Post match: Liverpool v Spurs (EPL 30/4/23 4.30pm)

You see that in rugby, the bloke was facing missing a massive game due to a tweet in which h said something was the worse decision ever made.

It’s appalling that decisions can’t be questioned.

Webb has acknowledged how valuable it would be and has commented on how well received it was when this audio was shared with broadcasters. Yet, without any reason given, says they are not ready to go live with this.

Transparency is critical, just not transparency on our reasons for not wanting to be transparent.

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Maybe all of them sound like Donald duck.

Sounds too sensible … never going to happen :wink:

Jack Nowell?

If so I was watching the game in which it happened. Even as a Tigers supporter I thought it was harsh but the ref didn’t just dish out a red, leave fans wondering what it was for and wave away the players who questioned why it was red. That’s what would have happened in football.

Instead, we all got to hear his explanation and rationale. Normally it would have been a penalty. A harsh one but not so unreasonable as to be hugely contentious. It’s just he did it to prevent a try being scored which makes it a yellow card offence and because he’d been yellow carded once it automatically becomes a red.

Some still didn’t agree with it but on balance the ref got the decision on foul play correct. The punishment just seemed harsh because of the context and what had come before. But we all got to hear how he got there and the conversations with the rest of the officiating team. We also get to hear him explain it to the players so they know the steps he’s been through to come to his conclusion.

Respect is a two way street. It’s better in rugby because of the culture. Questioning or badgering officials is something that is not tolerated, from the top of the game down through youth levels and into school levels. It’s drilled into you from day one and it gives refs genuine authority. But, they also show respect to players in return. And if boundaries are crossed, they’ll not hesitate in penalising players and everyone agrees that it’s not acceptable.

The fans are respected too. You watch the game on TV and you get to hear how decisions are made. You go to the game you get to see the replays the officiating team are watching to make their decisions and the screen tells you what the decision is.

If football were to take anything from rugby it’s that they need to find ways to give officials authority but in a way that harbours mutual respect between players/staff and officials. Instead they do everything in their power to insulate them from any criticism or scrutiny an hide them behind the PGMOL who will always support them no matter what. It’s not helped by the muppets they roll out on BT and Sky who will bend over backwards and tie themselves in knots to back whatever decision it is the on field team have come to.

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I think that’s the biggest problem, the assumption that they’re an authority that is supreme. Once the mindset is changed to them being a game facilitator to ensure that games are fair and run smoothly, then I think things will improve a lot.

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It just seemed incredibly pathetic to people not involved in the sport.

My mum and dad who have no interest in sport found it pathetic.

We are grown ups and they still act like their actions can’t be challenged. Sorry but the whole idea that they are beyond any challenge is fucking silly.

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I think there’s a right way and a wrong way to question things though.

Respectfully done on the pitch at the time I think is fine providing the refs are taught to engage and respond respectfully to the player. In football that doesn’t seem to be the relationship players have with refs. They seem to just be dismissive of player complaints whereas in rugby there’s much better dialogue between them.

In the post match interview I think is okay if it’s done in the right way. Some decisions are going to be contentious and so when they go the other way I think it’s okay to say that you didn’t feel you got the rub of the green on that one. You have to avoid calling them biased though.

But to start putting out tweets I think crosses a line. In that instance where Nowell wasn’t involved in the game and called into question the refs decision despite the fact he was probably right by the letter of the law. I’m happy to see that type of thing result in misconduct charges because that isn’t going to achieve anything but rile up animosity towards the ref.

I think we all have to accept that there’s a degree of subjectivity and interpretation to a lot of these laws and officials will have slightly differing perspectives or applications, not only from each other but from event to event. We can’t expect perfect consistency from human beings but we can expect some degree of scrutiny and rationale from them. Rugby tires to do that, football chooses to hide refs from it and that is the problem for me.

How hard would it be for them to publish key elements from match reports around those contentious issues. If two days after the game we got an explanation as to how he came to the decision not to award a foul against skip or send off Jota then we’d at least understand the thinking behind it and if there’s some degree of acknowledgement of having made an error then all the better. But you just get silence and a shifting of focus onto Klopp’s behaviour instead.

