Referees' Performances | 2025/26

[Gordyola]

Scratching my head on why Arsenal's first goal wasn't even reviewed for offside/blocking the keepers view.

All goals are reviewed and major incidents are looked at, if VAR dont see any reason to ask the onfield ref to review then its not referred

 

[Gordyola]

Then studs up, both feet off the ground, full stretch is always a red, sometimes even if there’s no contact.

Not always. A red card for serious foul play must include, endangering an opponent and excessive force If its determined that it wasn't excessive force then its a yellow card.
The "tackle" on Phil was probably a yellow but for some reason was not given.

 

[BerkshireBlue]

has there ever been lines drawn on a semi automated image before? I have never seen it, I thought the whole point was it can work it out itself based off the players positions and if it can't then you have to draw the lines on the actual real footage image

There's two things that could have gone wrong.
1) The AI messed up Dias's position. VAR might have spotted this and that's the reason why it took 5 minutes to try and sort it out but they ultimately couldn't and decided to just accept it.
2) The AI was right with it's initial decision of offside but VAR altered the image to make it offside. Again this is why it took way too long to sort out.

it's one of these two. Both require a full investigation

 

[Gordyola]

has there ever been lines drawn on a semi automated image before? I have never seen it, I thought the whole point was it can work it out itself based off the players positions and if it can't then you have to draw the lines on the actual real footage image

I dont recall seeing any lines before Saturday the offending part of the ball is usually highlighted on both defender and attacker That whole image was wrong Looks to me that either the software fucked up or the VAR official intervened

 

[Wretched Vengeance]

I see Deadpool Dermot thinks the challenge on Foden was ok.

 

[Saddleworth2]

We can all agree that sometimes a subjective decision goes for you and against you. So, let’s agree on that before continuing.

From there, is there a reasonable subjective reason YOU can think of why the Foden challenge was not reviewed, the contact obviously seen, but the referee not given the opportunity to review it? Was it not “clearly and obviously” a late, studs up, above the ankle challenge made by a player who launched himself, with both feet and legs off the ground, with his eyes closed? If YOU subjectively think that is NOT TRUE, then my only question would be, “Can you not see ALL OF THAT in the REAL WORLD still picture?”

IMHO, it was, OBJECTIVELY, based on the Laws of the Game AND the normal standard of refereeing in the PL, including the backstop of VAR, a very poor, indefensible decision NOT to review the challenge at the monitor, at a minimum.

So, where does it leave a club, a team, individual players, when they see a clear and obvious penalty not be given, and VAR failing to intercede? When it’s only the first of multiple deeply questionable decisions within the same game, what then? And, lastly, when you actually SEE a supposedly objective, computer generated, decision made that contradicts what you’ve literally seen with your own eyes, that literally places a player in a different position than he was clearly in when the offside decision should have been made (jumping to head a ball that has supposedly not been headed towards him yet!!!), where do you go, what do you do, what can you say…especially when the decision decides a very important game?

Boggles the mind…if your mind relies on truth, facts and objective reality!

The only logical course of action is to take the evidence to pogmol and demand an explanation including access to all communication between var and referee. Because as you say, it on the face of it is mind boggling wrong on any level never mind subjective. These games are fine margins and the referee undoubtedly turned the game.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

While i agree with your overall point, surely every slide tackle where the player doesnt get the ball would then be classed as an inevitable coming together then and no longer be a foul?

Only if the officials deem it as an inevitable coming together.

Two referees may view the same incident and give different decisions. This is why VAR will never eradicate all “mistakes” and why I think refs should be able to look at the contentious decisions again without being told they’ve necessarily made a mistake.

The game is so fast now that a fair proportion of decisions must be partially guess work. Why not use the technology to verify them sometimes. It’s okay for the ref then to say they aren’t sure and have to give a decision one way or the other based on vibes.

 

[Blue_eyes]

Have you ever seen a semi automated image before that transforms the defender from being on the ground, to suddenly in the air? The whole thing fucking reeks.

This is so that they can make it appear onside by extending the vertical line lower down until onside is achieved.

Anyone with a sense of depth perception will realise this..........they think we are thick.

Every single rule now has a "grey area" that can be manipulated in some way to suit their preferred outcome.

Then the media kick in, they highlight or ignore contensious decisions and drive narratives that keep fans divided.

They treat fans like sheep to be kept separated and aggrieved towards each other and thus controlled. Given something one week, then wronged the following week.(it all evens out over the season lol).

So, only a few fans are complaining at any one time and others are happy that week, and the manipulation can continue as they please.

Some of the reffing/var has to be bent surely, and they have created a system to allow it.

Remember, they can benefit a team by decisions in a game involving other teams.

They can also "give" a team something when they are already 4-0 up and claim they benefitted from a decision, meaning they can give an opposing team the same to make them win a tight game and claim it evens out.

The landscape is there now for all this and its getting worse.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

"In the opinion of the referee".

Every incident is different. Every human thinks differently.

Which is the whole point of VAR, surely?

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

It’s simpler than that in reality.

VAR looks at each decision and determines whether the call that has been made is justifiable in any way within the laws of the game.

