Football Officials

[Achilles]

Anybody else feeling utterly frustrated by the way football matches seem to be increasingly decided by wrong calls?!

I don't want to get into an argument about certain clubs getting favourable decisions because I think that's twaddle, but these last few weeks have seen some really shocking decisions. Wayne 'elbow' Rooney, David Luiz, Jamie Carragher and Rafael da Silva getting away with murder, the Wolves goal disallowed at the weekend and Robin van Persie being sent off tonight for 'time wasting' when he kicked the ball away one whole second after the whistle was blown are just a few examples from the last week or so. I fully appreciate the balls it takes for someone to put themselves in the middle of the field, having to make a split second call, but these last few weeks I've become so frustrated watching matches...

I just feel that officials are having far too much influence on results and this is detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game, at least for me personally. I can't ever remember feeling like this in the past. Maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man the tender age of 28?!

Anyone else with me on this or am I a lone, disillusioned voice just wanting to enjoy what once was a beautiful game?!?

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

i do think official are getting alot of decisions wrong due to the amount of pressure and there is only one way forward..... VIDEO REF

not one that can over rule the main ref but someone he can go to for the big decisions. Rugby and cricket have it, even tennis to an extent.

plus I'm all for goal line technology but both a frenchman and german are against the idea. Not sure why, their teams aren't in the running these days

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not sure you are too wrong but it seems to stem from excessive pressure from governing bodies. PL ref are analaysed on every performance and a bad game can see you rested and in charge of Football League game (or devoid of a game entirely) and in Europe everyone is competing for coveted and limited spots at Euro and World cups so it creates its own pressure on top of that created by such high profile fixtures and the rewards (yes particularly financial) that go with it.

I saw most of the game and to be honest once the players started squaring up to each other with about 30 minutes gone he'd lost it. I don't think he had a great game and the red card although technically corrct is an example of having to follow directives and not being allowed to do it with a modicum of common sense.

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

At the end of the day its a game, does it really matter at the end of the day?

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I used to love football. I'd watch any game live or on TV.

Now, I just can't stomach it.

The cheating by the players - diving, feigning injury, trying to get other players booked/sent off.

The managers - there's no point listening to their post match interviews, they say the same things week after week.

The clubs - how is it allowed for football clubs to run at such massive losses?? Surely, the accountants sit down and say "right, you earn £20,000,000 a year through gate receipts, merchandising, etc - you need to spend £15,000,000 on wages, insurance, etc - that leaves you £5,000,000. How can clubs get £40,000,000+ in debt??

TV - I don't support Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal and yet I can tell you more about those clubs, the players and their history than I can my own team!! Why?? Because they're on ALL the time.

Finally, £20 a month for SKY Sports - really?? To watch teams I don't support, cheat openly?? I'd rather sit in a Citroen 2CV Dolly on the M4!!

 

[TaylormadePhil]

these players all know the rules, sometimes you get away with kicking the ball away sometimes you dont, however, its not very often you get away with pushing a player in the face.. football decisions are like swings and roundabouts..

as for referees, why would you want to be one. I've sent countless emails to sky about having a small web type camera fixed to the referees head, so that we can actually see what the referee see's and that might make his decision a little bit clearer..

another thing is that 20 years ago, you were lucky to have more that 3 cameras at a ground, now there are replays from all angles.

and just another quick thing, if the players made the same amounts of mistakes as a referee does during a game, they would be great players.

 

[Leftie]

Anybody else feeling utterly frustrated by the way football matches seem to be increasingly decided by wrong calls?!


I just feel that officials are having far too much influence on results and this is detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game .......

Anyone else with me on this or am I a lone, disillusioned voice just wanting to enjoy what once was a beautiful game?!?

Just get rid of the "officials" and let the overpaid, overexposed, cheating pansies sort it out amongst themselves.

Beautiful game??? You're 'aving a larf aren't you? Media hype again

I gave up watching football many, many years ago and honestly don't feel that I have missed anything of any importance.

 

[Achilles]

It's turned into a money-making machine now, that's for sure. Maybe for lent, following an earlier post, I'll give up watching football!

Roll on being able to get outside and enjoy those warm summer evenings on the course!!!

 

[Region3]

I used to love football. I'd watch any game live or on TV.

Now, I just can't stomach it.

The cheating by the players - diving, feigning injury, trying to get other players booked/sent off.

And I thought it was just me being a grumpy old man

I didn't watch it, but how can the referee be blamed when the rules say kicking the ball away is a yellow card?

