Referee Watch 2026/27

[westendbee]

So, rugby would have never been invented nowadays!

What a wonderful thought!

 

[aslan]

Palace getting the sub-taking-too-long punishment seemed a bit harsh yesterday. Referee clearly agreed with the cheap freekick given to stop play and get the player on

 

[HantsBee]

Why was it harsh when the player took 24 seconds to leave the pitch.

They are aware of the new Law.

 

[aslan]

Why was it harsh when the player took 24 seconds to leave the pitch.

They are aware of the new Law.

Because the rules are to reduce time wasting. What's the point of time wasting 3-1 down? Against a team like City who are just gonna pop the ball around and the ball doesn't go off.
Like I said, the ref gave the biggest non-foul as a freekick in order to get the player on too, so he was obviously feeling similar

 

[HantsBee]

I know the law is to stop time wasting but it states that a player must exit the field of play within 10 secs and if they do not the substitute coming on must wait for 1 minute. Just unfortunate for Palace that the ball didn't go out of play for some time before sub came on.

The referee was just implementing the law.

 

[Untouchable]

I must have missed that directive to referees telling them that stamps on the foot in the box definitely aren’t a foul.

And how the clown on VAR didn’t think that merited intervention is beyond a joke.

 

[aawharris]

Awful from the officials today.
Very one sided, Thiago was penalised regularly for just being on the pitch it seemed

 

[Hampshire Bee 2018]

Horrendous decision to not give the penalty. VAR way too quick to clear Rodens potential red card in the first half as well.

 

[badgerbee]

My prediction is that the Schade non-penalty won't even get a mention in all the post match reviews/VAR analysis.
Whereas it would be forensically picked apart had it happened to a "big" club.

 

[badgerbee]

Horrible VAR decision in Utd v Ipswich game to give Utds 2nd goal......

 

[Hampshire Bee 2018]

Horrible VAR decision in Utd v Ipswich game to give Utds 2nd goal......

More of a horrible rule than VAR decision.

 

[badgerbee]

More of a horrible rule than VAR decision.

Very true.

 

[Untouchable]

Let me explain how this seasons interpretations work:

• Big team gets soft penalty: threshold not met to intervene
• Small club doesn’t get obvious penalty: threshold not met to intervene

Not only does this preserve the big club bias, it also makes the officials look better than they actually are.

 

[Rammers]

I must have missed that directive to referees telling them that stamps on the foot in the box definitely is aren’t a foul.

And how the clown on VAR didn’t think that merited intervention is beyond a joke.

And then Vitaly steps on some Weeds player’s foot and gets a yellow card! Incredibles!

 

[Untouchable]

And then Vitaly steps on some Weeds player’s foot and gets a yellow card! Incredibles!

Was unsure if the yellow was for a foul or dissent as looked like he was having words with the referee.

 

[King Bee]

Let me explain how this seasons interpretations work:

• Big team gets soft penalty: threshold not met to intervene
• Small club doesn’t get obvious penalty: threshold not met to intervene

Not only does this preserve the big club bias, it also makes the officials look better than they actually are.

Agree. The standard has to be that if the referee had given the penalty, would VAR had cause to intervene? Answer No. The reverse therefore cannot be true.

 

[Banana]

Was unsure if the yellow was for a foul or dissent as looked like he was having words with the referee.

dissent.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

dissent.

They should start allowing VAR to intervene to tell the referee that he was, in fact, a blind **** and he should cancel the yellow card

 

[ladbroke]

Hate how fans, especially those who benefitted from decisions like Leeds yesterday, say players go down easily, more a dive etc
Even an ex PL ref said its unlikely to be looked at if you don't go down.

 

[BURFORD BEE]

I think we have to accept that bias exists with some, certainly not all, PL referees

 

[Old B]

So when will the actual Ref/VAR conversation be released, I know it’s too late to be worth anything but may answer a few questions.

IMHO these should be explained by the ref within 30-60 seconds of any VAR referrals. Can’t be hard but I suppose they would hate additional scrutiny.

 

[JANORAK]

And then Vitaly steps on some Weeds player’s foot and gets a yellow card! Incredibles!

‘Dirty’ Brentford received 4 yellows. ‘Squeaky clean’ Leeds, nil cards….

 

[Turkish]

Watching it back. If Collins had of stamped on DCL, Wilson, or James’s foot with 34,000 homers screaming….it’s a free kick, VAR overturn it and it’s a pen. That for me is the issue. Nailed on pen for us.

 

[King Bee]

Watching it back. If Collins had of stamped on DCL, Wilson, or James’s foot with 34,000 homers screaming….it’s a free kick, VAR overturn it and it’s a pen. That for me is the issue. Nailed on pen for us.

Precisely, and it’s what I’ve said in other threads. The standard has to be that if the referee had awarded the penalty would VAR have cause to overturn? If the answer is no then the reverse cannot be true in the event that the referee doesn’t award a penalty and VAR sees no reason to intervene. It’s so simple…

 

[paulmaddy]

Was the Schade incident discussed on Red Watch today?

