HOW IS VAR AFFECTING OUR REFEREES ABILITIES TO ACTUALLY SUPERVISE AND CONTROL A GAME CORRECTLY? by Ken1945
It only seems a season ago, that we were all agreeing that VAR had taken away the thrill of seeing a goal scored, followed by wild jubilation – decisions seemed to be taking an eternity by whoever was in the VAR hot seat, and referees were made to stand around like naughty children, to see if they had made the right decisions.
Everyone was denouncing the way the referees, under the “leadership” of Riley had decided to use VAR in a completely different way to any other football association, by deciding that referees were not allowed to use the pitch side television to review their decisions.
This was due, in my opinion, to the fact that Riley had always maintained that his referees got 96% of their decisions correct and he didn’t want them to be seen correcting their errors.
It has to be recognised, however, that the painstaking way that the slide rule was used to determine an offside decision, did ensure that the rules were followed to the letter and, despite the many debates about the time taken, the correct decisions were made – unlike the ability to look again at red card decisions, or reviewing tackles, or handball incidents in the first season of the VAR introduction.
After the season ended, the FA, PGMOL, clubs and players were all involved in the discussions on how to improve the undoubted benefits of VAR, if used correctly… of course no supporters were included in this discussion, we just pay our money to watch the mistakes affect each and every club!!
The first we knew, as far as I am aware, of any new changes was when we had our first pitch side review.
A red card was rescinded, quite rightly, and a yellow one produced (it was probably announced, and I missed it (perhaps someone reading this may verify one way or the other?).
Since then we have seen referees being “asked“ to look again at their on-field decisions and, to date, every time they have, the VAR officials recommendations have been upheld in every single case.
So I wonder what Riley must be thinking about his band of merry men and their 96% record of getting decisions correct?
Of course, another directive for VAR officials to review was handball… what a farcical exercise this has turned out to be… even though I did enjoy the Newcastle decision personally.
All the controversial handballs have, once again, been down to VAR… BUT aren’t they following the rules to the letter yet again??
I am beginning to think that not one person involved in changing the rules of the game, or how to implement the benefits of VAR, and/or our leading referees seem to have no common sense and virtually no experience of playing the simple game of football – such are the magnitude of ridiculous decisions and rules being made.
As a PL referee, the salary on offer is made up of a basic retainer of between £38,500 and £42,000 based on experience and a further £1,150 per match on top of that – Championship referees receive the same yearly retainer but earn £600 per game.
It is said that Howard Webb made around £120,000 in the 2013/14 season.
La Liga referees are paid about £5,200 per game with no retainer – or put another way, are paid on the way they perform.
Their top referees can make over 150,000 euros a season, based on their competence…see the subtle difference between that and Webb? It’s based on performance, not the old boys network!!!
German refs earn £3,150 – Italians earn £3,000 – French earn £2,400 – Portuguese earn £1,000…all with no retainers, again paid for performances and not on any retainers whatsoever. CL, or so called “elite referees” earn over £5,500 per game.
So, as one can see, the only country that protects it’s referees is in the PL and yet, week after week, we see controversial decisions, wrong decisions, but ninety times out of one hundred, they never get punished for their mistakes – be it on the field, or as VAR referees.
Isn’t it about time there was a really meaningful discussion about the standard of refereeing in the PL, how they get paid and what happens if they make mistakes?
Just think how, for example, MOTD talk about a referee’s mistake and then completely forget it as they move on to the next game – sweeping the dirt under the carpet, so as not to rock the boat!!!
Why are they not allowed to be questioned after a game, just as managers and players are?
To me, VAR has finally shown them as not up to scratch and VAR is being maligned for their incompetence – a pampered group of PL officials who have a vital role to play, but don’t do it properly.
Ken1945
All referees salaries and earnings were collected from Google sources.