IT’S unfortunately becoming a bit of a drag, it’s on everyone’s lips, it’s all that commentators and pundits are talking about, but the sad truth is that poor onfield refereeing and even poorer VAR decisions are making an absolute hash currently of EPL football.
Why is it that each week instead of discussing the merits of the games, instead of focusing on the really exciting parts of matches; instead we are being forced to analyze the negative disastrous impact the referees have had on the outcome of key matches.
I get it that Klopp was way over the Kop when he dared to suggest that his beloved Liverpool’s match with Spurs should have been replayed. While Klopp was remonstrating and as is almost par for the course for him these days; exaggerating, embellishing and behaving as if his entire world was about to cave in, it’s easy for me to see why he came up with such a ridiculous outlandish notion such as the replaying of the match.
Klopp knows full well that it’s impossible to replay that match or any other match for that matter, but justifiably felt that he and every other manager have a right to let the authorities know just how fed up they all are with the shambolic handling of their matches.
In suggesting the match be replayed, Klopp was simply illustrating the gravity of the situation and was conveying a pertinent message to those in charge; that atrocious refereeing was costing everyone and that something needed to be done immediately to stop this madness.
In the match in question, Klopp had every reason to feel aggrieved as his team were denied a legitimate goal that the VAR team had in fact admitted was a goal on a subsequently released audio clip.
A week later in the crunch match of the season so far between Arsenal and Manchester City, early Christmas gifts were presented by referee Michael Oliver to new Manchester City arrival Mateo Kovacic as he remarkably failed to send off the Croatian for an ugly red card type challenge on Martin Odegaard.
I cannot for the life of me understand why VAR failed to intervene to correct the referee who only dished out a yellow card to Kovacic.
- The Soccer Whiz: The Hazards of VAR
Keep Reading
The Croatian was tremendously fortunate at the time to still be on the pitch but thereafter should definitely have received a second yellow and his marching orders for a clear foul on Declan Rice.
According to Howard Webb, the experienced senior referee and the head of PGMOL(the association responsible for officiating in England,)VAR does not interfere in the brandishing of second yellow cards.
Right now though, from where I’m sitting, VAR does not appear to intervene in any worthwhile decisions.
Is it too much to ask to have a scenario where VAR intervenes whenever necessary to ensure that the correct decisions are made by the on field referees?
In the interests of the flow of the game, their intervention could be limited to the proper checking of all goals, all potential penalty calls and all potential red cards.
I wonder what you readers think?
I honestly believe that it’s only because Arsenal won the match, that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal did not raise a huge stink.
Had Arsenal not sneaked home in the end,
I assure you that all hell would have broken loose and that Arteta might have made even Klopp look like an angel.
The greatest league in the world continues to have the greatest chumps refereeing and monitoring VAR and continuing to cause the greatest but totally unnecessary controversies.
The Var farce did help to disguise a rather underwhelming top of the table clash which had promised so much but produced so little.
Rarely have I been so unmoved by two giants of the English game that I felt cheated at the end of the match for having drawn myself away from the World Cup rugby being played at the same time on the other channels.
I have remarked before that despite rugby’s own protestations at how it handles it’s video refereeing moments, it’s definitely in a better place than EPL football.
VAR in football right now is in one mighty mess and the cynic in me can’t help but wonder if it’s deliberately left vague and uncertain to allow for some matches to be unfairly influenced and prejudiced.
In the meantime, it’s been an eternity since we had two London sides sitting atop the EPL.
One would also need to go back down memory lane to the days when the South African Rand was a credible international currency ‘to have Spurs and top of the table mentioned in one sentence!’
And boy do they deserve it!
They might have needed an Angel to get the cogs working to get them at last to the promised land(and I for one don’t believe that this ride at the summit is going to last too long,)but even their fiercest rivals and harshest critics will be kind enough to let them enjoy these fleeting moments of joy.
It’s made all the more remarkable of course that they have attained such a high level without their prized former jewel in the crown Harry Kane.
Their record goal scorer finally relented and succumbed to his desires to win accolades and trophies and left the club for German giants Bayern Munich after giving his life and soul to his boyhood club Spurs.
The long levy and penance Kane paid for his selfless sacrifice to the club was based on an innate understanding that he would remain trophy less for as long as he remained with the North London club.
Spurs this season though are finally playing like they believe in themselves, with a passion and pride and a conviction that they are capable of going toe to toe with the very best in the game. It’s apparent that the tough Aussie mentality of their coach has already left it’s indelible mark on the club and will place them in good stead for the rest of the season.
Now,if only they can get their stingy owners to free up some loot so they can remain on the front foot!
Arsenal too will love their current view as they smile and look down on City below.
The irony of course is that Arsenal have been far from perfect themselves and a long way off last season’s breathtaking form.
They have however benefited from that end of season battling and bottling experience and are now becoming skilled and adept at grinding out results, experts at not throwing away a winning position and bosses at stealing a victory from a match they might previously have lost. This season it’s apparent that they have decided to sacrifice dazzling football for victory and points in the bag.
Manchester City meanwhile could very well be paying the price for the loss of too many key players in one swoop.
I believed initially that they had managed to seamlessly negotiate the losses of Gundogan and Mahrez but perhaps I was wrong.
The additional loss through injury to Kevin De Bruyne though is perhaps most telling and with Rodri suspended,for the first time in many a year, City have looked decidedly ordinary recently. City will be hoping that De Bruyne returns from injury faster than expected or else they may just be staring up the log at Arsenal far longer than they envisage.
Another superstar from that golden Belgian generation decided this week to call it time out.
At his best Eden Hazard was poetry in motion, a gift from heaven who was a menace and a hazard to defenses everywhere.
The very best version of Hazard was up there with the greatest ever to have graced the EPL.
I’d personally rank prime Hazard at Chelsea ahead of prime Salah or even De Bruyne himself for that matter.
Unfortunately the less said about his hazardous stay at Real Madrid, the better! Till the next time folks……
- Feedback: Twitter @thesoccerwhiz
