VAR, Refs and Linesmen | General Discussion

[Longshanks]

Apart from the ref having no grip on time wasting, feigning injury, and constantly changing his mind on what constituted a free kick or a booking

In fairness that's pretty much par for the course these days. Find me a game where at least one set of fans dosent say the above.

 

[Judas]

Come on, no one wants City winning another title, boring! Absolutely no way that Foden City goal should be disallowed...

As much as it benefits a Chelsea title challenge, such ludicrous decisions will ultimately destroy the appeal of the league.

A Chelsea fan wanting Arsenal to win the league?

 

[MackRobinson]

It honestly feels like fouls are arbitrary and completely at the discretion of the ref. It aslo seems that refs decided when to blow the whistle based on the score of the game. Makes for good entertainment I guess but it like they are reffing for a storyline rather than in the interest of fairness.

 

[Mb194dc]

A Chelsea fan wanting Arsenal to win the league?

Presumably they'll drop points, at least the last 17 odd seasons suggest they'll struggle to stay top.

 

[arnie_ni]

The more I see the Ronaldo one the more I think it's the clearest pen. His issue was still getting half a shot away

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFMfca9T/

He takes his standing leg twice.

Actually laughing at how bad the ref was

 

[SuperiorXI]

What was hilarious today after our two pens were not given or looked at, Pawson gave a Newcastle player a foul right at the end for falling over after jumping for the ball. Clear cheating to waste time but it's fine.

 

[Solius]

What was hilarious today after our two pens were not given or looked at, Pawson gave a Newcastle player a foul right at the end for falling over after jumping for the ball. Clear cheating to waste time but it's fine.

Schar fell over at the slightest contact and the ref just gave it every time.

 

[SuperiorXI]

Schar fell over at the slightest contact and the ref just gave it every time.

Yeah, where is the consistency? Is a foul not a foul if it happens somewhere else on the pitch?

Atrocious refereeing.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Yeah, where is the consistency? Is a foul not a foul if it happens somewhere else on the pitch?

Atrocious refereeing.

It’s beyond a joke how inconsistent things are.

And then what makes it worse is we have to listen to commentators blether on about how refs are cracking down on ‘soft’ fouls at the start of every season.

7/8 weeks in we see the same refs buying dives whilst ignoring clear fouls because it actually impacts the result.

 

[SuperiorXI]

It’s beyond a joke how inconsistent things are.

And then what makes it worse is we have to listen to commentators blether on about how refs are cracking down on ‘soft’ fouls at the start of every season.

7/8 weeks in we see the same refs buying dives whilst ignoring clear fouls because it actually impacts the result.

Those pen shouts were not soft either. Neither of them got anywhere near the ball and had the potential to injure.

 

[Nicoseth]

Today I saw two of the worst refereeing performances of my life in the United and Liverpool games. The quality of officiating is really poor right now. VAR seems totally pointless - it certainly hasn't taken the mistakes out of refereeing the game.

 

[Dumbstar]

Today I saw two of the worst refereeing performances of my life in the United and Liverpool games. The quality of officiating is really poor right now. VAR seems totally pointless - it certainly hasn't taken the mistakes out of refereeing the game.

These two games were some of our refs' better games. You should see Liv v Ars last week or a few others.

 

[Edwards6]

I think the problem is referee's ignoring fouls and relying on VAR too much but then it's up to VAR discretion to decide if its an obvious mistake.
Like today in the United game if the ref made the decision and gave the 2 penalties(1 each) VAR wouldn't of overturned them, its the poor refs that are the problem not the technology

 

[Shane88]

Refereeing isn't rule-based anymore. It's narrative/entertainment-based. Refs are becoming characters.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

The more I see the Ronaldo one the more I think it's the clearest pen. His issue was still getting half a shot away

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFMfca9T/

He takes his standing leg twice.

Actually laughing at how bad the ref was

At the time I thought Ronaldo was definitely looking for it. It seems like he jumps his right leg forwards so that he gets contact from the defender. On that replay though, the defender absolutely crashes into him and doesn't get anywhere near the ball. Ronaldo is lining up a shot and he just gets smashed into. Penalty

 

[Moriarty]

Refereeing isn't rule-based anymore. It's narrative/entertainment-based. Refs are becoming characters.

It seems that was doesn't it?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The more I see the Ronaldo one the more I think it's the clearest pen. His issue was still getting half a shot away

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFMfca9T/

He takes his standing leg twice.

Actually laughing at how bad the ref was

Yeah, absolutely blatant pen. You could tell by Trippier’s response too. So guilty looking. He knew he’d fouled him.

 

[Bubz27]

Yeah, where is the consistency? Is a foul not a foul if it happens somewhere else on the pitch?

Atrocious refereeing.

