Latest news with #ProfessionalGameMatchOfficialsLimited
Rhyl Journal
3 days ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Referee Bobby Madley says VAR is ruining football's emotion
Madley, who takes charge of games in the EFL and is a fourth official for Premier League matches, spoke out about the technology which continues to be a source of controversy in football. He said the introduction of VAR had meant that moments like Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner to hand Manchester City their first Premier League title in 2012 would not be repeated. 'As a fan, hate it, hate it. Love the Championship, love League One, I'm still a fan,' the Yorkshire-born referee said. 'I love League One because you score a goal, you look at the referee… you look at the assistant, he hasn't put his flag up, it's a goal. 'And that Sergio Aguero moment that we had years ago, where the referee was blowing, nobody's flagging, they've won the league. 'You are never, ever going to see that again in football, because they'll score in that moment and what will happen is the referee will stand there, everyone will panic, they're just checking potential offside 15 seconds ago. 'It takes that emotion away from it and football is a game where there could be one moment in the game, one goal, and that's it. 'To take that emotion away, to have to wait and wait, and what feels like an eternity, as a fan, I'm not a huge fan of that experience.' Madley, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival during an event on technology in sport, said football was a billion-pound business and the use of technology was inevitable. 'There's so much money in football, it's business driven. So any mistake is perceived to cost people money,' Madley said. 'And I don't think most football fans were clambering over each other to get video technology. 'The players weren't, the referees weren't, but the people who run football, they are multimillion-pound and billion-pound people, and they had issues with referees getting things wrong. 'I think we've got to the stage where people go, 'Sorry, we're ruining football with this now'. 'But we knew the monster that had been created, as referees, we knew what was coming. But I thought, so that's where we are.' Madley said the use of VAR had changed the psychology of refereeing because before, if mistakes were made, you would not know until after the game had finished. 'All of a sudden you've got to process 'I've made a wrong decision' in front of 75,000 people, in front of 100million people watching. What if I make another one?' Madley said. 'You know, I can't keep making wrong decisions because sometimes the players are going to say, 'How many more?' 'If you're sent to the screen for a second time, the trust weighs a little bit and that's a dangerous place to be as a referee. 'When people stop trusting your decision-making, that can be a very dangerous place. 'That's why we have so much training with VAR and that's why we have that bar set as a clear and obvious error.' The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the English game's referees' body, has been approached for comment.
North Wales Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Referee Bobby Madley says VAR is ruining football's emotion
Madley, who takes charge of games in the EFL and is a fourth official for Premier League matches, spoke out about the technology which continues to be a source of controversy in football. He said the introduction of VAR had meant that moments like Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner to hand Manchester City their first Premier League title in 2012 would not be repeated. 'As a fan, hate it, hate it. Love the Championship, love League One, I'm still a fan,' the Yorkshire-born referee said. 'I love League One because you score a goal, you look at the referee… you look at the assistant, he hasn't put his flag up, it's a goal. 'And that Sergio Aguero moment that we had years ago, where the referee was blowing, nobody's flagging, they've won the league. 'You are never, ever going to see that again in football, because they'll score in that moment and what will happen is the referee will stand there, everyone will panic, they're just checking potential offside 15 seconds ago. 'It takes that emotion away from it and football is a game where there could be one moment in the game, one goal, and that's it. 'To take that emotion away, to have to wait and wait, and what feels like an eternity, as a fan, I'm not a huge fan of that experience.' Madley, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival during an event on technology in sport, said football was a billion-pound business and the use of technology was inevitable. 'There's so much money in football, it's business driven. So any mistake is perceived to cost people money,' Madley said. 'And I don't think most football fans were clambering over each other to get video technology. 'The players weren't, the referees weren't, but the people who run football, they are multimillion-pound and billion-pound people, and they had issues with referees getting things wrong. 'I think we've got to the stage where people go, 'Sorry, we're ruining football with this now'. 'But we knew the monster that had been created, as referees, we knew what was coming. But I thought, so that's where we are.' Madley said the use of VAR had changed the psychology of refereeing because before, if mistakes were made, you would not know until after the game had finished. 'All of a sudden you've got to process 'I've made a wrong decision' in front of 75,000 people, in front of 100million people watching. What if I make another one?' Madley said. 'You know, I can't keep making wrong decisions because sometimes the players are going to say, 'How many more?' 'If you're sent to the screen for a second time, the trust weighs a little bit and that's a dangerous place to be as a referee. 'When people stop trusting your decision-making, that can be a very dangerous place. 'That's why we have so much training with VAR and that's why we have that bar set as a clear and obvious error.' The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the English game's referees' body, has been approached for comment.