 

[Will Bee]

The 'foul' by Thiago when he was running clear was another poor decision by the referee but it won't make the highlights. There was way less in that than on Schade in the box but Leeds got the benefit of lots of marginal decisions. They should also have had a proper look at Rodon on Schade early on as I'm pretty sure Schade touches the ball and so that's a potential red card situation but it was cleared very quickly.

I do wonder with VAR if the 'clear and obvious' threshold needs to go and simply be replaced by 'reaching correct decision'. Bin the small VAR screen and put the replay on the big screen for everyone to see. Danger is that crowds influence decisions in big grounds but seems more open and transparent than what we have currently (e.g. what was the audio for the Rodon red or Schade pen incidents?)

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Was the Schade incident discussed on Red Watch today?

Yes. Ref supported ref, players disagreed.

 

[Jezybee]

The 'foul' by Thiago when he was running clear was another poor decision by the referee but it won't make the highlights.

Assistant Referee down below us flagged furiously to give that decision. Thought linos were typically asked not to get involved in foul decisions unless the ref had no way of seeing the incident. That was not the case here, and this gent seemed very keen to get involved to make the wrong call.

 

[Banana]

Assistant Referee down below us flagged furiously to give that decision. Thought linos were typically asked not to get involved in foul decisions unless the ref had no way of seeing the incident. That was not the case here, and this gent seemed very keen to get involved to make the wrong call.

Refs can ask the linos to get involved or not. Up to each ref as to what help he wants.

Stupid system.

 

[Untouchable]

Was the Schade incident discussed on Red Watch today?

 

[HantsBee]

Yes. Ref supported ref, players disagreed.

And as Tim Sherwood said - it's a pen all day long but you don't get pens as an away team at Elland Road.

As an aside I see our old mate Tim Robinson involved in more controversy at Liverpool at the weekend.
Liverpool trying to make 3 subs but poor old Tim (nice but dim) who was 4th official couldn't get the boards to work and Andoni Iraola was doing his nut as play had stopped 3 times with Iraola unable to make his subs due to the situation with the boards. By the time they eventually did come on Forest had scored and Iraola gave Robinson a right earful.....

 

[Beeian]

View attachment 68611

Just as I said on my post about the game, where I said that Dermot Gallagher and any Bothroyd (whose name I couldn’t recall last evening) would say it was a clear penalty

 

[paulmaddy]

I find Dermot Gallagher extremely hard to watch on Ref Watch. If ever someone was not suited to TV it's him.

Looks uncomfortable in the role, ties himself in knots quoting the rules to suit his argument and will never back down even when he's wrong.

 

[The Pipe]

Clear penalty yesterday not given and, watching various games on TV, it is clear that a lot of the VAR involvement is dependant upon the size of the club, an unconscious bias??

As such the logical conclusion is that we now have a system that is even more complicated than before with nobody really understanding when and why VAR become involved.

In the past we had a system where the ref made a decision which could( and often was) be argued at the end of the game, we then progressed?? To a system where VAR was introduced to eradicate errors and, judging by the number of apologies from the PMGOL , something that it has patently failed to acheive

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

On the penalty yesterday. It's was penalty...but

Referee's have been instructed to let more go this year and for VAR to only intervene where absolutely necessary. We will see many more examples this season where the on field decision stays and in truth, I dont mind that at all. Most hate VAR and can't have it both way

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Regarding the pen. What is the difference here and the one that Liverpool got in GW1?

The foul against Tiago was scandalous.

Whole systems is broken.

 

[WARFIELD BEE]

Just as I said on my post about the game, where I said that Dermot Gallagher and any Bothroyd (whose name I couldn’t recall last evening) would say it was a clear penalty

He thought it wasn't.

 

[aawharris]

On the penalty yesterday. It's was penalty...but

Referee's have been instructed to let more go this year and for VAR to only intervene where absolutely necessary. We will see many more examples this season where the on field decision stays and in truth, I dont mind that at all. Most hate VAR and can't have it both way

Until tonight when a players foot gets trodden on in the box and its an instant penalty

 

[SC]

On the penalty yesterday. It's was penalty...but

Referee's have been instructed to let more go this year and for VAR to only intervene where absolutely necessary. We will see many more examples this season where the on field decision stays and in truth, I dont mind that at all. Most hate VAR and can't have it both way

I have no problem with that all when it's subjective but in this instance it's stonewall. It doesn't matter whether KS made more of it. The simple fact is that he was tripped, clear to see, no matter what angle they show and how minimal it may be. That's a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Bogle knows it too and does that pointing to the ball thing saying he's played the ball trying to defend himself. It's just a scandalous decision and although it shouldn't have been missed on the pitch as the ref was in a decent position, it definitely shouldn't be ignored by VAR else what's the effing point of VAT at all now.

