Shropshire Star

Matt Maher: Letting referees explain their decisions would be a good call

Much like traffic warden or tax collector, refereeing has never been the chosen profession for anyone wanting to be popular.

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It’s a tough gig and criticism has always tended to come with the territory. Yet at the top level, in the Premier League, it seems the job has never been harder or the flak more severe.

The presence of dozens of cameras at every match means decisions are immediately open to scrutiny, while the implementation of VAR, far from helping on-field officials, has instead led only to much second-guessing and lengthy delays.

Of course, referees need to be questioned when they make basic errors. It was telling that some of the most severe criticism of Lee Mason, following his blunder-strewn performance at The Hawthorns last weekend, came from former peers.

Among them was ex-referees chief Keith Hackett, who used his column in a national newspaper to call for Mason to resign. On the balance of his performances this season, many would describe it fair.

Yet it is a sad reality of modern society that an increasing number of people cannot recognise the line between constructive, reasoned criticism and outright abuse – or worse.

When Mason and Mike Dean combined to send off West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek at Fulham, one of the most egregious decisions of this or any other season, the latter and his family received death threats.

If there are continued issues with the standard of refereeing in the Premier League – and most observers would agree there are – one of the priorities must be looking into what can be done to help.

It was disappointing and a little puzzling, therefore, to learn the game’s lawmakers had again this week held back on plans to “mic up” referees.

Such a policy works well in rugby and has several benefits. Not only does it mean an official must provide clear reasoning for any decision – which can then be better understood by spectators – the presence of a microphone also demands better behaviour from players.

Those in the Premier League might quickly come to learn petulance on the field isn’t great for their brand.

Having referees who are respected at the top of the sport is crucial, not least because behaviours filter down to those lower levels where the cameras aren’t present but the abuse is often more personal and in some all-too-frequent incidents physical.

The world would survive without traffic wardens and tax collectors. But football doesn’t work without referees.