The human element of VAR means that two identical decisions could be viewed differently by the on field ref initially and then the VAR official trying to see whether thr original call on field is justifiable.

Now, I guess the Foden call was that he got his shot off and the contact was inevitable because the defender is desperately lunging to block the shot.

I think it was a penalty, because he took Foden out after he played the ball.

However, if the on field ref says that it’s an inevitable coming together, then how can VAR intervene?

The system is a mess. I think that all major marginal calls should be looked at by the on field ref.

Over half the fouls he gave on Sunday were after the ball had been played so, presumably, an inevitable coming together?

 

[Father Paul]

p

I’d agree that there probably isn’t a conspiracy as such but referees like all of us have their biases, conscious and subconscious. If the ratetheref forum represents rank and file referees then their view of Saturday’s referee is that he had a very good game but was arguably let down by var.
Now is it my bias towards City that makes me see things differently or is there an ingrained bias in referees in general brought about by the constant negative media coverage, or is that all in my head too? Last week’s furore whipped up by Liverpool probably affected Saturday’s match officials to be careful of not showing City any favours, in my view.

I think your right. We got a dodgy ref Sat night. However, this should not cloud over the fact that we lost to an average team putting in a very average performance which normally did not happen in the recent past in similar situations. Poor decisions, for a multitude of reasons, have been part and parcel of football since the very beginning and this won't change Var or no Var. Time to move on from this now.

 

[bondsman]

I see Deadpool Dermot thinks the challenge on Foden was ok.

Fucking unbelievable his explanation. Wreckless not reckless if it’s just momentum. It’s laughable. TV and technology ruing the greatest game in the world. Should be far less in TV make the matchday experience special and have integrity again. Fuckers like Neville failed manager that he is leaching a living off one sided punditry. He’s rim job on Arsenal and previously Liverpool who he apparently hates more than ickle city makes me ill. He’s never praised a city team as he did yesterday. Baller league, Roman Kemp hosting a football show. It’s all shite and makes me love the game a little less.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

First image shown was clearly offside, even gooner Smith said " Newcastle fans are gonna be disappointed' ,then there was a long delay, just knew they were manipulating something.
Has any other club had 3 shockers like Rashford, Cup Final and Newcastle!. Would love to hear the audio from ANY of those 5 decisions.
The Club dont kick up a fuss and we get shafted by 115, thoroughly and utterley pissed off with it.

Wolves and Fulham have had a few, to be fair…

 

[cheekybids]

There's two things that could have gone wrong.
1) The AI messed up Dias's position. VAR might have spotted this and that's the reason why it took 5 minutes to try and sort it out but they ultimately couldn't and decided to just accept it.
2) The AI was right with it's initial decision of offside but VAR altered the image to make it offside. Again this is why it took way too long to sort out.

it's one of these two. Both require a full investigation

I think they used YI not AI……. Gets me coat.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Over half the fouls he gave on Sunday were after the ball had been played so, presumably, an inevitable coming together?

There are loads of comings together in every match. The ref then determines how many are fouls. It’ll never be consistent. It can’t be.

Foden should have had a penalty in my opinion. I think the ref should have gone to the screen and looked at the contact. I think the ref in real time thought it was just a block tackle that ended up in a collision.

However, when the VAR looks at it, they’ll look to see if the attempted block started before the shot was taken. If it did, then they can say it was an inevitable collision, should the players collide.

That doesn’t mean to say I don’t think that it was reckless and that it should have been a penalty and a yellow card.

 

[SLIDERLEEDS]

Don't support your club as username shows, but registered for my 2 cents worth.

At 0-0 Foden it's a nailed on pen.

Would simply ask the question, anywhere else on the pitch say Foden was making a pass it would be a free kick? of course.

 

[Winchester]

Time to move on

Nothing will now Change

The Result/VAR

I Know it's all bent

But as Bruce Hornsby belted out

That's just the way it is

 

[SLIDERLEEDS]

The standard of PL refs is baffling.

You have all the technology available and wrong calls weekly, not hard ones either.

 

[mindmyp's_n_q's]

Apologies if already asked. Why is the var animation for the automated offside the only one I have seen where the "invisible curtain" disappears and is replaced by lines. I have only ever seen examples like this.

Semi-automated offside technology confirms Eze offside

The new technology was used for the first time to show how the Palace winger had strayed into an offside position

www.premierleague.com

It even shows it that way in the premier leagues own video of how it works



Yet with ours it goes from showing the curtain to it disappearing

 

[Paladin]

It doesn’t matter that he made contact, it’s whether that contact was deemed reckless or not. I thought it should have been, others don’t. Yes it is absolutely subjective.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the panel overwhelmingly says they got it wrong.

I don’t like the way he reffed the game as a whole and his general refereeing was the worst thing about it, thought the Foden one should have been a penalty, less fussed about the handball or the offside.

Correct. It is subjective because the Law says fouls have to be careless, reckless (requires yellow card) or using excessive force (red card). So in this case, the referee determined the foul wasn't even careless. Alternatively, he didn't see it and wasn't corrected on it by VAR.

In my view, stamping on an opponent's foot is at the very minimum careless. But the decision was definitely subjective.