A thread to discuss the performances of referees and officials, as well as the general quality of refereeing in the league. On last night In several respects, I thought last night's ref wasn't the worst I've seen. He generally had command over the game and made a number of good decisions. However, he missed 3 big things: 1. Swans goal was a handball, as we've all seen. 2. The Swans goalkeeper lost his rag and lashed out at Sam Field, giving him a clip on the face. Ref didn't see and the lino on Ellerslie either didn't want to give it or didn't want the hassle of a big decision. 3. The second yellow card leading to a red card for the Swans player shouldn't have been a yellow. It should have been a straight red. Refereeing in general I think refs in England have become too detached from the sport and are like a guild who are for the benefit of themselves. In other words, an old boys club. A lot of the time, if seems like refs are there to further their career and turn up, get the game done with as little hassle as possible, and get out with the paycheck. This leads to them being nonchalant with their decisions and ignoring things in order to spare themselves from big decisions that would result in controversy on the pitch. I also think the system needs to be more transparent and refs should be more accountable for their decisions.
Premier League referees were paid £1,150 ($1,392) per match in the 2020/21 season, according to Goal. Championship referees receive £600 ($726) per game, the outlet said, with the reported figures comparing UK referee remuneration unfavourably to Spain (£5,200 / $6,294 match fee), Germany (£3,150 / $3,813), Italy (£3,000 / $3,631) and France (£2,400 / $2,905), and slightly above Portugal (£1,000 / $1,210). Officials reportedly receive an annual retainer of between £38,500 ($46,600) and £42,000 ($50,820), based on experience, which can make their total income as high as £70,000 ($84,700). Championship referees receive the same salary to accompany the lower match fee in the second tier. You get what you pay for. £70k a year max to be screamed at by players who earn twice as much in a few weeks and spend half the match deliberately cheating, to have coaches bellowing in your face on a regular basis and be abused by fans many of whom have little understanding of the laws of the game doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. I wouldn’t do it, would you? It can hardly be described as a ‘career’. The abuse seems to happen at all levels of the game, down to kids football. The standard of refereeing has definitely declined, in direct proportion to the pressure they are under. I recently watched a rerun of the 1966 World Cup Final. The behaviour of all concerned, even the Germans with the disputed goal, was so completely different, controlled, respectful, than today it’s like a totally different sport. Players, coaches and fans who blame refs for their results and league position over a season are deluded conspiracy theorists. I think players and coaches should be more accountable for their behaviour. And fans for that matter.
Missing the handball is inexcusable as is the punch from their keeper. I know it all happens in a split second but they're supposed to be trained to spot these things. The two points dropped last night could prove very costly!
Think fault for the goal lies with the linesman. Generally I thought he was quite lenient and didn’t give unnecessary yellows when a free-kick would do. Often refs will go too far one way or another but he got it about right. Probably should have given a straight red rather than a second yellow which makes no difference to us but 95% of refs are probably doing the same.
It was the ref’s first ever game in the Championship Cooper’s sending off - a straight red in my eyes. As I mentioned in your match day thread, it was very much unlike the boy. Whilst not trying to condone it - more trying to find a way to explain his actions - things are rumoured to be not good behind the scenes at Swansea. There are comments that Duff has already lost the dressing room, players don’t think he knows what he’s doing. Cooper was beginning to flourish last season (even got capped by Wales) but hadn’t really had an opportunity to shine under Duff. So I sense it was borne out of frustration. That said, as I wrote above, a straight red for me
That lino was a gutless and incompetent official but there's no way he could have physically seen that handball. Sadly.
A sending off for 2 yellows is a one match ban A sending off for a straight red is 3. So the swans player will be back before Colback, even though he committee two fouls, the second one was as bad as Colbacks anyhow
He was better than the previous 2 we've had by a long way (didn't give any handball goals!) but he gave Field a yellow card for a foul that looked less worse than at least one foul from Brum beforehand which he punished with just the free kick.
