Ex-ref Hackett : "We've lost the plot."
Nov 11, 2020 15:51:35 GMT
MrFurious, weststigersbob, and 2 more like this
Post by staggerstag on Nov 11, 2020 15:51:35 GMT
Full item : www.theguardian.com/football/2020/nov/11/keith-hackett-referees-have-lost-the-plot-on-handball-premier-league-var
Cor, not many.
Keith Hackett, the former head of referees in England, has said Premier League referees are not good enough, the VAR system is not fit for purpose and the domestic game has “lost the plot” over handball.
“It is run like an old boys’ club now. There is no accountability. These guys are not amateurs, they are getting six-figure wages – you have to deliver. They are producing better referees in Europe. You get three or four key refereeing errors per weekend in the Premier League now. The standard is not good enough.
“When you start to penalise accidental handball, we have lost the plot. Handball should be deliberate to gain control, movement of hand to ball or to stop an attack. VAR is not at fault in this case, it is the laws.”
In additional to calling for a review of PGMOL’s operations, Hackett criticised the standard of VAR equipment and the way it has been used in the Premier League. “We got VAR wrong from the word go,” he said.
“The law has to change on offside. Give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker and write the law to accommodate that. If that means daylight between last defender and attacker, then so be it. Do away with the [dotted] lines and leave it in the hands of a well-trained VAR. Why are we making it too complex?”
“We are sanitising a match into a technical game. It is not about entertainment, it is not about flair. Make it less complicated and make VARs specialists, not just referees doing that job. Then we might see a difference.”
“It is run like an old boys’ club now. There is no accountability. These guys are not amateurs, they are getting six-figure wages – you have to deliver. They are producing better referees in Europe. You get three or four key refereeing errors per weekend in the Premier League now. The standard is not good enough.
“When you start to penalise accidental handball, we have lost the plot. Handball should be deliberate to gain control, movement of hand to ball or to stop an attack. VAR is not at fault in this case, it is the laws.”
In additional to calling for a review of PGMOL’s operations, Hackett criticised the standard of VAR equipment and the way it has been used in the Premier League. “We got VAR wrong from the word go,” he said.
“The law has to change on offside. Give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker and write the law to accommodate that. If that means daylight between last defender and attacker, then so be it. Do away with the [dotted] lines and leave it in the hands of a well-trained VAR. Why are we making it too complex?”
“We are sanitising a match into a technical game. It is not about entertainment, it is not about flair. Make it less complicated and make VARs specialists, not just referees doing that job. Then we might see a difference.”