Players nowadays (with a few exceptions) are like spoilt children, breaking the rules on purpose just to see how far they can push it.
If it's a bad rule then let's have it changed, but don't blame the refs for playing it 'by the book'.

When I used to play I wouldn't even appeal for a throw in if I knew I touched it last. Obviously I'm too idealistic.

I'd pay to watch a decent team from the 60's play a team of these overpaid prima donna's and kick them up in the air a bit with a ref from the 60's too.

I don't very often reply on football threads. You can tell why.

And breathe....

 

[Imurg]

Half the problem these days is that you're barely able to look at an opponent without giving away a free kick. I grew up in the days of Norman "bites yer legs" Hunter and Ron " Chopper" Harris. Real Hard Men. Nobody died back then, nobody was out for a month with a thigh strain and you had to decapitate someone to get sent off. Yeah its different these days but the players fall over so easily and claim they've been violated. It's time people realised how much cheating goes on. The refs haven't got a chance. My FIL used to ref Sunday League games. He gave it up. He was always being abused and pushed if he gave a decision one team didn't like. He even abandoned a game once because one team practically beat him up.
Professional football needs to take a long hard look at itself. Get back to reality. And stop bloody cheating all the time!!

And can anyone honestly say they understand and agree with the current offside rule? Complete nonsense

 

[Crazyface]

We had a great ref last night (Macc v Crewe). Let the game flow, even let some proper mans tackles go as well. Looked to me as though he took the view of "It's a mans game get on with it". 10/10 !

 

[Yerman]

It's always been like that, we just have the technology to spot it more. I reckon there's more enjoyment in the discusson of iffy decisions, and if the game was genuinely played "beautifully" it would be boring.

 

[CallawayKid]

I believe that rugby has the correct view on this, if you argue with the ref your team goes back 10 yards and so on (just look at the Italian game we had!). The ref is there to ensure that the rules are followed and should be respected whether the decision is correct or not.

Again it's trial by armchair!

If I were the ref in some of the games I've seen then they'd hardly be a player left on the pitch. It is time that the refs got harsh and took less crap from these overpaid scrotes!

CK

 

[Paul_Stewart]

It needs a draconian step to make a change for the better.

Back in 1989, Major League baseball instructed its umpires to enforce a written rule about pitching motions. If the pitcher did not comply, it was called a balk and all the runners moved up a base.

For the first two weeks it was carnage. 3 or 4 were being called a game when you used to see that many a month. And the pitchers and managers bitched to high heaven about it.

But in time they adapted, the game was played according to the rules and it moved on. 22 years later, the rule is still enforced the same way.

So perhaps football needs a few games where 3-4 players get sent off a game, suspensions for a month or two are enforced to make it work.

Yes there would be whining and complaining to high heaven initially but if the authorities were strong enough to make it happen (a totally separate argument), it would work in the end.

 

[Junior]

Sure the ref's get decisions wrong, but when the vast majority of players cheat at every opportunity you cant blame them.

 

[Achilles]

Having re-read my opening post, its title, and the comments that have followed (as well as talking to a few work colleagues today, including a part-time ref) I'd like to make it clear that in no way do I condone the blatent cheating that we see week in, week out. In addition, I think I came across as saying the officials are solely to blame whereas I believe that responsibilty must be shared by the governing bodies such as UEFA and FIFA. They seem far too self-absorbed to take frequent retrospective action or to offer the officials the kind of support they deserve.

Perhaps the post-match disciplinary panels already in existence should be given more powers regarding these controversial matters (including diving)? Whether the referee has taken action during the game or not, the panel could provide their feedback. This would surely alleviate the pressure put on refs as well as (hopefully) punishing players for anything deemed unacceptable that isn't picked upon during a game. Footballing authorities seem quick to punish mangers for speaking out of turn so why not make an example of players too. There are lots of different opinions floating around, some strong ones too, which is good to see, but that's my additional tuppence worth, right or wrong!

 

[0]

As a Wolves fan whose team was wrongly shafted twice by Mr Halsey at the weekend i think its got to go the way of the video ref.

Why can't I ring up the FA after the match has finsihed and get the points awarded to us as the ref got the game wrong

Hmmmmmmm i wonder does that happen in any other sports that a viewer can aftect the outcome of a game ?????

 

[USER1999]

I am still staggered that nothing has been said, either by UEFA or in the press about Abidal or Alves grabbing Arsenal players round the neck. Sanctions being brought? No. Better to penalise Nasri for putting 'Best referee in the world? Pft' on twitter.

It is all a bit rubbish to me.