Howard Webb

[Frank Lincoln]

Webb has got a big job on his hands sorting out the abomination that is VAR. He has been on the phone again this weekend offering groveling apologies, this time to Chelsea and Brighton.

He has though at least taken some action. John Brooks was meant to be on VAR duties tonight in the Merseyside derby, but following on from his error in the Crystal Palace v Brighton game, PGMOL has replaced him. No word yet on ditching the hapless Lee Mason.

 

[thetwistedsock]

He's active and importantly being seen to be active. Hopefully the curtain is being pulled back a bit and there's at least some accountability being given to these mistakes that have such important consequences.

 

[NottsWolves]

He's active and importantly being seen to be active. Hopefully the curtain is being pulled back a bit and there's at least some accountability being given to these mistakes that have such important consequences.

We aren’t going to see vast improvements straight away, but acknowledging the mistakes and giving some kind of action is at least a small step in the right direction.

I wouldn’t want his job of correcting the **** that has happened over the last few years. The standard of officiating is low.

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

Webb has got a big job on his hands sorting out the abomination that is VAR. He has been on the phone again this weekend offering groveling apologies, this time to Chelsea and Brighton.

He has though at least taken some action. John Brooks was meant to be on VAR duties tonight in the Merseyside derby, but following on from his error in the Crystal Palace v Brighton game, PGMOL has replaced him. No word yet on ditching the hapless Lee Mason.

Keith Hackett, retired ref, apparently saying on radio last night Lee Mason should be sacked

 

[NottsWolves]

Keith Hackett, retired ref, apparently saying on radio last night Lee Mason should be sacked

Don’t think many would argue against it!

 

[Frank Lincoln]

Keith Hackett, retired ref, apparently saying on radio last night Lee Mason should be sacked

Mason should be nowhere near the professional game, he is just incompetent. He was just as bad as a referee, so whose bright idea was it to allow him to wreak havoc at Fawlty Towers.

Webb needs to get rid of the old boy network. People like Mason and Dean have no right to be in such a powerful position.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Mason should be nowhere near the professional game, he is just incompetent. He was just as bad as a referee, so whose bright idea was it to allow him to wreak havoc at Fawlty Towers.

Webb needs to get rid of the old boy network. People like Mason and Dean have no right to be in such a powerful position.

Blame Mike Riley who was equally crap himself as a referee.... He made PGMOL a great place for the inept and incompetent.

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

Blame Mike Riley who was equally crap himself as a referee.... He made PGMOL a great place for the inept and incompetent.

Certainly a lot of the blame lies at Riley's door for the collapse in standards.
It's not just VAR the decline in standards has been going on for over a decade now.
Christ I think Uriah Rennie would be an improvement on some of the current shower.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Certainly a lot of the blame lies at Riley's door for the collapse in standards.
It's not just VAR the decline in standards has been going on for over a decade now.
Christ I think Uriah Rennie would be an improvement on some of the current shower.

I agree that there has been a long-term decline, albeit that seems to be accelerating..... That makes Hackett, who himself had a senior position in PGMOL before Reilly, spouting on a tad ironic too......

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

I had to laugh when they said Brooks had been dropped from VAR for the game tonight and was going to be replaced by Coote. Just shows how shallow the talent pool is.

I can only hope Mason has not been mentioned as they're sorting out his P45.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

I had to laugh when they said Brooks had been dropped from VAR for the game tonight and was going to be replaced by Coote. Just shows how shallow the talent pool is.

I can only hope Mason has not been mentioned as they're sorting out his P45.

They will do anything to avoid scrapping the big 7 tool VAR Assistant package

 

[Direwolf]

After seeing some of the tweets from referee's after the weekends fiasco I have lost all faith in UK officials who seem to be devoid of any ounce of common sense. What a bunch of pompous, over defensive, self righteous sheep they have become.

 

[Stourport wolf]

The whole system is at least incompetent
, if not rotten and probably both.

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Webb has got a big job on his hands sorting out the abomination that is VAR. He has been on the phone again this weekend offering groveling apologies, this time to Chelsea and Brighton.

He has though at least taken some action. John Brooks was meant to be on VAR duties tonight in the Merseyside derby, but following on from his error in the Crystal Palace v Brighton game, PGMOL has replaced him. No word yet on ditching the hapless Lee Mason.

Frank, as a senior grammar police officer, I must complain about your use of 'hapless' to describe Lee Mason.
Hapless is someone, unlucky, unfortunate, someone that's hapless is someone that you can feel sorry for.
E.g. the hapless GoldenHorseshoe is at it again.

Certainly not the evil Lee.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

After seeing some of the tweets from referee's after the weekends fiasco I have lost all faith in UK officials who seem to be devoid of any ounce of common sense. What a bunch of pompous, over defensive, self righteous sheep they have become.

They've been like it for a long time. Very quick to close ranks to protect their own.

