EPL 2023/2024
-
Tinfoil hat update:
Chelsea are denied the most obvious penalty against, yes you guessed it, Man City because the ref and Var didn’t want to follow the rule book.
The same ref has now given city 4 very favourable decision this year after he was invited to be a guest ref (and be paid handsomely for it) in the UAE league. Yes, you guessed it, the league that is owned by Man City owners.
-
Great FA cup tie with finally the wrong result.
-
Truly gutted for Coventry. I thought it was gonna be 1987 all over again haha.
Big result for Villa after a grueling week going away to Arsenal and Lille. Man Ollie Watkins has turned into some player. 19 goals and 12 assists for him in the league now this season. Sadly I don't think he fits into England's system for the Euros but since Emery has come in, his form has improved out of sight.
-
@African-Monkey Watkins will come off the bench for England in the Euros. He can cover the whole forward line.
I also think Southgate will be tempted to play Watkins and Kane as an old-school Front Two at some point.
-
@sparky A definite bench option, but I'd be shocked if Southgate changed formation and played Watkins and Kane together unless they fell behind in games. Solanke is another who is quality, but unlikely to make the cut.
He won't make it for a while yet, but Morgan Rogers is one to watch. I think he could well push for a spot come the next world cup.
-
Nothing like a historic late winner in an FA Cup semi-final being disallowed for a narrow offside after huge celebrating - it does suck the joy out of watching football. Why did the EPL turn down the semi-automated offside being used at the World Cup? At least that decision arrives fast enough.
-
@Billy-Tell said in EPL 2023/2024:
Great FA cup tie with finally the wrong result.
Was an awesome match!
FA cup take a lot of flak or not being what it was, but this was one hell of an occasion. Fair play to both teams.
I knew as soon as Onana got the save Coventry were done.
VAR can be a little bitch, I don’t agree with the lines. It wasn’t clear / obvious.
-
I see Forest are demanding the audio be released for VAR. I think it's a bit petulant (unless they have a real good source saying the var was saying 'fuck forest' after every check), but I think having the refs feed over the broadcast is one of the best things rugby does. I wish football (and most other sports) did the same. I don't think it'll change the quality of decisions or the frequency people complain about the mistakes though, I just think it makes the games more enjoyable to watch on TV.
-
There is so much wrong with VAR and the control of it from the PGMOL that the whole thing needs binning and created again.
The fact that Forest feel they have to release that statement and not through proper channels shows there is little faith in the organisation.
-
It also shows that Forest are owned by a Greek mogul and trying to control the referees is his modus operandi
Olympiakos owner Marinakis handed five-month pitch ban after ref row - France 24
Olympiakos owner Marinakis handed five-month pitch ban after ref row
Hence Forest employing celebrity referee Mark Clattenburg as a "consultant".
It doesn't mean they don't have a point about the system but insinuating that the VAR official was biased as he is a Luton fan is going way too far - and wouldn't a Luton fan have preferred a draw in that game.
-
Yes, I saw that he had some form in the Greek league.
Forest raised the objection of having the VAR involved as he was a known Luton fan. (All refs are meant to declare their allegiances) it was ignored and then they were fucked over by him (in their eyes).
They believe they have been routinely fucked over all season (have only been awarded one penalty) so this seems like the straw that broke the camels back.
There is huge dissatisfaction with Var and how it is run by the PGMOL.
There is no accountability or jeopardy for refs in the PGMOL apart from a week reffing in a lower league. VAR was meant to stop wrong decisions that were clear and obvious but is normally the most controversial part of football, making poor and baffling decisions every week.
They are gaslighting fans with their take on decisions, not using the laws of the game, supporting their fellow ref colleagues on decisions and it’s brought the integrity of the league into question. It’s an absolute shambles.
-
@DaGrubster said in EPL 2023/2024:
Forest raised the objection of having the VAR involved as he was a known Luton fan. (All refs are meant to declare their allegiances) it was ignored and then they were fucked over by him (in their eyes).
That was the outrageous part of their social media posting 5 minutes after the game - they have since walked that back but too late. The fact that he is supposedly a Luton fan is no reason to remove him from that game - where would it end? What about if he was a Burnley fan? You would quickly be ruling out officials for all sorts of games.
-
They haven’t plucked it out of thin air. I believe refs have to declare their club allegiance (not all do though) so they don’t ref those games.
There has been times when refs arent allowed to ref games due to club allegiance or due to circumstance of supporting a club.
Mike Dean wasn’t allowed to ref Liverpool games even though he a Tranmere Rovers supporter, but is from the wider Liverpool area.
This was from a website talking about ref club allegiance
Michael Oliver - Newcastle
Michael Oliver, Premier League, referee,
From Ashington in Northumberland, Oliver is a Newcastle United fan and jokes that "every decision against Newcastle is a bad one".
bolded textHe is not allowed to referee Newcastle or Sunderland games and will not be allowed to take charge of any games towards the end of the campaign involving any of NUFC’s relegation rivals.bolded text -
@DaGrubster probably shouldn't laugh, but Sunderland would never get promoted again if he was in charge lol
-
This is a quote from Michael Oliver from a few years ago. I’m not sure if the same rules apply at the moment but you can see why Nottingham Forest were able to raise questions about the allegiance of the VAR official.
"I never referee Newcastle games. We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club. You can’t do any match involving that team and I can’t do Sunderland, either, for obvious reasons.
"Because Newcastle are invariably involved in a relegation battle, when you get to March or April, it means I can’t referee anyone around them towards the bottom three.
"If Newcastle needed a point to survive and the team they were fighting to get above was say Villa, I couldn’t referee Villa’s game either. I wouldn’t want to. It’s not worth the hassle."
