A few days on from the refereeing abomination, and we’re still talking it through. The worst people on the internet are the ‘by the letter of the law’ types. Listen, when 95% of the world thinks the decision was a fucking atrocity, the rule nerds (who aren’t even right) need to pipe down and find another subject.
At the core, we’re still living in a world where PGMOL is the centre of attention. That cannot continue to be the case. Howard Webb needs to get serious about improvement and accept that at the root of all his problems is a talent issue. Two seasons ago, 14 managers lost their jobs, but only one referee did—and that was due to an Arsenal-related incident. And even then, he ended up employed as a coach for the refs.
If you run a business with a ‘no consequences’ culture… guess what? People tend not to be very focused on their craft. Referees need to face accountability for serial bad behavior. Until we can establish a baseline of what is acceptable, we’ll never reach the promised land of officials who go unnoticed.
