Howard Webb, PGMOL and the Premier League have decided to open discussions between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on key incidents.
In this latest installment of Match Officials Mic’d Up, Howard Webb, Chief Operating Officer of PGMOL, the League’s match officials watchdog, discusses a number of recent developments.
The idea is to go through conversations between match officials to give fans more insight into how decisions are made.
Officials on the pitch cannot hear all the communication from the VAR center at Stockley Park.
Among the recent events that Howard Webb breaks down is a much-talked-about Newcastle United incident from Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa.
On-field referee Jarred Gillett booked Sven Botman for a challenge on Nicholas Jackson, and VAR Stuart Attwell saw no reason to ask Gillett to review the decision and replace it with a red card.
Howard Webb of match officials Mic’d Up says: “We’ve seen quite a lot of hard tackles in the Premier League. We’ve seen a few examples of hard tackles this weekend; that’s what the English game, the Premier League and people like. We want to accept that, but we also have a responsibility to keep the players safe. A lot of the situations we see with decisions like that determine what points the referees have. a lot of force is used and the nature of the tackle. playing, we see Joelinton decide on a solution, and then Botman comes in. He’s clearly got some speed.
Photo by The Mag
Howard Webb continues to explain: “We don’t want the referee’s decision to be reviewed by VAR; we want the referee to own the decision and VAR to intervene only when there is an element that is clearly wrong. So if VAR had seen a strong elbow contact from Botman’s extended leg to Jackson’s ankle or calf, or we probably had a different closeout,” after VAR looks at it, he doesn’t understand that it’s subjective and he lets it stay on the field on the referee’s call, if it’s by VAR was also fully vetted. Judge the decision and have VAR step in when there is something really wrong.”
What did the match officials say?
VAR – Stuart Attwell: “I don’t like that. It’s true, he kicks the ball; he goes over the ball. He doesn’t elbow the leg, he just circles it with a scissor.”
Attwell looks at multiple replays and asks AVAR: “What are you thinking?”
Assistant VAR – Craig Taylor: “I think he plays the ball and the player has limited contact with his foot.”
OUR: “It’s not with the poles, is it? It’s walking around it.”
PADDLE: “It’s not with studs. It’s not a clear point of contact.”
OUR: “No second scissor move.”
OUR: “Carred confirmed a yellow card for Sven Botman and a yellow card for Joelinton. Two careless tackles.”
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