Monday Mar 11:
Kyle Walker is doing the media rounds today for some reason or other, and for some reason Sky are asking him for his thoughts on the ref's performance yesterday. Of course he was effusive in his praise of Michael Oliver (or “Mike” to his friends such as dirtbag Kyle) because he showed great “character” to not be swayed by Anfield yesterday. This isn’t normal and I can’t believe Sky are putting shit like this out. What’s going on? I feel like we’re in a footy equivalent of a Black Mirror episode. This is even worse than someone slagging a referee off, as the next time he’s involved in a contentious incident and Oliver is the ref, this interview is going to do him a lot of good I reckon.
PGMOL needs a massive shake up and I don't mean with the refs on the pitch, as their job gets harder by the week because of the "protocols" they have to adhere to. What needs looking at is how VAR is implemented and how it seems to exist for the purpose of backing up the on field decision rather than getting to the right outcome. Yesterday is a prime example really. Oliver doesn't give the pen and Attwell is coming out with complete horseshit to try and validate the decision. Foot not in an unnaturally high position apparently. So studs up into a players chest is normal then? Fuck off. You didn't want to tell Oliver he was wrong, that's why you let it go. We all know it.
The technology is there but they don't use it properly. It's used to rule out goals for the most stupid of reasons (Solanke had one disallowed this weekend for a laughable 'handball' for example) and not used when it would be really useful. They need to work together to get the right outcome, but there's ego involved here. VAR rarely wants to tell the ref on the pitch he's wrong and the refs on the pitch don't seem to ever ask for help. It shouldn't be there to tell the ref he's made a mistake, it should be there for the ref to get a proper look at it and decide for himself what the decision should be.
What should have happened yesterday is Oliver should have said "could that have been a foul, should I take a look?" and VAR should have said "yeah have another look and then make your decision". But that doesn't happen because of the protocols they have. All this 'clear and obvious' bullshit. If PGMOL aren't going to use the technology to help themselves then they need it taking out of their hands. Maybe like the NFL where the coach can challenge a decision and have it reviewed. But it can't be reviewed by the ref on the pitch as there's too much ego involved with some of them. Oliver for instance. He's not going to take kindly to a manager challenging his decisions and is likely to dig in even further. He doesn't even like his own colleagues questioning him when they've got access to angles he hasn't.
Richard Keys (I know, I know) claims Oliver has told his colleague to never send him to the screen. The last time it happened was September 2022 and he stuck with his original decision. Keys reckons he's been told that Oliver was furious about that and at the next refs meeting told them to never send him to the screen again. Could be bollocks of course, Keys isn't the most reliable of witnesses after all, but he does have contacts within PGMOL and his claims have not been dismissed (not yet anyway, and he's been saying it for a while). All I know is Attwell's explanation for why VAR wasn't recommending a review was absolute nonsense.
If there is even a shred of truth in what Keys is saying, then this cunt needs reigning in. A ref on the field gets one look at an incident and its therefore a really tough job. So it’s the absolute height of arrogance to refuse the help and advice of colleagues who have access to different angles, replays and slo motion footage. Oliver is either the most egotistical ref to have ever lived or he wants to influence results without the interference of colleagues correcting his wrong calls. Either way, it needs looking into.
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