The same ref in the same game let Almiron take 2 steps before he dives have a freekick in a great position down their right wing.

 

[space]

Refereeing has always been terrible in this league, but this season it just feels even worse. Half the time commentators don't even know. I can't understand that Sancho one at all

 

[padr81]

The Varane foul and the one on Ronaldo were clear as day pens. Sancho one was a 50/50, coulda been given (i'd of given it). No idea why Ronaldo's goal was chalked off, not in the spirit of the game for sure but perfectly legal.

Its the consistnecy as said that a pain, in the City game players were allowed to kick the shit outta each other all game and pull and drag etc.. (until that one moment, which is why it stick out so much.

The difference between the reffing in the City and United games was comical, one was crazy whistle happy, the other thought he was Herb Dean (till it cost the scousers).

 

[arnie_ni]

He's got somewhat of a point to be fair.

Now I thought it was a foul... But by the standard of what constituted a foul in the game... It wasn't a foul.

Yea this is a great point. I was one saying it's a clear foul, and it was, but in the context of the game and how it was reffed, it wasn't.

 

[SuperiorXI]

The Varane foul and the one on Ronaldo were clear as day pens. Sancho one was a 50/50, coulda been given (i'd of given it). No idea why Ronaldo's goal was chalked off, not in the spirit of the game for sure but perfectly legal.

Its the consistnecy as said that a pain, in the City game players were allowed to kick the shit outta each other all game and pull and drag etc.. (until that one moment, which is why it stick out so much.

The difference between the reffing in the City and United games was comical, one was crazy whistle happy, the other thought he was Herb Dean (till it cost the scousers).

This is the major problem, there is no consistency. You just don't know what the feck to expect game to game. In fact the only thing I've come to expect is inconsistency, at least they're consistent with that.

There needs to be a major reform in the game in how it is reffed. The technology has moved too quickly and the old methods of reffing the game don't work with it.

 

[Jeppers7]

Every single week there’s big decisions not being given in multiple games and VAR is doing nothing to rectify them. In fact VAR seems to get involved more to give the most obscure than the most obvious. It’s absolutely pathetic and stinks of referees and officials who are full of their own self importance and want to impact results themselves.

 

[SER19]

Anyone a clip of this foul? I missed it

Sorry just to confirm it was Silva the foul pre klopp red card

 

[SER19]

He's got somewhat of a point to be fair.

Now I thought it was a foul... But by the standard of what constituted a foul in the game... It wasn't a foul.

But the ref did as he said and allowed play on. He gave the goal until a var check and it was a clear foul there's no way to argue it wasn't a foul and once he's shown it then he has no choice

 

[Doracle]

The Varane foul and the one on Ronaldo were clear as day pens. Sancho one was a 50/50, coulda been given (i'd of given it). No idea why Ronaldo's goal was chalked off, not in the spirit of the game for sure but perfectly legal.

Its the consistnecy as said that a pain, in the City game players were allowed to kick the shit outta each other all game and pull and drag etc.. (until that one moment, which is why it stick out so much.

The difference between the reffing in the City and United games was comical, one was crazy whistle happy, the other thought he was Herb Dean (till it cost the scousers).

Ronaldo’s one was correctly ruled out. The player was pretty obviously only rolling it back to the keeper for him to actually take the free kick. If there’s any doubt, it has to go to the defending team there.

Penalty decisions were shockers though. I thought the Sancho one was stonewall.

 

[2 man midfield]

The standard of reffing and var has been absolutely awful both in the league and in Europe. Getting fecked over is a bi-weekly occurrence, and that’s not even an exaggeration. Just insanely bad calls, week in and week out. It isn’t just us either, there’s zero consistency across anything. The decisions might as well be done by a coin toss.

 

[Bubz27]

The standard of reffing and var has been absolutely awful both in the league and in Europe. Getting fecked over is a bi-weekly occurrence, and that’s not even an exaggeration. Just insanely bad calls, week in and week out. It isn’t just us either, there’s zero consistency across anything. The decisions might as well be done by a coin toss.

Well Gary Neville in The Gary Neville Podcast says the standard of refereeing is the best it's been in 10-15 years so there.

 

[2 man midfield]

Well Gary Neville in The Gary Neville Podcast says the standard of refereeing is the best it's been in 10-15 years so there.

They might be good referees but the way they’re operating, or being told to operate is not helping them. You can tell they’re holding off on calling the big decisions and relying on VAR to do it for them. They’re all scared stiff to do anything.

It wouldn’t be as big a problem if VAR was stripped back to basics. None of this clear and obvious stuff, none of this ‘can’t overturn the refs original decision’ or ‘well he’s got a yellow card so nothing var can do’. Just focus on the clip. Is it a foul or isn’t it? It’s all the little technicalities that turn each weekend into a farce.

