01 October 2023 , 11:01
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Howard Webb is making VAR and referees more transparent.
But he is not making them better. In fact, it actually feels like they are getting worse.
Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal felt like a new low point for VAR. The VARs are now making more clear and obvious errors than the refs. The really baffling point in all of this was that even the entire press box could feel something was wrong on the offside decision which ruled out a perfectly good goal for Diaz and Liverpool.
The still picture came up quickly on the monitor. We all thought linesman Adrian Holmes had got it wrong by putting his flag up (another moot point amid wider inconsistency) to rule the goal out. It was pretty clear that Diaz was comfortably onside. Then play restarted way too quickly.
The big screen was still showing that a VAR check was going on even though Spurs had taken their free kick. Everyone in the stadium was confused.
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We now know there was a horrible miscommunication between VAR Darren England and the referee Simon Hooper. When England said “check complete” they were talking at cross purposes and it became, in my view, the worst VAR mistake to date. And there’s been plenty to choose from.
The most damning point in all of this is that assistant VAR Dan Cook did not step in. And England and Hooper failed to use their initiative. When the officials realised their mistake - and they did very quickly - rather than stop the game (nothing had happened) they stuck to protocol (the game cannot be rolled back once play has restarted) rather than correct their decision.
What a joke.
Referee Simon Hooper during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FCAnd there, in a nutshell, is why we’ve got the worst set of officials in Premier League history. A load of jobsworths. Yes, there are some notable exceptions like Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver.
But we’ve got way too many who are not good enough to make key decisions. If Hooper had pulled the game back, given the goal and made the right decision, do you really think anyone would be questioning him now? Of course not.
Hooper would have broken protocol but ultimately would have come to the right decision. A near miss for VAR. PGMOL chief Webb could have explained it but it would have shown the refs in a good light. That they can think for themselves.
Webb has made the VAR audio available and it makes for a good show on Sky every month. An insight into the decision making. It makes the VAR and referees seem like humans and we are more sympathetic when it comes to the “human errors” which they acknowledged on Saturday.
Except the fans have had enough. It is not working.
Howard Webb has called an emergency meeting with the PGMOL board for Monday (Getty Images)I think the Premier League is the best in the world with the best games, best drama and it’s a fantastic watch. Dare I say it, the best football product.
But it boasts second rate referees. It was always going to take time for Webb - who was an outstanding referee and did a brilliant job to transform officials in MLS - to make an impression.
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However, the worry is that the frequency of mistakes. Offsides are supposed to be black and white. Clear and obvious VAR interventions are subjective. You will always get debate about those.
But the howlers last season - Brighton having a goal wrongly disallowed at Crystal Palace and the VAR forgot to draw the lines which would have ruled Brentford’s equaliser at Arsenal offside - should have put the VARs on red alert this term.
And that is what makes this worse. It’s too late to stand down England and Cook from their next games. It’s not enough. The transparency is all well and good. But it’s not enough. Just ask yourself this… do we get these mistakes on such a regular basis in the Champions League or at World Cups? No. Neither do they take as long to come to decisions.
We have the best league in the world. But too many of the refs and VARs are not good enough to be part of it.