The Red Card Effect

[Tony Towner]

No I agree, times have changed and the game has moved on, what I'm saying is I don't think referees have got worse, just that the game has changed to their detriment. Personally I like the NFL coach / manager challenge system. I'd give one per half that remain intact if upheld, benefit of the doubt goes with the onfield decision so things like Dicko's penalty on Tuesday would probably stay as a penalty

 

[Dinowolf]

No I agree, times have changed and the game has moved on, what I'm saying is I don't think referees have got worse, just that the game has changed to their detriment. Personally I like the NFL coach / manager challenge system. I'd give one per half that remain intact if upheld, benefit of the doubt goes with the onfield decision so things like Dicko's penalty on Tuesday would probably stay as a penalty

Yes I understand your point, and you may be right, although events this season bring it into question IMO.
Whatever system any right minded football fan supports though won't see the light of day until FIFA changes its mind and I don't think that will happen while Blatter is still in charge.

 

[sycophantia]

Refs are human so make mistakes, it has always been thus, no worse now than years ago just that there's more scrutinee and players deffo try to con refs more. Its got to be worth trialling some kind tmo system

 

[Alan]

Logic would seem to dictate that things may be worse now than in the past simply due to the increased speed of the game. Are the refs actually worse though? Almost certainly not.

 

[darlowolf64]

Logic would seem to dictate that things may be worse now than in the past simply due to the increased speed of the game. Are the refs actually worse though? Almost certainly not.

"Speed of the game" doesn't account for all of the fuckery I've witnessed just at Molineux this season though. For a linesman (referees assistant) to give a player offside from a goal kick is pathetic. There have been other terrible decisions and they are compounded by a failure of the official to accept responsibility for his error when shown a replay after the match. Some referees are just too arrogant for the good of the game

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

Yes I understand your point, and you may be right, although events this season bring it into question IMO.
Whatever system any right minded football fan supports though won't see the light of day until FIFA changes its mind and I don't think that will happen while Blatter is still in charge.

Spot on. Nothing will change while Blatter is in charge. He's got far too many anti-football interests to protect. Just look at the farce that is the 2022 World Cup. I can't wait for him to be removed as head of FIFA. Hope it happens in the most scandalous way possible, a drug fuelled sex scandal a la Berlusconi would be about right.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I would add that referees should know their players a bit more, it would help a lot.

A few examples:

- Aguero doesn't dive so Jones booking him (wrongly) for it vs Southampton was nonsense
- Craig Dawson has made at least four dangerous challenges with his elbow this season, they led to goals vs Palace and Burnley and injuries to Speroni and Walters, on Saturday he led with his elbow when challenging Bony and it was rightfully a red card (wrong guy though, d'oh). Seriously someone should be keeping an eye on that
- Everyone knows Skrtel, Shawcross and quite a few others regularly engage in grappling matches off set pieces, keep a special eye on them and start giving penalties

There'd be a lot more if I took the time and effort to think about it in a bit more depth. Having a working knowledge of a player's traits would be very useful I feel.

As for mistaken identity, we have had three in the PL now over the last 12 months and that is completely unacceptable. I also have a real problem with referees bottling big decisions - eg Dean with Matic last week. No excuse for that either.

 

[Alan]

Surely that becomes problematic in the long run? Like Suarez's reputation for diving. Was it well-earned? Absolutely. But did it deny Liverpool penalties that were perfectly justified? Again, absolutely.

Players involved shouldn't enter the equation at all. The referee has to go with what he thinks he sees. Obviously some bias is unavoidable, but to give Aguero the benefit of the doubt just because he's Aguero... Doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

Martin Atkinson had an excellent game at Anfield yesterday, as did Michael Oliver at Hull. It does show that while there are a few issues, referees are more than capable of upholding their standards.