 

[HantsBee]

I have no problem with that all when it's subjective but in this instance it's stonewall. It doesn't matter whether KS made more of it. The simple fact is that he was tripped, clear to see, no matter what angle they show and how minimal it may be. That's a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Bogle knows it too and does that pointing to the ball thing saying he's played the ball trying to defend himself. It's just a scandalous decision and although it shouldn't have been missed on the pitch as the ref was in a decent position, it definitely shouldn't be ignored by VAR else what's the effing point of VAT at all now.

Quite agree and VAR as well....

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

The problem we have now is refs are making fewer decisions with VAR in mind, but it seems like VAR is also not making decisions and going with the ref call.

So between the two it has now got worse with weak decisions being backed.

Whole thing is ****Ed.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Yes, clear and obvious now appears to be limited to something that the referee didn't see. No re-refereeing even if it's a bad decision. I guess we wanted fewer VAR interventions so the bigger picture is we probably now have what everyone wanted. Just need referees to be better now which is going to be a challenge for them because they've relied on the VAR crutch too much in recent years.

It'll all go to sh*t when one of the big clubs bleats about a decision against them like we had this weekend.

 

[Brentford77]

Yes, clear and obvious now appears to be limited to something that the referee didn't see. No re-refereeing even if it's a bad decision. I guess we wanted fewer VAR interventions so the bigger picture is we probably now have what everyone wanted. Just need referees to be better now which is going to be a challenge for them because they've relied on the VAR crutch too much in recent years.

It'll all go to sh*t when one of the big clubs bleats about a decision against them like we had this weekend.

Let’s face it. We all know that with the multitude of camera angles we now have, the same challenge can look fair or foul depending on the angle. Refs get one angle at full speed and a split second to interpret that and make a judgement. The problem isn’t the referees. The problem is the speed of the modern game and the limitations of the human brain / eye. That isn’t going to change.

 

[SC]

Let’s face it. We all know that with the multitude of camera angles we now have, the same challenge can look fair or foul depending on the angle. Refs get one angle at full speed and a split second to interpret that and make a judgement. The problem isn’t the referees. The problem is the speed of the modern game and the limitations of the human brain / eye. That isn’t going to change.

I totally agree and that's why I'm one of the rare ones who is pro VAR but even my patience is wearing thin. I can accept the referee making a mistake as their job is impossible at times but VAR has no excuse and it really shouldn't be difficult to assess what is a foul and what's not. If it's subjective or they can't give an accurate decision within a few seconds, stay with the ref's decision but on sunday, one quick glance and you can see KS has been tripped. Instant review, job done.

 

[HMDBFC]

I totally agree and that's why I'm one of the rare ones who is pro VAR but even my patience is wearing thin. I can accept the referee making a mistake as their job is impossible at times but VAR has no excuse and it really shouldn't be difficult to assess what is a foul and what's not. If it's subjective or they can't give an accurate decision within a few seconds, stay with the ref's decision but on sunday, one quick glance and you can see KS has been tripped. Instant review, job done.

For me it was the speed of the dismissal by VAR that really hacked me off. There is a determination to speed things up, fair enough, but you might as well take your time and get it right as it's the ONLY reason for you being there. Really poor process again

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Let’s face it. We all know that with the multitude of camera angles we now have, the same challenge can look fair or foul depending on the angle. Refs get one angle at full speed and a split second to interpret that and make a judgement. The problem isn’t the referees. The problem is the speed of the modern game and the limitations of the human brain / eye. That isn’t going to change.

I sort of agree, but i will counter and say that these refs are also very good at what they do and seeing the overall picture. Yes they make errors but we could accept that before VAR.

Now we have "good refs" not making strong calls because they have VAR (which i also understand)..................... But VAR is now accepting soft/weak ref calls the refs are making because they are relying on VAR making the "right" decision.

We now have a system where both are scared to make the right call.

KS pen at the weekend was nailed on.

 

[stocc]

Tom Bramall for this Saturday's match vs Sunderland:

Referee: Tom Bramall. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Craig Taylor. Fourth official: Lewis Smith. VAR: Tim Wood. Assistant VAR: Blake Antrobus.

 

[Untouchable]

Tom Bramall for this Saturday's match vs Sunderland

One of the better appointments.

 

[longtimeagobee]

Is this pillock still the “expert” on Sky soccer Saturday?

Mike Dean: Ex-referee says he played in-match games 'for a laugh'

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says he would stay in the centre circle for as long as he could during a match.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[ChesilB]

Is this pillock still the “expert” on Sky soccer Saturday?

Mike Dean: Ex-referee says he played in-match games 'for a laugh'

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says he would stay in the centre circle for as long as he could during a match.

www.bbc.co.uk

He was. Whether he still will be is another matter. He was ripped a new one on Talksport this morning (Brazil & Gabby)