cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/7914713
BBC Chief football writer Phil McNulty pieces through the carnage.
Interested to know what the neutralās view of this match was, especially Angeās comments after the game.
āItās who we are, mate. Even with five men, weāll have a go.ā
https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/news/every-word-ange-postecoglou-said-28057867
Have you been involved in as crazy a game as that before?
No, but I think itās going to become the norm. Itās where the gameās heading. Unfortunately itās how weāre going to have to watch and participate in football from now on becauseā¦ look Iāve said it before, I donāt like it. I donāt like the standing around. I donāt like the whole theatre around waiting for decisions.
But I know that Iām in the wilderness with that. Iām on my own. In my 26 years I was always prepared to accept the refereeās decisions, good, bad or otherwise, and Iāve had some shockers in my career let me tell you. Iāve had some go my way as well but I cop that because I just want the game to be played.
When weāre complaining about decisions every week this is whatās going to happen. If people are going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure that theyāre comfortable that itās right and even at the end of that weāre still not happy. So what does that mean? It means that weāre going to see a lot of standing around.
I just think itās just diminishing the authority of the referee. You canāt tell me that referees are in control of the game because theyāre not. The control is outside of that but thatās the way the game is going so you have to accept that and just try to deal with it.
When you say youāre in the wilderness, the fans seem to dislike it so is it other managers or club execs?
I donāt know but it seems like there isnāt a great call for us to go back to accepting the refereeās decisions for the majority of it. I understand goalline technology because thatās a simple one. That came in and no oneās complained about it.
But in searching for this utopia of no wrong decisions in a game, that doesnāt exist. It never will but thatās the road everyone wants to go down.
Itās self-inflicted because we all complain about decisions every week. Thatās not new. Weāve been complaining about decisionsā¦Iāve been doing this for 26 years and Iāve heard managers, me included, complaining about decisions in the past, but weāve got on with it. We didnāt feel the need to find some miracle cure for it.
I donāt think that thatās a viable option because weāve opened that door, allowed the technology. Now we want transparency. I guarantee the next thing is weāll have referees micāed up and explaining decisions.
Thereās plenty of other sports where you can watch referees do that. I donāt think itās better for football, but like I said I think Iām in the wilderness with that one.
Do you think that the Premier League managers should get together through the LMA to teach the referees how to referee a game?
See thatās the problem. Thatās the problem. Premier League managers should just manage their football clubs. Iāve never and I never will talk to a referee about the rules of the game.
I was taught that you grow up and you respect the officials. You know what managers do? I tell you what managers do. We, me included, try to find ways to bend the rules and get around them. Tell me what the rule is and I guarantee youāll have a room full of managers processing āhow can I get around this?ā.
Theyāre not the right people. Weāre not the right people and I get that people keep saying that. I donāt agree with that. What I want is the best officials always being upskilled to officiate the game.
I think that itās so hard for a referee to officiate the game nowadays. Their authority is constantly getting diminished. I grew up afraid of referees. Theyād be like policemen. Nowadays I guess we talk back to policemen as well.
Iām old school mate. Iām from a bygone era and I just like the purity of the game but thatās not whatās going on.
Part of this is my problem. Iāve got to embrace it and find a way to work with it but it goes against everything I want to work with my team on. I want my team to play fast, attacking, high tempo go at it football.
If we get a red card, a penalty against us, so what. Letās cop it, letās go again. But we have to stand around for two minutes trying to figure out if something is offside or not. Let the linesman make the decision. Remember it used to be the benefit of the doubt to the striker. Remember that? We all lived with it. The game didnāt collapse, but like I said Iām an old man shouting at the clouds mate. Iāll cop it for that but thatās who I am.
The question we have to answer is always going to be a question of whatās more important: getting it right or the flow of the game? Do you prefer the game moving quickly, even if the calls are wrong? That game was an outlier for a great many reasons, but it was a game that was going to happen. Sooner or later we were gonna have a game so wildly over-refereed that it was going to completely consume the game itself.
I personally prefer the old standard as well. I donāt think surgical precision was ever imagined in the original implementation of the offsides rule, and I think ābenefit of the doubt to the strikerā is the best way to play the game and the best way for fans.
I understand how we got here, I understand peoplesā frustration, and I think that stuff like this is what causes changes.
Yes, the big league with their multiple camera angles led to so much scrutiny after the games, VAR felt somewhat inevitable. Iād like to see it radically scaled back. Goal line technology is fine. But get rid of the ridiculous offside checks and the debatable handballs and let the game flow. Thereās an argument emerging too that all the standing around waiting for decisions can lead to injuries as muscles cool and stiffen.