If that is true, its nuts. Apart from the clear risks presented by driving from Stockley Park to Manchester after officiating (albeit on TV) in a Premier League match; no-one is going to be on anything like "top form" after the combination of working, journey and lack of sleep.
I hope, for once, that you are wrong BMB and the proximity of Stockley Park to Heathrow Airport (2.4 miles according to Google Maps) has pricked some common sense from those making these appointing decisions.
I would love to be wrong on this but sadly I'm not. I genuinely fear for the health of the English FIFA refs. Whoever is doing the appointing for the PGMOL needs retraining at best!
As for the VAR part, one of the refs I am friends with in Hungary says he personally finds being VAR far more stressful and mentally draining than he does refereeing. His view if you're out on the pitch, you have a split second to make a call & if you call it wrong or miss something on your blindside then so be it , it's understandable. As VAR though you have to be 100% correct, if you call it wrong when you have access to replays, slo mo, different camera angles, then it is far worse of an error. You have no excuse, no split second possibly compromised/obstructed view and have to see everything the referee is seeing and everything he isn't seeing. Now that might just be him but he has a good point!
Can also confirm that bmb is right on this one. It'll take something serious to happen to one of the English FIFA officials (and to a lesser extent the full SG) before something is done about this I reckon, and that is a shocking situation for all of them to be in.
It's something that can be so easily mitigated too, by either; booking overseas travel from nearer airports to their VAR duties, or you know, appointing other SG officials to games on the weekends if the FIFA lot are used in Europe midweek?
It's not like the SG is short of officials.
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