Refereeing standards are declining

[fulwoodshrimp]

Watching the refereeing in League 2 over the past couple of seasons it is clear the refereeing standards are declining. Regularly referees seem to favour one side and harshly penalise the other. At times it seems decisions make no sense and are often incredibly unfair. Yesterdays referee was described as a Championship referee. Well that just shows what a poor standard refereeing in the EFL is. I thought Mr Eltringham was hopeless and should be booted out of the sport. His decisions were biased and inconsistent and seemed to favour Colchester. Will anything happen to him, will he be removed from the league, will he be referred for retraining? Will he heck. He’ll be allowed to continue ruining games and influencing match results. Incidentally, his first game in the EFL was refereeing our home game v Hereford in 2008. The sport needs to get its integrity back and the starting point is to remove hopeless officials like yesterdays.

[thedoc]

Amen to everything Fulwoodshrimp has said. It's about time referees in soccer everywhere were made to account for their decisions at the time they make them. The idea - perpetrated by the FA and the EFL - that they are infallible needs to be challenged. Eltringham yesterday was an absolute disgrace and he should be sanctioned for his totally unacceptable performance on the day. And as for the decision to dismiss Derek - our Manager was just trying to remind the man in the middle and his cronies that the laws of the game apply to them, too. What a farce...

[Keith]

The problem is, there simply aren't enough of them. Remove people like Eltringham, but replace them with who? Promote someone from lower down, who has even less experience or competency?

Also, I do think we need to accept that refs will make mistakes. For example, I thought that Simpson had a generally good game at Crewe. Unfortunately for us, his one big mistake was pivotal in the outcome of the game, and, as usual, went against us. Eltringham yesterday was poor throughout, and inconsistent, allowing Colchester to foul with impunity, especially Angol, who was repeatedly pulled back, yet Angol's first [soft] foul, he gets booked. It was obvious that Eltringham was going to send someone off (albeit, Hendrie definitely deserved the second yellow).

I think we need to reform recruitment of refs. How many young lads (and, increasingly, young women) have gone through academies, but fail to make the grade as footballers? They have been around football for years, and understand it. They are also, obviously, physically fit. Why aren't they offered a 'referees academy'? Top refs can earn a decent wage, so there is a career path. Even if 20% of these 'failed players' were taken on each year, there would be a steady stream of refs coming through. Send 'elite refs programme' out to do National League North/South as soon as possible and then on to 'Bristol Street Motors' games. The FA pay them a reasonable wage for two or three years 'development'.

The only way to get rid of incompetent refs, is by increasing the number of decent ones.

Also, as an aside, I think VAR should be used 'quickly'. The ref should be allowed to view a decision from a different angle, perhaps twice, at full speed. If it is a "clear error", they will see it immediately. If they remain unsure, then they stick to the original decision. That way, the game's flow continues with minimal interruption and obvious errors are dealt with. Let Match of the Day do the frame by frame, slow-mo analysis. We will still get mistakes (or, differences of opinion) but they will be fewer and not protracted. Crewe penalty wouldn't have been given.

[BerlinWaller]

Dave Artell gave a good interview last week calling for the Officials to be full time profesionals rather than semi pro.

[glagys]

To be fair I’ve been banging on about this for years if I make mistakes at work I’m accountable and need to explain my reasons for the mistake
Referees though are untouchable and above the law
Think the refs association has said something like 3 big decisions out of the five games we had played were incorrect but that doesn’t put points on the table
Rhys Williams was caught with a late tackle when he cleared the ball ref waved play on it was the liner on the Berlin Wall that brought it to the refs attention although he was 4 yards from the incident never even spoke to the player
Angol was rugby tackled all the time and he’s the one that gets booked
Second half with the 3-1 up there lad screams at a 50-50 goes down in a heap gets nothing from the ref,seconds later when the ball comes near him he’s up and sprinting after the ball ? Is that not simulation trying to con the ref to get a decision
I know all teams do it included us but refs never seem to take action
He lost the game yesterday and gave everything to the away side but he’ll be back refereeing in the league next week

[fulwoodshrimp]

I think if one or two refs were sacked it would lead to better standards from other refs worried they could be next. Eltringham should be sacked for his performance yesterday. He was biased in his decision making and anyone at the EFL watching his performance could not disagree that he was disgraceful. Again I ask how clean is football. Some decisions in some games look very suspicious!

[Keith]

I think we need to reform recruitment of refs. How many young lads (and, increasingly, young women) have gone through academies, but fail to make the grade as footballers? They have been around football for years, and understand it. They are also, obviously, physically fit. Why aren't they offered a 'referees academy'?

It's a start!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/ar ... 2nd9zewx5o

[fulwoodshrimp]

Yes it is a start. Ex-players will have a feel for the game unlike useless refs like Ross Joyce, Thomas Parsons and Geoff Eldington who have absolutely no feel for the game and no sense of impartiality. How they ever became referees puzzles me and how they remain referees is a mystery.

[deadorred70]

I thought prem referees are full time but it does'nt stop them making mistakes and they have the help of var!