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Jeez, the fuss! Anyone would think Klopp is the first manager to rant at officials. I agree it happens too much, but the reaction to Klopp has been way over the top and wreaks of hypocrisy. SAF looked like he was about to have stroke when screaming at a referee or 4th official. I don’t remember him receiving the same treatment from the media.

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Ferguson didn’t get that scrutiny because he was a bully, and got away with it.
SKY lauded him, their flagship Man Utd and the tough manager symbols of their product.

When he split Beckhams head with a football boot it was treated as “character” and almost praised.
Imagine that happening now?

SKY attacked or belittled Keegan, Rafa etc but kept that fucking bully as their hero.

Klopp is their new target.

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The reason behind the massive scrutiny is because Klopp is a larger than life (or shall we say football) character…or at least is seen in that light. It’s not the whole media, some are very fond of the work he does and only focus on his managerial credentials…it really does depend where you look, selective hearing/reading if you will. There is also a jealousy factor about it all, they see his success and they look to pick apart any weakness in his character to diminish his stature at the very top, and then you have those who just despise everything Liverpool.

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He would also specifically target criticism at the officials knowing that in future matches they would then give a penalty, be lenient on home players, give 7 minutes extra time when needed etc to avoid the flak.

It’s notable that he never got away with this in Europe.

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Clattenburg admitted he was scared of him, didn’t he.

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Maybe I’m just one of these people who easily see when power closes rank and it’s important to speak truth to power.

A bit of a admittance that sometimes they get something wrong instead Orwellian type statements.

Klopp deserves a punishment I don’t disagree, and some players are wrong but the rule is captain speaks in the regulations, and that is generally followed at amatuer level so where is that on the pitch where you have 5-6 berating the ref?

And where is the independent complaints procedure you have in almost every governing body? And why do they go silent when they clearly fuck up and a manager calls it out post match which they do.

Whole thing stinks and are Mason’s comments not berating the ref for being wrong?

Teams haven’t won titles, teams have gone down and to the brink of administration (Bolton) due to mistakes and managers get the sack due to results.

Accountability please.

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Just in regards to refs and respect to players, it is hard to respect certain players.

How many times do you see players rolling around when not injured, say they got the ball in a challenge when obviously they didn’t, argue against a blatant foul, appeal for every throw in.

Players reap what they so, why would a ref respect them?

I am definitely one that I wished football followed the respect in Rugby between players and refs, but it is a 2 way street, professional players need to earn that respect as do refs.

How much easier would the refs job be without the above cheating?

I do still think the current crop of refs are poor and my biggest criticism is that they have never played the game at any level and don’t therefore understand the nuances of playing the game and what players do illegally to gain an advantage.

Wished we had a magic wand to sort it from both sides, it would make the game more enjoyable to watch

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I think a good way to start is a good way to treat people in life in general. Don’t think of them in terms of their person, think of them in terms of their acts. If they’re rolling about the floor, give them the ridicule they deserve. If they argue respectfully with you, give them the respect they deserve.

I think a professional has to act professional, otherwise he’s not yep you guessed it, professional.

Totally agree, a player I respect and referees seem to respect is Milly and he at times gets away with blue murder because he doesn’t play act and on most occasions speaks to refs respectfully and the respect this.

The one I don’t understand is how few fouls Mo gets as he plays with a smile on his face and is respectful to refs and you would think they would give him more free kicks.

I was always the type of ref/ person that would stamp down on the bullying type player/person and the players approaching me in the wrong manner would be given one warning then would be cautioned. Also chatting to players whilst reffing always goes down well, no need to stop the game to have a word, just do it whilst continuing the game, players respond far better as you aren’t singling them out.

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No no no! Ref red cards anybody who gives him more than a stern stare. Captain can address him respectfully. This modern idea of respect is part of the whole problem. The ref should be a dictator. That solves the problem.

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No, dictatorship is the only way to ref football. And run countries.