what are your thoughts on referees of late

[+Wanderer]

This ain't grainy black & white BBC anymore,

...nor any longer the generation of people who were taught to respect authority...

The ref is still the "sole arbiter of fact" (what he says, goes) and long may it be so.

Have a green dot sir.

No technology, no video replays, no bloody 4th official...just 22 players, a ref and 2 linesman.

[lizi]

I think that the "sin bin" used in rugby is a good idea. Instead of just being shown a yellow card, ten minutes in the sin bin for a player to think about why he has been sent there. Then back on the field and, if a second offence, a red card and offski. Also, in rugby, the referee's word seems to be law, much less arguing back than in football - maybe they question a decision but then they get on with it. Wouldn't that be great in football!? No chance, really. Visualise Diouf or Scott Brown being sent to the sin bin and staying there - oh yeah!!!! Maybe not!

[HumbersideDude]

This must be up there with the most rediculous refereeing decisions ever. streaker sending off

[+DoofersDad]

This must be up there with the most rediculous refereeing decisions ever. streaker sending off

It would be interesting to know what the referee would have done had it not been a streaker, but a lout attacking the referee. Presumably the referee would expect the players to stand back and watch him get a good kicking because if they went to help they would be in danger of a red card by way of thanks!

[qwerty11]

I highly doubt refs are actually bias towards teams and I do appreciate how hard a job they have so I never actually blame them for a defeat.

But against Hamilton at home - (1-1, Sanchez, MAC) We had I think something like 18 fouls against us and Hamilton had 7. Before that game we had one of if not the best discipline record in the SPL. No red cards.

Maybe this was just a one off but I don't know ?!

[CaleyD]

I actually doubt that the standard of refereeing is getting worse, and I've been shouting at them since 1970 or so. What is different is our ability to see what is going on. This ain't grainy black & white BBC anymore, it's multi-angled CGI enhanced Sky and that's where the problem lies. There are so many angles that you can question the ref from - he has two eyes, a brain, a load of ill mannered louts shouting at him from opposing viewpoints, a few thousand other ill mannered louts baying for his blood and the likes of Lennon spontaneously combusting. Now make a 100% correct, impartial decision at all times. You're having a laugh. Accept that mistakes will be made, and they will pan out over a season. The ref is still the "sole arbiter of fact" (what he says, goes) and long may it be so.

I don't think there's any conspiracy and I also don't want to see technology being used during games as it will just get drawn out and sanitised to the point of becoming tedious.

I don't understand why advances in TV technology/quality should make it any tougher for a ref to make a right decision, if anything you'd think it would drive them to improve in order to prevent them being highlighted on the box.

Those there watching the game don't all have pocket TV's to aid them in spotting the glaringly obvious errors which are being made and even if you could argue that it's not getting any worse (although I suspect statistics on fouls/cards during games might prove otherwise), it's certainly not getting any better and you have to wonder why. Aside from what I said above about the incentive to improve, the footage could (and should) be used to aid development.

In saying that, I don't think you can place the blame entirely on the shoulders of the refs. Players these days seem far more willing to cheat or make the most of any given situation...the game, IMO, is not nearly as honest as it once was and I accept that this makes things tougher for the refs. But, again, the refs have the opportunity to review all the footage and to learn who is responsible and how they are executing the cheating and should be keeping up with the trend more and taking action on the pitch to stamp it out. How many times do we see a player dive and the ref does little more than usher them to get back on their feet? Start booking them, as per the rules, and they might just learn a lesson so we can all start enjoying more honest matches.

[Sorted]

I'm with Davie on this one. Nothing has changed from a refereeing perspective but for the punters, thanks to technology, every decision taken is analysed to bits. Technology is here already CD whether we like it or not. Gone are the days of "he was/wasn't offside" being discussed over a pint without ever knowing the truth. It's now available in evry angle, slo mo super slo mo and 3D. That's what makes the referee's job so difficult.

Purely to protect the referee, surely it is time to have the guy in the stand watching, connected by modern comms as the ultimate decision maker? Don't buy the arguement that it's not available at all games so we can't apply it. Do it where you can. Technology has caused the problem let it provide some of the solution.

Would Bobby Davidson or Tiny Wharton be judged any better than Calum Murray or Willie Collum in today's football?

Edited March 9, 2011 by Sorted

[+DoofersDad]

One of the joys of football is that the game flows for the most part and is not constantly interupted. I would not want to see anything which led to extended pauses whilst the TV ref came to a decision. We have to accept that the ref will get some things wrong and that in general, these things even up over time. If a referee is favouring one side and the other side wants to take issue with that then there is the TV evidence to allow them to do that. The fact is that a lot of the big decisions regarding off side, fouls and diving can actually be very difficult to come to a conclusion on even when we see them after the game in slow motion from various angles. In general, therefore, I say, just let the refs get on with it.

Having said that there are exceptions to that where I think intervention from a video official would be justified and that is where significant and clear errors have been made. I'll give 2 examples. One is where the ball has clearly crossed the line and failure to spot that has a clear influence on the game. In the game against Dundee Utd the ball was well over a foot out of play when a Utd player backheeled it into play and the officials had not spotted it. That could have led to a goal or, had it crossed the line between the posts with a defender clearing it, a legitimate goal would have been denied. If a video referee can see there is a clear error like that, then in the sake of fairness, that information should be given to the man in the middle and the original decision reversed. Obviously some judgement would be needed as to whether any incident was clearly wrong and I am sure some reasonable guidance could be developed.

The 2nd example relates to another thread on here this evening - Lennon's cheating which got Juanjo sent off. Video evidence is absolutely clear what happened. I would not favour stopping the flow of play to have such incidents reviewed as the ref could ask for several incidents to be reviewed. In this example the ref may well have sent Juanjo off and play continued but the Video ref could have a good look at the incident and when he is clear that there is no doubt as to what happened he could alert the ref at the next stoppage. The ref would then send the cheat off and recall the wrongly accused player from out the shower. This could equally apply to off the ball incidents which the ref will naturally miss. This could cause some confusion in the crowd so the information could be conveyed to the stadium announcer who could them announce the reason to the crowd. For instance "Lennon has been sent of because he is a cheating sh*te".

I appreciate that such an arrangement is far from perfect but if we have the technology, I think we should make use of it to correct the most signicant wrong decisions whilst minimising the disruption to the flow of the game.

[dead_ball_specialist]

The solution to this problem is simple. We need to be more streetwise.

If you are fouled GO DOWN.

If you are recklessly fouled STAY DOWN.

If your opponent is on a yellow card PUT HIM UNDER PRESSURE.

If your opponent is a hothead WIND HIM UP.

Common sense would help our cause.