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Referee Bobby Madley says VAR is ruining football's emotion
Madley, who takes charge of games in the EFL and is a fourth official for Premier League matches, spoke out about the technology which continues to be a source of controversy in football. He said the introduction of VAR had meant that moments like Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner to hand Manchester City their first Premier League title in 2012 would not be repeated. 'As a fan, hate it, hate it. Love the Championship, love League One, I'm still a fan,' the Yorkshire-born referee said. 'I love League One because you score a goal, you look at the referee… you look at the assistant, he hasn't put his flag up, it's a goal. 'And that Sergio Aguero moment that we had years ago, where the referee was blowing, nobody's flagging, they've won the league. 'You are never, ever going to see that again in football, because they'll score in that moment and what will happen is the referee will stand there, everyone will panic, they're just checking potential offside 15 seconds ago. 'It takes that emotion away from it and football is a game where there could be one moment in the game, one goal, and that's it. 'To take that emotion away, to have to wait and wait, and what feels like an eternity, as a fan, I'm not a huge fan of that experience.' Madley, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival during an event on technology in sport, said football was a billion-pound business and the use of technology was inevitable. 'There's so much money in football, it's business driven. So any mistake is perceived to cost people money,' Madley said. 'And I don't think most football fans were clambering over each other to get video technology. 'The players weren't, the referees weren't, but the people who run football, they are multimillion-pound and billion-pound people, and they had issues with referees getting things wrong. 'I think we've got to the stage where people go, 'Sorry, we're ruining football with this now'. 'But we knew the monster that had been created, as referees, we knew what was coming. But I thought, so that's where we are.' Madley said the use of VAR had changed the psychology of refereeing because before, if mistakes were made, you would not know until after the game had finished. 'All of a sudden you've got to process 'I've made a wrong decision' in front of 75,000 people, in front of 100million people watching. What if I make another one?' Madley said. 'You know, I can't keep making wrong decisions because sometimes the players are going to say, 'How many more?' 'If you're sent to the screen for a second time, the trust weighs a little bit and that's a dangerous place to be as a referee. 'When people stop trusting your decision-making, that can be a very dangerous place. 'That's why we have so much training with VAR and that's why we have that bar set as a clear and obvious error.' The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the English game's referees' body, has been approached for comment.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Referee Bobby Madley says VAR is ruining football's emotion
Madley, who takes charge of games in the EFL and is a fourth official for Premier League matches, spoke out about the technology which continues to be a source of controversy in football. He said the introduction of VAR had meant that moments like Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner to hand Manchester City their first Premier League title in 2012 would not be repeated. 'As a fan, hate it, hate it. Love the Championship, love League One, I'm still a fan,' the Yorkshire-born referee said. 'I love League One because you score a goal, you look at the referee… you look at the assistant, he hasn't put his flag up, it's a goal. 'And that Sergio Aguero moment that we had years ago, where the referee was blowing, nobody's flagging, they've won the league. 'You are never, ever going to see that again in football, because they'll score in that moment and what will happen is the referee will stand there, everyone will panic, they're just checking potential offside 15 seconds ago. 'It takes that emotion away from it and football is a game where there could be one moment in the game, one goal, and that's it. 'To take that emotion away, to have to wait and wait, and what feels like an eternity, as a fan, I'm not a huge fan of that experience.' Madley, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival during an event on technology in sport, said football was a billion-pound business and the use of technology was inevitable. 'There's so much money in football, it's business driven. So any mistake is perceived to cost people money,' Madley said. 'And I don't think most football fans were clambering over each other to get video technology. 'The players weren't, the referees weren't, but the people who run football, they are multimillion-pound and billion-pound people, and they had issues with referees getting things wrong. 'I think we've got to the stage where people go, 'Sorry, we're ruining football with this now'. 'But we knew the monster that had been created, as referees, we knew what was coming. But I thought, so that's where we are.' Madley said the use of VAR had changed the psychology of refereeing because before, if mistakes were made, you would not know until after the game had finished. 'All of a sudden you've got to process 'I've made a wrong decision' in front of 75,000 people, in front of 100million people watching. What if I make another one?' Madley said. 'You know, I can't keep making wrong decisions because sometimes the players are going to say, 'How many more?' 'If you're sent to the screen for a second time, the trust weighs a little bit and that's a dangerous place to be as a referee. 'When people stop trusting your decision-making, that can be a very dangerous place. 'That's why we have so much training with VAR and that's why we have that bar set as a clear and obvious error.' The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the English game's referees' body, has been approached for comment.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Howard Webb 'will announce losses of £900,000 at PGMOL' - as referees chief 'prepares to tell clubs' they must increase budgets if they want the highest standard of officiating
PMGOL chief Howard Webb is set to announce losses of nearly £1millon at the body, according to a report. The body, full name Professional Game Match Officials Limited, is responsible for refereeing matches in England, including the Premier League, but continues to bleed money and will post major losses again this year. According to The Telegraph, losses of £379,000 last year have been adjusted to £1.8million, taking the total sum over the last three years to close to £3.4m. Scrutiny is regularly aimed at the body, though increased transparency has been targeted with regular communication methods including explaining decisions in real-time on social media, trialling giving referees microphones during games and a regular referees show which Webb appears on to show and explain decisions. There are, though, inconsistencies, with the report suggesting a camera would regularly disappear at one ground early on in the VAR era and that camera coverage is inconsistent from stadium to stadium in the top flight. The main issues, though, are believed to be financial, with it also suggested that PGMOL have made plans to cover a potential tax bill from HMRC, which surrounds a debate over whether lower-league referees can be classed as self-employed. It has lasted a decade and has gone to the Supreme Court. There continue to be complaints over refereeing standards in the league, with a decision overturned as recently as Evanilson being sent off against Manchester United last week. There is, though, reportedly a belief from within that the standards have been high since Luis Diaz's goal against Tottenham in late 2023 was incorrectly ruled out for offside. Yet, with money being lost year on year, Webb is reportedly set to tell clubs that they must increase long-term budgets if they want the highest standard of officiating. A recent introduction to the Premier League, meanwhile, is semi-automated offsides, which was introduced in April. So far, there have been no major complaints, but it is suggested that some officials are worried about the technology, which is provided by Genius Sports and uses different staff to Hawk-Eye. That means there are concerns both on and off the field in terms of the body, from financial to the use of technology. Earlier this year, meanwhile, David Coote was sacked after he was videoed criticising Jurgen Klopp and admitted to taking drugs. It is also reported that two psychologists for top referees left PGMOL at the start of the year and have not been replaced.