 

[Bubz27]

They might be good referees but the way they’re operating, or being told to operate is not helping them. You can tell they’re holding off on calling the big decisions and relying on VAR to do it for them. They’re all scared stiff to do anything.

It wouldn’t be as big a problem if VAR was stripped back to basics. None of this clear and obvious stuff, none of this ‘can’t overturn the refs original decision’ or ‘well he’s got a yellow card so nothing var can do’. Just focus on the clip. Is it a foul or isn’t it? It’s all the little technicalities that turn each weekend into a farce.

Let's be clear, if Neville thinks the standard of refereeing is the highest it's been in a long time then he's incredibly out of touch. The overwhelming majority of fans think it's as bad as it's ever been.

There's lots of reasons for that, and how we implement VAR is a big part of that. But it's still poor refereeing.

 

[cyberman]

Ronaldo’s one was correctly ruled out. The player was pretty obviously only rolling it back to the keeper for him to actually take the free kick. If there’s any doubt, it has to go to the defending team there.

Penalty decisions were shockers though. I thought the Sancho one was stonewall.

A player can feck up though. He may not have intended to take the free kick but he clearly did. He placed the ball before the whistle and played it after it was blown. Intent to play a ball isn in the rules.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

This usually happens when refs are just allowed to do whatever they want. There are no repercussions of officiating poorly. They will continue to earn their salaries and move on to ruin the next game.

These have too much protection. They don't have to justify themselves.

 

[The Firestarter]

Getting worse innit? The inconsistency between games and even in the same game is what makes this absolutely infuriating.

 

[Andycoleno9]

That is a bloody goal, ffs!

 

[Oranges038]

Ronaldo’s one was correctly ruled out. The player was pretty obviously only rolling it back to the keeper for him to actually take the free kick. If there’s any doubt, it has to go to the defending team there.

Penalty decisions were shockers though. I thought the Sancho one was stonewall.

The penalties not given, would be on another day, there in lies the problem with VAR and the referees. They are relying on colleagues of the referees to back them up with the decision or go against the referee, they don't want to piss each other off so most of the time they will agree with the on field referee. That is unless it's an extremely clear and obvious error.

Aslo, Ronaldo's goal should have stood, Schar is looking at the referee, who blows the whistle (you can hear it clearly on the clip below). Schar rolls it back to Pope, free kick is taken at that point. It's a goal, but it's also Pawson, he's not up to scratch, makes it as he goes along.

 

[Andycoleno9]

I think the problem is referee's ignoring fouls and relying on VAR too much but then it's up to VAR discretion to decide if its an obvious mistake.
Like today in the United game if the ref made the decision and gave the 2 penalties(1 each) VAR wouldn't of overturned them, its the poor refs that are the problem not the technology

Absolutely this. I am all for VAR and imo, VAR is the best "new" thing in football for decades. But that "obvious mistake" thing must be changed. Because refs are just waiting on VAR and refuse to make big calls in 50:50 situations.
It is riduculous that in the same time all 3 penalties would stay by VAR if ref gave them at first place.

 

[redshaw]

To me it's clear he plays it to the keeper to launch it well after the whistle, he wasn't moving the dead ball back a little. Intent shouldn't even come in to it but he's looking ahead the whole time while the ball is placed and decides after the whistle is blown to play a short ball for the keeper make a large less risky kick. You see that a lot in football too where the outfield player decides not to play it forward once the whistle is gone after looking around and elects the keeper to launch it instead.

We've also seen this a lot in time wasting antics at OT where the whistle is blown to play, the defender waits an age then simply plays it back to the keeper who then waits then launches it. The outfield player has no intention of playing it forward from a dead ball, this has repeatedly happened in games and has incensed the crowd. Newcastle were like Atletico yesterday.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Those pen shouts were not soft either. Neither of them got anywhere near the ball and had the potential to injure.

Same with the Newcastle pen too. Just shocking refereeing with no accountability so that standard continues.

 

[phelans shorts]

Ronaldo’s one was correctly ruled out. The player was pretty obviously only rolling it back to the keeper for him to actually take the free kick. If there’s any doubt, it has to go to the defending team there.

Nah, they rolled it to another player like that every free kick in that area. It was a conscious tactic, the referee fecked up.

Penalty decisions were shockers though. I thought the Sancho one was stonewall.

Love both looked like they were never penalties. Replays haven’t convinced me fully on the Sancho one but Cristiano’s was never a penalty.

 

[Dumbstar]

Just saw the Arsenal highlights. Why did the ref change his mind twice when refs have been told to play on? So Pep doesn't have a leg to stand on as the foul on Fabinho was correctly and consistently called going by the Arsenal ref.