MustardYellow
Well-known member
- Joined
- 24 Nov 2023
- Messages
- 1,088
I'm fully aware this may be controversial and many may disagree, but I've officially had it with referees (and officials as a whole).
Not just in league one, but across the English leagues we're seeing games being highly influenced, and too often ultimately decided, by questionable (and sometimes just frankly wrong) refereeing - why is it being allowed to go on unquestioned?
I understand people will say 'it's a really hard job', and to some extent it is, but when you've got a player being mugged and dragged to the floor by a centre half for 90 minutes (for example) and the refs don't notice it, you have to question are these decisions being made/not made due to it being 'difficult', or are officials consciously picking and choosing when, and to whom, they give certain decisions? We've all seen officials give a decision, then a minute later when the same thing happens again it suddenly isn't a foul anymore, as we saw in the two almost identical handballs in the Wycombe game (one given, one wasn't). I know people won't like that suggestion, but I'm all too often left with little other explanation as to why decisions are/aren't being given.
There seems to be a fragility and insecurity within match officials and the bodies that govern them - anyone who questions them must be punished. Is it a power trip? We see this in managers being fined for questioning decisions in interviews, and players being booked for pointing out a referees mistake (as we saw for Rodrigues' first booking on Saturday). It's a culture of no accountability.
I genuinely think the current standard of officiating is ruining football.
Not just in league one, but across the English leagues we're seeing games being highly influenced, and too often ultimately decided, by questionable (and sometimes just frankly wrong) refereeing - why is it being allowed to go on unquestioned?
I understand people will say 'it's a really hard job', and to some extent it is, but when you've got a player being mugged and dragged to the floor by a centre half for 90 minutes (for example) and the refs don't notice it, you have to question are these decisions being made/not made due to it being 'difficult', or are officials consciously picking and choosing when, and to whom, they give certain decisions? We've all seen officials give a decision, then a minute later when the same thing happens again it suddenly isn't a foul anymore, as we saw in the two almost identical handballs in the Wycombe game (one given, one wasn't). I know people won't like that suggestion, but I'm all too often left with little other explanation as to why decisions are/aren't being given.
There seems to be a fragility and insecurity within match officials and the bodies that govern them - anyone who questions them must be punished. Is it a power trip? We see this in managers being fined for questioning decisions in interviews, and players being booked for pointing out a referees mistake (as we saw for Rodrigues' first booking on Saturday). It's a culture of no accountability.
I genuinely think the current standard of officiating is ruining football.