Football fans are a curious breed, experts in fields that most have never trained in writes Stu Ions.
I am no exception to the rule. Come Saturday I am a football manager or the would be top scorer of the team but most of the time I am a top notch referee. Most people that sit around me a Selhurst Park are also referee’s, all of them convinced they can do a better job than the man in the middle and his assistants.
Imagine 26,000 people telling you that you are rubbish. I would hate people telling me I did not know what I was doing or that I am not fit to do my job. Most Saturdays that is exactly what I do.
Referees have the hardest job in football, they can never be right as someone will always have a differing opinion as to what is right.
The rules of the game are perceived differently by each individual. Each referee will deal with near identical incidents in a different manner which in turn infuriates clubs and fans alike. The frightening thing is, it shows no sign of getting any better despite being constantly highlighted.
Earlier this month Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke was sent off for pushing Tottenham Hotspur’s Ryan Mason in the face. It was petulant, silly, a nothing incident but by the letter of the law a red card. Last weekend Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere appeared to headbutt Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini and received nothing more than a ticking off from Mike Dean. It should have been a straight red card. How is one a sending off and not the other?
Consistency is the buzz word when it comes to analysing refereeing performances and consistency is the main problem. Palace have been on the receiving end of some dubious refereeing decisions in recent weeks. Clear penalties against West Bromwich and Sunderland not to mention Julian Speroni being practically decapitated in a horrific assault by Craig Dawson.
Suffice to say we feel pretty hard done by. Neil Warnock does have a tendency to be vocal about decisions going against his team. In fairness you can hardly blame him.
Some Palace fans think that referees have a vendetta against us and our outspoken manager. On a Saturday I am no different but once I have calmed down and taken my biased hat off, I see some clarity. As someone who watches a lot of football, I think the standard of refereeing this season has been very poor across the board. We are not the only victims of poor decisions.
I sympathise with referees. They are human beings. They have to make a judgement call after seeing a incident once in real time. No replays, just what they and their assistants saw in that brief moment in time. The fact is a poor decision by an official could be the difference between relegation, a Champions League place or even a league title.
I am not entirely sure why the powers that be in the world of football are so scared of the very obvious solution to this little pickle. It is not like we live in the dark ages.
We can land an object on a moving comet millions of miles away but we cannot rewind some footage and see if Wilfried Zaha was tripped as he made his way into the penalty area? Video technology has already proved decisive in Rugby, Cricket, Tennis and NFL.
A contentious incident can be resolved in a matter of seconds leaving no room for argument. This will put to an end to players, managers and fans feeling hard done by.
Of course, guidelines would need to be put in place on how and what incidents could be reviewed. If every single moment of a match is being called into question it could be eight o’clock before we get in our post match pint.
The powers that be in football are in a perfect position. They can see how technology is being used in other sports and simply need to adapt it to suit our game. They can make it work for us. If anything I think it could create some excitement. Nail biting moments waiting to see if a goal will count or a penalty given. It could bring a whole new dimension to the game.
Change is a big thing, people hate change. I recall a pundit on Match Of The Day saying he was against video technology being brought into the game as it would take away all the talking points and all of the drama. To that I say maybe if the controversy was taken away we could concentrate on talking about football. Because the game of football is the important thing, not the people that officiate it.
When goal line technology was introduced I thought it would be only a matter of time before more technology was brought into the game. I hope this will be the case. For now I wait in hope.
C’MON YOU PALACE!
Leave your comments for Stu below this article, on our Facebook page or Tweet us.
