Rival watch

Absolutely not. The game doesn’t get played and the guilty club forfeits the game, points awarded to the opposition.

 

This is the obvious issue with current regulations: most of us can't socialise with more than one person outside our bubble, yet footballers are expected to socialise with a minimum of eleven people outside of their bubble a couple of times a week so that capitalism can keep chuntering away

On the plus side, good luck to the cops looking to fine people for being outdoors, as you're guaranteed to be met with people mentioning some Etonian bumblefuck is allowed to drive seven miles to bike around Stratford park without so much as a light tap on the wrist...

 

I’m mystified as to how Luke Shaw avoided a red card for that challenge on Gudmundsson. Kevin Friend reviewed it on the monitor and gave him a yellow .
Either give a red card or let play resume.

 

Because he plays for Man Utd

 

Surely not? Come tomorrow any "officials support" will have been forgotten by the media in favour the narrative of a United turn around in form. Actually it makes me feel a bit nauseous to see United on top there, knowing they don't deserve to be anywhere near it on merit.

 

Must win tomorrow

then we are right in the mix

 

3rd time this season he's got away with a red card offence

 

I didn't watch it, but it seems like the officials had a total nightmare.
Shaw should've gone, Maguire had a perfectly good goal disallowed (from Shaw's cross, when he should've been off), then handled it at the end.
They're just awful.

I think they ****ed up the Sheffield Utd v Newcastle game, too.
Fraser deserved to go, but the penalty was a foul on the defender and Sharp should've been sent off for his foul on Schar. Awful tackle.

 

Yeah, I totally agree on the incidents in the Newcastle game too - both awful decisions. And, for me personally, it reaffirms my belief that VAR itself isn't the problem; it's the FA, the officials and how they're managing its implementation. They can review incidents from every angle possible, yet are frequently making the wrong decisions. It's alarming at how bad it's being utilised in the league.

 

They're worse than I thought.

Watching something once is going to lead to mistakes. It's just natural human error.
Watching these things back repeatedly from multiple angles and still ****ing up regularly is bizarre.
They're incredibly inconsistent and make obvious, blatant errors all the time. It's not good enough.

 

VAR isn't the problem. The official's are either incompetent beyond belief or something's wrong in the state of Denmark.

I'm with Keith Hackett. There's something wrong here and the house needs clearing.

 

We have some of the best players and managers the actual product on the field is the most competitive in Europe and yet we have some of the worst officials (as a group) in Europe. Is there something in FIFA or UEFAs legislation that stops us inviting the best referees, to join our league and making them the best group of professional refs in the game.

 

Refereeing standards have been shocking for years.
Imho it is not a bias issue but incompetence.

Son was sent off v Everton based on how badly the player was injured, on the advice of VAR. It was so bad that the red was over turned which should NEVER happen if VAR is used.

Kane had a goal ruled out v Sheffield United after Moura was fouled and a defender kicked the ball which hit him on the shoulder/arm as he lay on the floor.
The result was a free kick to them.

Then there was the Newcastle penalty this season at the lane and the non penalty last season.

These are just a few instances...I could mention a few more.

Every club could make similar points (in the spirit of balance, how was Lo Celso not sent off v Chelsea last season???)

The offside and handball issues need rule changes imho so inconsistencies can not occur.

For offsides I would say that there needs to be a gap between the attacker and defender as that is is simply factual.
As for handball, any time the ball hits a players arm from the elbow down anywhere on the pitch it is a penalty or free kick regardless of intent.

Those rule changes wouldat least be factual.

But most of all, stop employing ****e refs. Sack them if they are ****e, just like we'd be sacked if we kept ****ing up at work.

Refereeing standard in europe are way more consistent imho

 

There can't be, as we've got an Aussie that joined from the A-League.
Did our match against Colchester last season. Missed a couple of blatant penalties, but we were utter ****, so...

 

They basically tried that and it was awful. Loads of penalties for bullshit reasons, including two against us (Saints, Geordies).

 

But they didn't...in the toon match the ball hit one of their defenders and VAR said no penalty as his hand was not far enough away from his body.

The premier league and referees organisation said that the changes they brought in would have still led to the Dier one being a penalty in future

A blanket rule is the only answer to **** refereeing imho.

Dier was:
1. Facing away from the ball
2. The ball was headed away from the goal onto his arm.
3. His arms was away from his body because he was jumping.
4. He had been pushed while jumping.

Yet the ref gave a penalty ... not a single pundit or person I have spoke to thought it was a penalty yet it was given.

The Southampton one was equally bizarre ... the ball hit a players foot and bounced up and hit the defenders hand who was only 2 foot away.

Referees can not be trusted to apply the hand ball rule properly so make it a factual issue seems the only answer.

 

Or just get better refs. This is chucking the baby out with the bath water.
You'd end up with players just kicking the ball at arms all day, like they're Liverpool.

 

Oohhh whoa moussa sissoko!
Oohhh whoa moussa sissoko!

 

We are just as mystified as to how Shaw escaped a red card v Spurs earlier in the season, after a dangerous and disgusting tackle. Actually, we do really, the reason is the club he plays for.

 

No Idea how to do that (get better refs)
tbh.