THE JOKE CALLED THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE REFEREES

Pelumi King

AFAS Press writer laments the deplorable state of English refereeing, while also subtly denouncing that of Africa.

When English referees were not included in the 2018 world cup, it raised eyebrows. The English press was revolted, talks of bias against English referees and so on. There were also lots of debates for or against the subject matter. However, it turns out the people against the topic were actually right all along. English referees are one of the worst set of referees in Europe, if not the worst. One would have said they are the worst in the world but they might probably never beat their African counterparts in poor refereeing.

There have been many refereeing controversies even worse than the controversy which surrounds the Ajax versus Chelsea game. Last season’s referee errors were just too basic and inept. Viewers of Premier league games could testify to some despicable, stupid, and senseless decisions by the referee. They saw many cases where the referees managed to favour a particular team over the other, which is both disgusting and a dent on 21st century football.

The Brighton-vs-Everton game this season was another showcase of the ineptness of the EPL referees. There was an incident in which an Everton defender, Michael Keane, mistakenly stepped on the toe of a Brighton striker, he had no intentions of hurting the striker, and both of them were looking at the ball in the air, vying for the ball, one thing led to the other and suddenly out of nowhere – penalty! There were signs of disgusts from the Toffees fans. What complicated matters was the fact that Everton were denied a clear penalty. There was a clear push on an Everton player in the penalty box but the penalty was not given.

Manchester United v Norwich United was another game that included yet another refereeing error supported by VAR. There was no contact on Daniel James before he went to ground like a sack of potatoes in the Norwich box, but VAR maintained that it was a foul – a shame on English football! The Manchester United-vs-Liverpool game added to the EPL games with numerous refereeing errors. There was a clear contact on Divock Origi. He was clearly fouled, but the referee allowed play to continue without interruption. The attack launched by Manchester United after this resulted in a goal. Jurgen klopp was absolutely livid. He appeared to be discontent with the referee’s decision in the post-match conference. He questioned both the VAR and the referee’s decisions in his post-match conference.

One can’t blame Jürgen Klopp. Every neutral, unbiased, right-thinking football fan would agree that the foul on Divock Origi was clear and obvious. Liverpool managed to salvage a draw in the game but had it not been for the referees and the VAR, they just might have got a win. As if to rectify the error made by the referee in that game, the referee decided to deny Manchester united cross-city rivals Manchester City two clear penalties!

Some would argue that the handballs were not in an unnatural position and did not make the players unnaturally bigger, but the fact is they did. In the Premier League, there is almost always double standard among the referees, they choose whom to and whom not to favour. The first handball by Alexander Arnold was clear and obvious. His hand made his body bigger. Yet, the referee, Michael Oliver, and VAR waved it off. This sparked a lot of outrage from the visiting fans and coaching staffs alike. Guardiola was furious, completely furious. He congratulated the referees in a sarcasm-laced tone after the match. The second handball was just as obvious as the first. Manchester City’s coaching staff and the benches were absolutely livid. Any manager including Jürgen Klopp would be livid with the decisions taken by Michael Oliver.

The refereeing controversies in the Premier league are at a skyrocketing pace, presenting both the referees and the league in a bad light, thereby making the referees seem totally and completely incompetent. These controversies will continue if English referees are not properly trained. FIFA also might have perceived that they are not competent enough to handle big matches, thereby leading to the sidelining of English referees by FIFA at major tournaments. It is inevitable that there will be more and more refereeing controversies. More teams would be cheated; valuable points will be snatched from teams who truly deserve it. It is up to the English Football Association to put an end to this increasing menace.