Self serving incompetent ****ers.

 

[Premier Quality]

Certainly a lot of the blame lies at Riley's door for the collapse in standards.
It's not just VAR the decline in standards has been going on for over a decade now.
Christ I think Uriah Rennie would be an improvement on some of the current shower.

Whoah, I agree with most of that, but that last line is too far!

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

Whoah, I agree with most of that, but that last line is too far!

When Rennie was a ref his performances stood out as a class apart from other refs (and not in a good way).
If he was a PGMOL ref today he would fit right in.
Thats a measure of how low standards dropped on Mike Riley's watch.

 

[Dubwolf71]

Whoah, I agree with most of that, but that last line is too far!

Give it another couple of weeks then.

 

[Pagey]

I've still no idea why referees have to be on VAR, let some independant outside firm man it.

Having there mates in the room looks to me like letting year fives be in charge of the playground.

 

[stever]

Anyone ever seen the clip where Riley is mic'd up when Chelsea played Spurs a few years ago? He tries to call Ashley Cole over after a foul and he won't come over to him. He starts politely saying, Ashley, Ashley. Quite pathetic to watch. No backbone or respect from the players.

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Don't understand why they can't pick a panel of the best retired refs for VAR, there's no physical requirement so age shouldn't be an issue. Bring back Rog the perm I say!

 

[Jonzy54]

Frank, as a senior grammar police officer, I must complain about your use of 'hapless' to describe Lee Mason.
Hapless is someone, unlucky, unfortunate, someone that's hapless is someone that you can feel sorry for.
E.g. the hapless GoldenHorseshoe is at it again.

Certainly not the evil Lee.

I think he meant to say hopeless

 

[RutlandWolf]

Certainly a lot of the blame lies at Riley's door for the collapse in standards.
It's not just VAR the decline in standards has been going on for over a decade now.
Christ I think Uriah Rennie would be an improvement on some of the current shower

Steady now...

 

[SheldonWolf]

Issue for me is the lack of openness.

Why can’t referees be interviewed after games to give their side of the story? Whether we agree with them or not, an admittance of a mistake or a different interpretation at least makes them accountable and opens up “the system”.

Currently the conspiracy theorists are rife and allegations of corruption will continue to be thrown around.

I don’t understand why, when I pay £30 match ticket, £60 train fare and invest my time and commitment into the sport, why the people who make the key decisions cannot and it appears do not want to explain themselves.

 

[WolfLing]

If VAR is here to stay, which it clearly is, they need to extend the scope of it to cover any event that could materially impact the outcome of the game.

Second yellow cards that lead to reds being one.

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

Issue for me is the lack of openness.

Why can’t referees be interviewed after games to give their side of the story? Whether we agree with them or not, an admittance of a mistake or a different interpretation at least makes them accountable and opens up “the system”.

Currently the conspiracy theorists are rife and allegations of corruption will continue to be thrown around.

I don’t understand why, when I pay £30 match ticket, £60 train fare and invest my time and commitment into the sport, why the people who make the key decisions cannot and it appears do not want to explain themselves.

Sounds fun but I don't think it's workable.

It would be a complete circus. Imagine being put on the spot so directly after what is a clear mistake (which happen frequently, always will) what are you meant to say? "Ye, I've royally ****ed that one up Geoff"

The comparison often made to players is slightly off. They'd never gey asked "how did you miss that sitter?"

But I do definitely agree, a more open dialogue with why certain decisions are made would be very welcome. I think we only have Neves version of events from the disaster reffing in our last game. Players and fans are now in the dark about what the rules are regarding in game interaction with refs. The rule of 3 actually makes sense but say it publicly and consistently uphold it. Side note, for those saying never happen to sky6. Ruben Dias actually got booked for the exact same thing the next day
, though clearly not as impactful as not 2nd yellow.

 

[DasWolf]

The comparison often made to players is slightly off. They'd never gey asked "how did you miss that sitter?"

But players are expected to admit when the performance isn't good enough. Also, players don't miss from a yard out, then fine anyone who points out it was an awful miss, or make claims how there was no bad miss it was an excellent shot.

Generally I have a lot of sympathies if a referee might not have seen something as it's very difficult, it's VAR I have a problem with there.

If Gillett say were to be interviewed and admit he lost the plot the first half and showed too many cards, or missed some big fouls, or it was a stupid second yellow, I can accept that.

There was a clip of some Danish referee who made an unfortunate call not playing advantage, you can see he was distraught about it and apologised to the players who immediately consoled him.

I think everyone would have a lot more patience if there was transparency on why a decision was made, and an honest admission when errors are made. Instead for years, PGMOL treat referees as if they cannot make any errors, they are always right, and have an "us vs. them" mentality.

 

[fleck1]

I want to see players who have been at the top level, even further down the leagues having an input. People who have been there, played and understand the game. They may not want to go in to refereeing but bringing a sense of common sense and understanding to the game within VAR can only be a positive step.

