Barber overruling his linesmen - sorry, Asst Twats), but enough to cause some serious screaming at the telly.

It is quickly leading me to side with the tv replays and a 4th official, like in rugby league. I also think the refs should be miked up like in Union so we know exactly how they are managing the game. A lot of lessons to be learnt from the odd-shaped ball brigade.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Is it Refs or is it Lino's im sick of watching linesman (theyll never be assistants in my mind), waiting for the ref to point in which direction the throw, f kick et al should go, Even when the lino is in the best position to see the challenge. Take the Robert foul against Leicester I was at the 2nd row behind the Lino and I and everyone around saw the foul plain as day , what did the lino do , He looked at the ref for direction and the ref looked at the lino and nowt was given . We can blame refs all we like and they are wrong frequently but the Lino's give no help at all.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Whilst we are on this subject , my old man became a ref when his footy career was totalled before it could start donkeys yrs ago. He allways maintains if a wall doesnt get back 10 yds OR if a player stands infront of the ball to prevent a kick being taken a yellow card should immediatly be presented , they wont do it again will they. If the wall still does not move another yellow card and another untill they get the message.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I reckon the ref should carry a 10 yd piece of string and measure out a circle from the free kick spot. Perhaps even use a can of spray paint to ensure the equidistance of the defenders.

One thing that's being debated that I'm very uncertain about is the use of ex-footballers. Would any of us be happy to see L'il Ernie Wise or Niall Quinn ref our games? There are a ton of pros we would/could object to on regional / ex-team bias. Still, at least Pedro would have a career 'cos everyone likes him :-)

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Catch 22 situation folks, for the first time that I can recall we are having to cancel amateur league games due to the lack of referees that are availible. It is getting to the stage that we are asked to be flexible and play on Sunday`s. The auld ones are packing it in and no younger ones filling there place, Only local football but at £21 a match plus travelling expenses ,three matches a week say brings you seventy notes a week and free fitness training. They cannot take the hassle but I feel this is a sop for higher remuneration, still back to basics, you cannot have a organised game without the official.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Agreeing with Kenny, Too often this season have I seen Linesman waiting for the ref to make a decision on something right in front of them, or not for many decisions. Now we see Dion Dublin let off his red card given against the saints. Lets see the refs more accountable or bring in TV replays for things like penalty decisions or the 'did it cross the line' scenario. After that decision then no-one can disagree. I do not think we have seen a good display from a ref this season, and don't expect to see one.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

But on Sunday the linesman DID give a free kick in the first half. The thing was that it was so unusual to see

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

If these are "professionals" please bring back the amateurs!

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I'm all for professional refs. It's not a short term solution becaue for now we're stuck with the same jokers as we've had over the last few seasons. In the long term though, paying them a decent full time wage will encourage ex footballers into the game. Certainly care would have to be taken to ensure that certain players didn't referee certain games, but surely this is no different to the current situation where refes are supposed to declare if they have an interest in a particular team? Also, full time professionals should be able to devote themselves to refereeing full time. When they're not actually officiating they should be training, visiting the clubs etc. This is not really when they have another full time career. At the grass roots level I'm not sure what the answer is. I think the increasing scrutiny television has thrust upon top level referees, combined with the antics of certain premiership clubs, has fostered an atmosphere of contempt for officials which by and large they do not deserve. I'd personally want more than £20 to subject myself to the kind of abuse referees receive in some leagues.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I agree with Bobby, in that fottball could learn a lot from rugby. It's struck me that a lot of confusion is caused at the moment by slight tweaking of the rules/interpretation by the FA, and one of the main issues raised is always consistency. Perhaps consistency is impossible due to the fact that in order to have a sensible game, rules need to be interpreted. By taking the ability to interpret away from refs, by telling them effectively how they should interpret each situation, they may be causing more problems than if they let the refs use their common sense. In Rugby Union, the refs tell the sides how they want the game played, and give indications early on as to how strictly they'll interpret the rules and so forth. This allows the huge element of common sense into the equation that seems to be missing at the moment. Together with video replay if the ref is unsighted on a major decision, it would lead to much better refereeing...written in a bit of a hurry so a bit garbled probably..

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I asked this before on the same subject. What happens to the refs after they have a bad game? How many times can they reverse red cards? At least the clubs can drop players if they have shockers even substitute them. Except us of course, we leave them in the side til they get it right!

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I don't really see how video replays can help in football. The game is just too fast and doesn't really have enough natural breaks, unlike rugby league and to a lesser extent rugby union. Perhaps the use of extra officials, say one for each penalty area, in addition to the three already in place. This might help in some of the more contentious penalty decisions.

I also think that when a player has a red card decision reversed because there is no, or minimal contact, as in the Dublin and other recent incidents, then the player who falls to the ground like he's just been shot should face an automatic ban of at least as long as the one the player who was sent off would have faced. The same could also be applied to those who are later seen to have dived and so on.

It's very easy to blame referees when, often, the problems are caused by players.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

I think the standard of officiating in the PL is at an all-time low, frighteningly low this season, and very poor in comparison to many of the better Referees we see in internationals and European games.

However, there are some contributory factors:

i) one is the behaviour of certain Team Managers who actively encourage dissent, cheating and thereby contempt by their players towards the officials. This is acutely insidious, and something serious needs to be done about it, including permanently banning those responsible if necessary.

ii) ongoing meddling by the FA with the way Officials interpret the Laws of the Game. I believe the Referees as a body should be operationally independent, and in their full-time capacity they should be solely responsible for deciding how the Laws are to be interpreted. They should be responsible for ensuring insofar as possible that the interpretation is uniform by extensive study and discussion among themselves of actual incidents on video.

I feel the Officials as a body should be encouraged to evaluate the use of all available technology that could assist them in performing their jobs better, and to recommend on its adoption, or otherwise.

As part of this, I would be strongly in favour of having a 4th official in the Stand, equipped with full video playback facilities - to be used, or otherwise, entirely as the Referee himself feels appropriate.

In overall terms I feel we need to encourage the professional Officials to take control of these issues, to be given the responsibility for improving officiating standards, and to then be held accountable for the actual standards observed.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Aye Clarky, and the last bit is the most important -"to be held accountable"

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001