03 October 2023 , 16:17
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It seems that the only clear and obvious thing about Premier League football these days, is that those who officiate it are simply not up to the task.
And that perhaps, is the reason for the careful wording of Liverpool’s unprecedented statement, following a game at the weekend so littered with refereeing howlers, that it provided a new, humiliating low point for the PGMOL.
Liverpool spoke of “sporting integrity being undermined”, which is not just pointed language, but a claim which brings into sharp focus the crisis that has gripped the referees’ organisation, and brought it to its knees. That crisis is one of public faith in both VAR and the competence of officials to referee at a standard appropriate for the intense, quicksilver sport that is the modern game.
It seems that just about every week we hear of failures, of “human error”, and after Saturday’s game at Spurs that human error was escalated to “significant” levels. Meaning they didn’t just screw up, but screwed up royally.
What Liverpool asked for in their statement, was “full transparency” - meaning release of a complete audio, and not just flattering highlights - and the need for “escalation and resolution”, meaning, simply, it surely must never happen again.
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Yet what was unspoken was the true heart of the matter - the mistakes are so frequent, and so baffling, that it is crow-barring real room for doubt about the “integrity” of the officials, and the festering fans’ fear of corruption, which was once rife across world football.
If Liverpool simply take Saturday’s game in isolation, then there is not just significant doubt about the officials, but overwhelming evidence that they were not up to the job. Full stop. And if officials can’t do the job they are paid to do, then they must be replaced. Again, full stop.
Howard Webb is facing increasing scrutiny over his job as the head of referees (Ryan Browne/REX/Shutterstock)Not for one game. Not for a couple of weeks. But taken off the list and replaced permanently by others who ARE competent enough not to make such appalling howlers.
Is it so difficult for Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the PGMOL, to understand the need for this? Because public faith is at such a low ebb that fans are beginning to doubt if what they are seeing is legitimate, and that undermines the whole game. Is it so difficult for him to extend the refereeing pool overseas, for instance? Or to fast track former pros who know the game better than the current crop of refs?
Looking at Saturday, clearly the disastrous error which is actually bringing the game into disrepute (and is there such a charge for referees?) was that both the VAR and assistant VAR failed to implement clear rules and protocol, which is the bare minimum of the skills required to do the job.
Luis Diaz saw his goal wrongly disallowed at Tottenham (Getty Images)The explanation was crass, and simply unbelievable. Apparently, two high-ranking officials, Darren England and Dan Cook - both on the FIFA list of match officials, don’t forget - didn’t actually realise the on field call for Luis Diaz’s goal was offside.
Neither apparently saw a flag clearly raised - and raised surprisingly early - nor the referee’s arm raised to indicate an indirect free kick for an offside offence. Neither also apparently saw the game about to recommence, not with a kick off in the centre circle, but an indirect free kick mid way in the Spurs half. I mean, that would have alarm bells ringing for even the most incompetent of Sunday League officials, but not the FIFA pair, apparently.
But it gets worse. Both decided that referee Simon Hooper had committed a ‘clear and obvious error’ in deciding to give Liverpool’s Curtis Jones a yellow card for a foul in the first half.
Was it clear and obvious it was a red card? Errrr, nope. Not at all. Was it even a red card? Probably not. Was Jones, in fact, pulled back by his shirt by a Spurs player as he was about to challenge, meaning he was slightly late in making his tackle. Yes. Did any of the officials spot this? Errrr, nope again.
Not content with that, referee Hooper committed another appalling error when he booked Diogo Jota for a foul, when the Liverpool player so clearly and obviously did not touch his opponent, and was, in fact, not within two yards of him.
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Curtis Jones was initially only booked against Tottenham before the decision was upgraded by VAR (ASHLEY WESTERN/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)That was the first yellow that led to a red for a second bookable offence soon afterwards - a second offence which had critics suggesting Jota was ‘stupid’ for making his second challenge, when already on a ‘booking’...and conveniently forgetting he was only on a booking because of the referee’s gross incompetence in the first place.
England and Cook’s ability to plunge incompetence to new depths rather overshadowed Hooper’s own failings, but on that performance, is he up to the level required to officiate a furious-paced Premier League game? Absolutely not.
But Liverpool’s concerns, though unspoken, are surely far wider. Jota’s dismissal was their fourth of the season, yet before the start of this campaign, in almost 450 matches in charge of the English club, the total under Jurgen Klopp management of the club, was only nine red cards.
Diogo Jota was sent off for two bookings at Tottenham (Shaun Brooks/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock)Those four red cards have come in seven Premier League matches. One was overturned on appeal, another surely has to be, and a third would definitely be overturned, were you allowed to appeal a red card for two bookable offences.
Even the fourth, for Virgil van Dijk at Newcastle, was a soft decision. So do Liverpool have a right to feel picked on? Of course the sensible answer is no, it is just bad luck to be on the end of so many poor decisions.
Yet there are some at Anfield who will point to what they feel is a pattern with the refereeing of Paul Tierney, and his regular team, which includes Constantine Hatzidakis. He was the assistant referee who elbowed Andy Robertson in the face …but was allowed to officiate only days later.
Andy Robertson elbowed by official Constantine Hatzidakis in April (PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Both Tierney and Hatzidakis were in the VAR chair for the Liverpool game in which Alexis Mac Allister was dismissed earlier this season, and didn’t ask the referee, Tom Bramall to review his decision, even though it was a clear and obvious error, and overturned on appeal.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been involved in at least eight separate controversies with Tierney, leading to some combustible moments, and both bans and fines for the Reds boss. Yet Tierney and Hatzidakis are both still regularly given games involving the Merseyside club.
It is not a huge leap, then, for supporters to ask if all this incompetence is simply unfortunate, or sheer carelessness, to misquote Oscar Wilde. To wonder if officials are having each others’ backs and ‘not dropping mates in it’, as former official Mike Dean admitted to doing, when on VAR duty in a game from last season. Or to wonder if they’re punishing managers for criticising their mates.
Liverpool have now received the footage from the VAR booth at Stockley Park on Saturday, and assuming it is complete (which is not necessarily an obvious assumption) will review it before deciding on what steps to take next.
Yet Webb really must get ahead of the forces of public opinion closing in around him and the PGMOL. There are too many questions being asked about refereeing integrity and competence, and he can’t simply continue with the same ritual of apology and promises, which improve nothing.
There must be action now, Webb must realise he has too many referees of a standard not fit for purpose, and very publicly address that fact. There must be changes at the highest level, or football is in danger of losing the faith of fans.
And if that happens, then the sport is finished as a game of unchallenged sporting integrity, to coin a hugely significant phrase.