It’s certainly not a job that I envy but the role of the on-field referee has always been to be strong, to be firm and to be fair. Whether you’re taking charge of a Champions League match or a high-profile contest in the English Premier League, the demand from everyone is the same, we want accuracy and consistency from the man in the middle. Should we expect referees and consistency to go hand in hand?
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Referees And Consistency: Difficult to Apply the Laws of the Game Consistently
Well, good luck with that. In my view, consistency in applying The Laws of The Game unwaveringly and uniformly is almost impossible.
You only have to look at the fall-out from Michael Oliver’s decision to give Leandro Trossard a yellow card for kicking the ball away when Manchester City took on Arsenal in a clash of the English Premier League heavyweights.
Common Sense Refereeing
The Belgian’s second yellow meant he had to go but was it fair? Should it not be in the gift of a referee to show some common sense? Would Michael Oliver have been taken to task had he not shown the yellow card here?
Spectacle of the Game Ruined
As soon as Trossard is sent off the game as a spectacle is ruined. Defence v attack for the whole of the second half was a painful watch. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to see the best two teams in the Premier League go at it with a full complement of their extremely talented players.
We can all accept that players sometimes do crazy things and there’s no other option but to be removed from the field of play. But cheap second yellows? Would it have been so outrageous if Oliver had taken no action, similar to his lenient view when City’s Jeremy Doku kicked the ball away earlier in the game after committing a foul?
Even after the introduction of VAR, the Video Assistant Referee, the man in the middle still has to make split-second decisions that can have a significant impact on the outcome of a game, and I just wish we could bring the element of common sense to the forefront.
VAR of course could not interfere on this occasion. They can for direct red cards in a case of serious foul play: they check every goal for things like offside: they can check for penalty/non-penalty decisions, and they also check for the potential of mistaken identity to ensure the referee has sent off the right player.
Declan Rice was also sent off for a second bookable offence when he was deemed to have delayed the restart by kicking the ball away when Arsenal played host to Brighton. But was it necessary to send him off? Who would be furious if he had stayed on the pitch with a word of warning in his ear from the ref, Chris Kavanagh?
Former Referee Has His Say
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher had this to say on the Trossard incident: He told Sky Sports: “I feel for him because he has gone to pull out but it is too late, the damage is already done. We have already seen it earlier this season, referees are very hard on it. He should know not to do it. The referees have been hard and fast on it.”
My question would be, why have the referees been instructed to be hard on this type of offence? Wasting time can be annoying & some players deserve a second yellow for blatant time-wasting. But let’s remember that referees can add on as much time as they see fit if players have been taking advantage.
This is no plea on behalf of Arsenal. Forget the colour of their strips and what team this affects. Keeping all 22 players on the pitch should be a basic goal for referees. Of course, apply the Laws of the Game but if you can give players the benefit of the doubt, it would surely be a much better contest.
Let’s remember this is entertainment, fans are paying good money to see a spectacle and the entertainment on view is far greater when referees use common sense.
One thing you’ll never get rid of – who would want to – is controversy. It is and always has been part of the game when decisions can be very subjective.
VAR Still Having Problems
Like referees, VAR is not infallible and can make mistakes. The most infamous VAR error must be Liverpool’s Luis Diaz goal against Spurs in October 2023 remaining disallowed for offside after a communication error. It was 0-0 at the time and Spurs eventually won 2-1.
This was a shocking mistake and when you consider it alongside others, it resulted in some clubs questioning whether VAR was adding a benefit to the game.
There’s no doubt in my mind it’s here to stay but for so many calls, we must accept the decision of the main man, the referee on the field of play. He’s the one who speaks to the players, is able to build a relationship with them and who can feel the tension and the atmosphere in the stadium.
If referees can think more about common sense rather than consistency alongside the Laws of the Game, the game will be better for it.
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