 

[WolfLing]

At the time when the football is running alongside the 6 Nations, I still find it incredible that football doesn't just look at rugby as the standard bearer of how to do this properly.

There's still far too much ego in football refereeing. No referee wants to be seen to get things wrong, when on first viewing it can sometimes be impossible.

Take Wayne Barnes, the Welsh rugby referee as an example. He uses the TMO (rugby's version of VAR) superbly. He treats it as a tool to arrive at the correct decision and as an equal. The dialogue he has with them is great. If he has got something wrong, he will admit to it and change his on field decision.

I still think a lot of football refs see VAR as a stick to beat them with, rather than a tool to assist them. I imagine there's still quite a lot of resistance to it from the referees themselves and they view it as something that will make them look bad, rather than something that will help them get better.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Mario Lemina, Ruben Dias booked for dissent | Is 'third man' rule a myth?

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher explains why Mario Lemina and Ruben Dias were booked for remonstrating with the referee but says it was not because they were the third player to do so on each occasion.

www.skysports.com

Probably the most ridiculous 4 minutes you’ll listen to this year .

Dias runs a long way so is booked . No rule that states if you run over xx meters you get booked for dissent

Lemina booked because he said something or moved in an aggressive way not due being third man

Robertson meanwhile screams at a ref and it isn’t considered aggressive , or salah running at the linesman

Things will never change until these ****s are out the game and Ex pros are running the show.

 

[SE10 Wolf]

I see Arteta is bemoaning VAR quite loudly now, perhaps there is some momentum. It really has given nothing and take so much away. Bin it.

 

[AndyY]

Certainly a lot of the blame lies at Riley's door for the collapse in standards.
It's not just VAR the decline in standards has been going on for over a decade now.
Christ I think Uriah Rennie would be an improvement on some of the current shower.

Jack Taylor must be turning in his grave

 

[WickedWolfie]

I see Arteta is bemoaning VAR quite loudly now, perhaps there is some momentum. It really has given nothing and take so much away. Bin it.

It would gain more traction if those inside the game were as fast to complain when ridiculous decisions are advantageous to them as they are when they are detrimental.... I didn't see Arteta complaining when VAR gave them everything at Molineux....

 

[The Runner]

It would gain more traction if those inside the game were as fast to complain when ridiculous decisions are advantageous to them as they are when they are detrimental.... I didn't see Arteta complaining when VAR gave them everything at Molineux....

I think this is the issue. We're happy for Arteta to have his 2 points if he gives us the 3 we may have gotten against Arsenal if Mike Dean hadn't failed in his job (again).

 

[Perton Wolf]

Mario Lemina, Ruben Dias booked for dissent | Is 'third man' rule a myth?

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher explains why Mario Lemina and Ruben Dias were booked for remonstrating with the referee but says it was not because they were the third player to do so on each occasion.

www.skysports.com

Probably the most ridiculous 4 minutes you’ll listen to this year .

Dias runs a long way so is booked . No rule that states if you run over xx meters you get booked for dissent

Lemina booked because he said something or moved in an aggressive way not due being third man

Robertson meanwhile screams at a ref and it isn’t considered aggressive , or salah running at the linesman

Things will never change until these ****s are out the game and Ex pros are running the show.

Ex pros running the show is an awful idea. Plenty of current pros don't even understand the entirety of the LOTG, let alone ex-pros. Another ridiculous proposal.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Ex pros running the show is an awful idea. Plenty of current pros don't even understand the entirety of the LOTG, let alone ex-pros. Another ridiculous proposal.

Obviously they would have to be trained / pass tests

 

[bigbluewolf]

Sounds fun but I don't think it's workable.

It would be a complete circus. Imagine being put on the spot so directly after what is a clear mistake (which happen frequently, always will) what are you meant to say? "Ye, I've royally ****ed that one up Geoff"

The comparison often made to players is slightly off. They'd never gey asked "how did you miss that sitter?"

But I do definitely agree, a more open dialogue with why certain decisions are made would be very welcome. I think we only have Neves version of events from the disaster reffing in our last game. Players and fans are now in the dark about what the rules are regarding in game interaction with refs. The rule of 3 actually makes sense but say it publicly and consistently uphold it. Side note, for those saying never happen to sky6. Ruben Dias actually got booked for the exact same thing the next day
, though clearly not as impactful as not 2nd yellow.

So you don't think Dias got that yellow card just to support the reasoning behind the decision taken with Lemina?

 

[WickedWolfie]

So you don't think Dias got that yellow card just to support the reasoning behind the decision taken with Lemina?

That was my suspicion....

 

[Supadavewolf]

I think he meant to say hopeless

Even that's being kind!

 

[Wolf316]

So you don't think Dias got that yellow card just to support the reasoning behind the decision taken with Lemina?

I do.