There's no other way of saying this, but what happened at Tottenham last weekend was genuinely ridiculous.
I was gobsmacked. It was, to me, impossible that it could happen, and honestly, when I was watching all I could say was “wow. Just wow." Where do we even start in analysing it?
Right from the beginning, the assistant referee got it totally wrong. Not only was Luis Diaz - even with the naked eye onside - but he then put his flag up far too early, against all the protocol now.
So there’s that. But of course that’s nothing compared to what happened after. I’ve listened to the audio released by the PGMOL, and the thing that strikes me above all else, is just how matey it all is…almost flippant.
It’s incredibly matey. And I think that strikes at the heart of the matter. They’re all mates. The VAR and assistant VAR officiate games together, they travelled to the UAE together 48 hours earlier. And they talk to each other like mates.
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At one point, the assistant VAR says “that’s wrong that Daz”, referring to the VAR, Darren England. On another occasion, the assistant ref calls the ref “mate”. What the hell’s going on there? Listen to the rugby union review of decisions between the officials, and they’re incredibly professional. They ask serious questions of each other, it is businesslike, it is precise. There is no room for misunderstanding, or for any backing up of mates.
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Liverpool lost against Tottenham after an incorrect offside call (Getty Images)Someone jokingly said to me this week that Howard Webb is turning the PGMOL into the Met Police! It’s hilarious because there’s some truth in it. You have referees always with the same team of officials who are mates. The people in the VAR room are mates, who judge their mates on the pitch.
And if there’s a problem, then Howard Webb, who is also their mate, polices them. So what outcome do we expect when something goes wrong other than making excuses for mates?
I’ve never been a fan of VAR as this column will testify, and to me the answer is to use it for line decisions only. So goal line technology, absolutely. Offside? Well not if this s***show can happen.
People say VAR is there to override human error, but as we can see, all it is doing is introducing more capacity for human error. More humans who seem capable of making the most catastrophic errors.
On that subject by the way, people are saying there are livelihoods at stake, and you can’t sack someone for a mistake, no matter how ridiculous (and this was farce level ridiculous). Well, Jim Leighton made a mistake in the FA Cup final and he never played for Manchester United again.
It happens all the time in football, so why not referees? I've listened to it several times and I still can’t understand how neither of the VAR officials realised the on-field decision was offside. I have this question to ask, were either of them even watching the game? I’m not saying they were having a coffee in another room, but I don’t think they were watching the match footage.
Howard Webb has been blasted by Robbie Fowler (Ryan Browne/REX/Shutterstock)They can’t have been. How can anyone watching that game have thought the on-field decision was goal? Then, when the mistake was exposed exactly one second after the game resumed, they froze. It is clear to me that they should have stopped the game again - let’s say three seconds after it resumed - and discussed the possibilities with the referee. But they didn’t have the ability to think clearly like that, even though three different people were telling them to stop the game.
For me, the biggest problem is this ‘mates’ thing. Why does the VAR need an assistant VAR who is his mate, and who he travels with across Europe. Someone who calls him Daz. Hell, former ref Mike Dean has spoken recently of not giving a VAR decision because he didn’t want to drop a ‘mate’ in it.
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Why do they need another English official in there at all? Why not someone totally independent? Someone who’s not a ref who can act swiftly and decisively and communicate clearly and professionally.
As I’ve said, the audio from the rugby video checks is vastly different, to the embarrassment of the PGMOL. You have an absolute top level professional interaction, with clear questions and clear answers which tell each official what exactly is being communicated, and results in the right call. It’s not that difficult.
I’d really like to see some of the best referees from overseas come in to officiate our games too, so none of this chumminess, and also no lingering vendettas, if managers criticise referees for instance. And definitely totally independent officials observing everything in the VAR booth.
Most of all, I’d like to see VAR officials actually watch the game they’re supposed to be officiating on. It’s not that much to ask, is it?!
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