Officially Speaking – with Keith Hackett
Week 11
There can be no doubt that last week produced a catalogue of VAR errors which were the main talking points.
We were left reading about VAR instead of reading about the wonderful goals, the near misses and the skill of the team’s tactics.
Every page last week headlined with the poor decisions from our group of professional referees and the continuing VAR controversy.
Even FIFA entered the arena by stating that the decisions must be made by the referee and that the use of of the pitch-side monitor must be implemented.
This week a meeting between the PGMOL (the organisation for which I was the former boss for a number of years) and club managers took place.
This week I was looking forward to witnessing a referee take that walk to the pitch-side to view a monitor!
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Referee: John Moss
Games to Date: 8, Yellow cards: 22, Red cards: 2
In a game where the home team were in the lead for the majority of the match, we witnessed another VAR controversy when Liverpool had a goal ruled out for offside.
We were shown several replays on our television screen with the use of Hawkeye. I found myself disagreeing with the decision to rule out this goal with reference to the armpit not being level.
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| The finest of fine margins calls Firminho of Liverpool offside |
Having worked with Hawkeye on the development of goal-line technology, where our discussions with them delivered top-level accuracy, they have announced that they are developing limb-tracking equipment!
The law states that:
It is not an offence to be in an offside position. A player is in an offside position if:
* any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponent’s half (excluding the halfway line) and
* any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent
The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not considered.
A player is not offside if level with the:
* second-last opponent or last two opponents
Jon Moss delivered one of his better performances and did well in the closing stages of the game to be in a good position to detect an act of simulation (dive) by a Liverpool player.
Watford vs Chelsea
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Games to date: 10, Yellow cards: 42, Red cards: 1
The main talking point of this game was the award of a penalty-kick to Watford. VAR came into play and made this call from Stockley Park.
Once again, I was disappointed that referee Anthony Taylor did not consult his monitor as in my opinion, his original decision not to award a penalty was correct.
He certainly had not made a serious and obvious error so VAR should not have interfered with Taylor’s original call.
Sheffield United vs Burnley
Referee: Simon Hooper
Games to date: 2, Yellow cards 7, Red cards 0
It is frankly taking too long for this rookie Premier League referee to become established and Week 11 saw him appointed for his third game of the season.
In fairness, he did fairly well, but for me, he becomes too detached from the game at times and this leaves him exposed to error.
There were strong appeals for a penalty kick but VAR said no and that was a decision that I support.
Yet again, if the referee had used the pitch-side monitor, it would help ‘sell’ the decision.
Manchester City vs Southampton
Referee: Lee Mason
Games to date: 5, Yellow cards: 20, Red cards 1
Lee has had a long career in the Premier League and the number of appointments reflect a lack of confidence in his ability to produce high-level consistent performances by his boss at the PGMOL. I was rather surprised that he was retained for another season.
Lee produced one of his better performances, producing an efficient and accurate performance without controversy.
The game had an exciting finish with City’s Kyle Walker scoring in the closing minutes of the game.
West Ham United vs Newcastle United
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Games to date: 6, Yellow cards 19, Red cards 1
The main talking point did not involve the referee but in the way in which the away team attacked from the start, producing a winning performance.
Stuart is a fit and mobile referee.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Norwich City
Referee: Kevin Friend
Games to date: 7, Yellow cards: 28, Red cards 3
Kevin is one of the more experienced referees on the panel and it was a delight to see him produce a performance without controversy.
He did well to detect the use of a high boot in the penalty area by a Brighton player in a goal-mouth scramble.
Norwich are going through a poor patch of form.
Bournemouth vs Manchester United
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Games to date: 8, Yellow cards 31, Red cards 0
On his debut season in the Premier League, Chris Kavanagh performed well and produced some impressive performances.
However, this season to date, I have been disappointed with him losing some of his spirited dynamics and this is exposing him to error by missing incidents through poor positioning.
Frankly, he needs a kick up the rear and some better coaching to advance his career and and move him into the top three referees in the Premier League.
Early in the game, United’s Martial exaggerated a fall inside the penalty area and this act of simulation should have seen a yellow card issued. This would then have prevented the squabble we witnessed for a few seconds that was ignored by the referee. He was lucky that it did not blow up into a mass confrontation.
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Referee: Michael Oliver
Games to date: 9, Yellow cards 32, Red cards 0
Another fine performance from England’s top referee. A game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Referee:Martin Atkinson
Games to date: 10, Yellow cards 31, Red cards 1
Atkinson is one of the world’s most experienced referees and this game proved to be a real test. Supporting him was Anthony Taylor, sat at Stockley Park acting as VAR.
There were three major talking points in this game.
First of all, Martin Atkinson was ideally positioned to turn down appeals when Tottenham’s Son was challenged in the penalty area. I supported his call and was then amazed that the VAR intervened to have a look.
Up to this point, the game was poor and the players were going to ground too easily.
There was the usual delay with the VAR being checked and I was certain that Martin was correct and that it was NOT a serious and obvious error. After the delay and review,the decision was no penalty.
Secondly, there was a cross into the penalty area that appeared to strike Dele Alli who was defending inside his own penalty area.
After a delay of over three minutes, the VAR could not determine if the ball had struck the arm of the Spurs player.
The third talking point was something that you never want to witness – an incident that resulted in Gomes of Everton breaking his leg.
Some years ago, after the Petr Cech head injury, the Premier League made the decision that they would appoint a Senior Paramedic to every game. They also implemented the regulation that an ambulance had to be on standby.
That decision, made by the then CEO Richard Scudamore was a positive from yesterday’s incident.
Let me say that I am clear that the issuing of a red card after initially showing a yellow was a big mistake. The change of card colour was clearly after intervention by the VAR.
The challenge by Son was, at worse reckless and in law punished by a yellow. The broken ankle appeared to be the result of the player catching his foot i the turf.
I am sure that Martin had a look at the monitor, he would have maintained his decision of a yellow card.
Keith Hackett
Crystal Palace vs Leicester City
Referee: Paul Tierney
A win for Leicester City with a game taking place without incident (at last!)
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