It is difficult to referee a game when you've got 22 players plus both benches cheating for 90 minutes. But some really are terrible.
Indeed my post wasn't a defence of all terrible refs. However I don't belive the refs set out to do a bad job. Trying to ref game after game where everyone is trying to cheat and deceive you must be mentally exhausting.
I’ve always thought that Howard Webb seemed like a really decent, sensible bloke so I hope we see that translate into the refereeing now. Not sure on his remit but just heard it mentioned on one of the games earlier this week that he had made some changes to how VAR would be used. Apparently he’s keen that it’s used to get rid of the shockers rather than meddling too much.
I understand the frustration that people feel during and after the match when the ref has had a bad game. Despite what some may think refs are not biased. Like players they are human. They both have good games, bad games and sometimes bloody awful games. Last night the ref had the latter. It doesn’t start like that but it develops from a couple of what the players see as wrong decisions. It then follows giving dissent, usually foul and abusive language, which the ‘laws of the game’ warrants a yellow card. It then escalates into what is seen as him losing control. The refs in EFL div1 are there for a reason. The refs in the ‘Prem’ have bad games, but they have less bad games than those in the lower leagues. Refs having more bad games is something we have to live with in the lower leagues.
Not to mention abuse from the fans for following the rules. I appreciate it’s frustrating when rules change, but every single time a flag goes up ‘late’ for offside, a fair % of fans shout abuse at the officials. I’m not defending the rule, I find it as frustrating as everyone else, but it is the rule. It just adds to the narrative (in a lot of peoples heads) that the officials don’t know what they’re doing. When in reality they’re just doing their job.
A couple of points here. I went to Wath as you may be aware. The school inherited a football team when it merged with Park Road Secondary Modern in January 1964 and became a comprehensive. I played in the school rugby team up to under 15 level then moved to football and played in the first XI ( only senior XI). It was a lot harder to get school colours for footy. Secondly, the game of hockey discriminates against us left handers, not that I had much interest in the game. During my time working at Harwell hockey was the only game played by both sexes, I think that they also had a mixed team. Gender stereotypes are hard to eliminate. My granddaughters like to pay back garden cricket but are not interested in joining the local cricket club to play. additionally, despite there father being a Reds supporter they are, for some unknown reason, not tempted by offers of a trip to Oakwell.
The standard of refs in this league is uniformly terrible. Sometimes that benefits us and sometimes it doesn’t s so overall probably has minimal impact either way. I thought he was correct last night for their penalty. Clumsy from Mads rather than malicious.but he made contact so no real arguments. He was probably wrong on the Norwood one as it also looked a pen. The poor thing was that he completely lost control of the game ruining it for fans and players alike.
Some comments on this thread. Of course we are all biased and tend to gloss over any dubious decisions in our favour and only see the ones that go against us and so on balance the refs seem to be against us. But the last 2 refs have definitely given decisions that favoured our opponents far more than us. that’s what has got so many riled up. I don’t believe they are deliberately setting out to favour one team but it’s how it’s turned out. I’ve watched quite a few games as a neutral over the years and it’s interesting to see how refs can make decision’s that rile one set of fans which looked fine to me. But I’ve also seen games where the ref has for whatever reason favoured one team throughout the game. What has happened in the last 2 games are key game changing decisions have all gone against us. (With the exception of the ref at Stanley not sending Connell off when she could easily have done so). I can accept the 2 penalties given against us though both were harsh and in many other games wouldn’t be given. What upsets me is when an equally if not more valid claims our way are almost always overlooked. For some reason we don’t get awarded penalties but our opponents do.
I didn't mean to imply that playing football wasn't allowed, just that most games lessons we had to play rugby, only occasionally playing footy. Most of us hated rugby . My mate was mainly left handed but a bit ambidextrous and managed hockey (after a fashion). My two lads used to come to Oakwell with me in the 2000s but one now follows Atletico Madrid (my sister used to live in Madrid and used to go with her partner to the Calderon occasionally) and the other has gone over to the dark side (his wife is Welsh and they live in Neath).
I also did not intend to be critical. Rugby was favoured for male pupils but things changed after the merger. The only time we got a football in double games was after we had completed the cross country. Staves and Fisher had a very easy timme as games masters in those days.
A competent and effective referee is barely noticed during a game. In the last two fixtures, you couldn’t help notice the referee. Both appeared too keen to get involved. Both made appalling decisions. Both made game-altering calls that just so happened to go against Barnsley. Until it didn’t. The most obvious clue as to the performance of last night’s referee was the fact that when Norwood fell inside the box, the only possible decisions were penalty or goal kick. To award a corner kick was farcical. And, not only did that incorrect call see a coach red carded and others booked whilst incensing supporters, it led to a game-changing goal. It’s not just at this level where questions are asked and competence queried. I still can’t believe how bad the referee was in the World Cup quarter final between England and France.
I think someone told me....we haven't had a penalty in the league this year (dunno if true)....when you see some of the pens given against us, it does ask a few questions of why.
Names to bring a chill... We used to pee ourselves when Mr Fisher was given an excuse note, he was so short sighted he had to hold it about an inch from his nose to read it...
This season, no we haven't had one penalty in the league. This year we've had one - Carlton Morris at home to Fulham in March.
When I posted the names of the three festive refs a week or so back, not having seen Welch and Speedie before, it was actually lower division journeyman Stockbridge's appointment against over-aggressive Evatt-led thespians Bolton that I was most worried about. Having 'suffered' the first two I now hope to God I'm wrong about Mr S!
like most people, my biggest gripe is consistency. it does feel like week in week out, the consistency of reffing is all over the place. the ref lost control for me, last night. I've been a huge advocate for many years, of ex-pros going into reffing. obviously they would need to want to do it, but feels like a no-brainer to me. just too many refs with egos, wanting to be the focus. last night was another shining example of that.
Except that I watch the same games and I don't think they are. A couple of times every season I see poor refereeing performances. But on here it's every single game. Even games when the referees performance has been excellent, spotting things I missed until the replay. And yet usually sensible contributors to this forum are fully convinced the ref is rubbish in every game. It just appears completely bizarre to me.
