We've talked over previous weeks about possible promotions to SG1 and many of us have offered a ranking of SG1 referees over the past season but I thought it might be interesting to think about how premier league refereeing could be improved.
VAR Audio
I would strongly be in favour of VAR audio being released during the live broadcast or at least clips of all OFRs being released after the games if they need to edit out any foul language. I think the insight this would offer to fans would not only be beneficial in an educational sense but would help VAR to be seen as a transparent system. I don't think refereeing should be totally tailored to appease fans and of course there will be a vocal minority that will never be happy but I would hope that for a small sub section at least it would improve understanding of the process and maybe even evoke some more empathy for referees!
Offside
I like the way MLS use offside with resect to VAR, judging everything by eye off the screen. The issue is that after the match the broadcasters will throw up the lines (quickly forgetting no doubt the hours they spent bemoaning them) remind us all that offside is black and white and that the millimetre offside missed by the referee was a travesty thus taking up 10 minutes of the many hours of coverage they need to fill.
Nevertheless, it might be worth giving it a try, given the level of disdain for the line system maybe a new approach like this would be welcomed - but in all honesty I doubt it. Offside is offside and as technology develops maybe we will come to accept the extremely tight ones as part of the game (personally speaking I don't have a problem with it).
Penalties
For me there is a big issue as to what constitutes enough contact to award a penalty. Many what I would call 'minimal contact penalties' have been awarded this season. They are probably not clearly and obviously wrong so VAR cannot overturn but this leads to a lot of inconsistency as when not awarded, VAR will not call for an OFR. This grey area will always exist however I think issuing clear guidelines as to when a penalty is to be awarded, backed up with video clips similar to the UEFA RAPs, could reduce this problem.
In my opinion the principle should be that penalties are awarded where there is a material impact on the game. The following could be taken into account:
- Contact must be totally initiated by the defending player. If attackers trail their leg or deliberately stops their motion in a way that is not consistent with an attempt to play the ball, take a shot or gain better position a penalty will not be awarded and a YC for simulation should be considered.
- A penalty should be awarded when:
a) The contact, initiated by the defender, is not consistent with an attempt to play the ball or tackle fairly regardless of the effect on the attacking player.
b) The contact initiated by the defender, even if a fair attempt to play the ball or tackle fairly, impedes the ability of the attacker to play the ball.
- Whether an attacking player stumbles or falls is immaterial in the decision to award a penalty kick
- If a defender, while acting in a manner consistent with making a genuine attempt to play the ball, makes minimal contact with an attacking player that the referee deems does not significantly impede the ability of the attacking player to play the ball a penalty will not be awarded, regardless of the reaction of the attacking player. Any attempt by the attacking player to exaggerate this type of contact with the view to deceiving the referee into awarding a penalty should result in a YC for the attacking player.
I am in no way claiming that the above will totally solve the issue, but I think clear guidelines backed up with numerous video examples would help to clear things up somewhat.
Dissent
I think the EPL needs to come closer in line with UEFA guidelines with regard to dissent. I think the following would help -
- Any player manager or substitute that shouts at the referee while he is at the review screen should be issued with a YC
- Any player that runs to confront a referee with respect to an incident that does not involve them should receive a YC
- If 3 or more players 'mob' a referee at least 1 receive a YC and if more join, further cautions should be issued
- Players who persist in following a referee after being told to move away should receive a YC
- Any players who approach the referee at half time and persist in challenging the referees decisions should receive a YC
- Any player that makes physical contact with the referee in an aggressive manner, however minimal, should receive a RC
- Any player who shouts aggressively close to a referees face should receive a RC
All of the above should be with the understanding that at all times referees should be willing to engage with players and maintain an open dialogue. They should always be ready to explain their decisions when asked (respectfully!) and try to keep players in the loop with regard to the behaviour they expect. Furthermore, they should understand that players are in a high pressure tense environment and will occasionally speak or act out of turn. This should be dealt with without using any cards and issuing a warning that future outbursts won't be treated so leniently. Referees should also have a sense of humour, be ready to admit and apologise when they make an error treat players as they expect to be treated.
To be clear I don't think referees should be issuing cheap yellow cards and I don't think they should be dictators on the pitch. However that should be firmly in charge and while working with the players, treated with respect.
Progression
I don't know if this is possible with the contracts but there should be more 'churn' between SG1 and SG2. All SG2 referees should be trained to use VAR and the top performing SG2 referees should regularly be appointed in the EPL to lower profile games - whether they are all on TV or not should not make a difference. The goal should be to reduce mistakes, not reduce how many mistakes are noticed! This season for example I think Jarred Gillett, John Brooks and maybe Tim Robinson or Tony Harrington could IMO have comfortably taken charge of 3-5 EPL games each.
The appointments should be spread much better. No referee should have more than 20 EPL games and new referees in particular should be sure to get a run of games at some stage to get comfortably bedded in to the EPL. While this is case by case and there is certainly a danger in over appointing a struggling referee, there is equally a danger in under appointing (e.g. Jones, Hooper).
Anyway, these are just a few thoughts I had, I would be interested to see what everyone thinks and what ideas we could come up with as to how to improve SG1 refereeing standards.