A common theme throughout Howard Webb’s tenure as head of the PGMOL has been directing his officials to implement new protocols to eradicate time wasting. While the desired outcome is to improve player behaviour and enhance the sport as a spectacle, there is an argument to suggest that it has resulted in the opposite. Furthermore, has an already difficult and pressurised job been made even more complicated for the men in the middle?
The threshold for a yellow card seems to have become lower by the week since Howard Webb decided to clamp down on various aspects. Unfortunately, the sense of irony hasn’t been lost on football fans, with the increase of yellow cards arguably causing more problems than solutions.
A recent high-profile example of the crackdown’s adverse effect came in the biggest Premier League match of the season so far, between Manchester City and Arsenal. Michael Oliver’s decision to show Leandro Trossard a second yellow card for delaying the restart at the end of a pulsating first half undoubtedly contributed to the alteration of the Arsenal approach, a move that proved massively detrimental to the spectacle.
Opinions may vary on whether the sending off was warranted, but it does pose the question, should such instances really impact the course of matches as much as they have been of late?
The arrival of VAR in 2019 dramatically changed the match day experience for players, coaches and fans, but arguably most of all, for the officials themselves. On top of this revolutionary change, is it too much to expect referees to constantly determine what constitutes time-wasting or the delay of the restart and flashcards around like confetti?
A lot of attention has understandably been shone on the implementation of VAR and how it has been utilised in the Premier League. It has taken a lot of getting used to and has undoubtedly changed the way in which referees do their job, but the general art of refereeing remains.
Elite level officials are clearly very knowledgeable about what they do, so is it really necessary to dictate to them how to oversee a football match. Guidance is paramount to ensure that there is a high level of consistency across the board, but they should be able to identify and sanction poor behaviour appropriately, without such rigorous instructions imposed upon them by PGMOL bosses.
As a result of referees being instructed to punish incidents they deem as time wasting, dissent and gesticulating with imaginary cards to name just a few, more players are walking the disciplinary tightrope. Not only this, referees are under extra duress from an earlier stage of the match, which ultimately impacts their decision making later on.
The record for the most yellow cards (14) in a Premier League fixture was broken recently in a game between Bournemouth and Chelsea by Anthony Taylor. That would suggest the game was particularly feisty and physical, but for the most part it was far from it, with a common conception being that Taylor made a rod for his own back with early decisions.
Yellow cards for instances of time wasting and petulance is not a new phenomenon. Referees past and present have for the most part been able to keep a lid on the behaviour of players if they deem it to have gone too far. So why now in 2024, is so much pressure being applied on referees from those above them? It is a period that is producing an obscene amount of yellow cards and in the eyes of many, negatively impacting the standard of referees, as well as the match they are overseeing.
It stands to reason, that with even more to think about, the job becomes harder, especially in the cauldron of a Premier League arena. Currently, referees are on red alert as they look for acts of time wasting and are making errors in judgement, rather than dealing with each incident on its merit as they had done previously.
While all football fans want to see matches played as fairly and competitively as possible, we certainly don’t want the entertainment to waver.