[SmethDan]

Managed a peak at the highlights. I have to say Wolves played well and really should have battered United and would have with better finishing.

But they didn't. And the none penalty decision makes it even funnier. They must be spitting feathers, well stuff 'em where the sun don't shine     .

[OldburyWBA]

Referee, VAR ref and asst VAR ref all dropped from this weekends games and Wolves given an apology.

Means nowt though to be honest, refs get a slap on the wrist, weekend off and still doesn't alter the result or the decision.

[Atomic]

Referee, VAR ref and asst VAR ref all dropped from this weekends games and Wolves given an apology.

Means nowt though to be honest, refs get a slap on the wrist, weekend off and still doesn't alter the result or the decision.

Exactly. It's a token gesture so it appears something has been done. It's nothing, it's nonsense. The result still stands!

It's a disgrace what's going on in plain sight.

I don't like Wolves any more than the next Baggie but if football isn't straight there's no point to it. You might as well make it exhibitionism.

[alex1]

I would say it's cowardice more than anything. The ref was simply too scared to give an obvious penalty against Man U AT Old Trafford.

Yes, and the fact that it was 1-0 with just a few minutes left.  I wonder how many extra points they'll accumulate this season in a such a manner.

.

[hardtobeat]

It’s all very well dropping the officials for one game but the true ramifications of that decision may not be known until the end of the season , it could at that time affect both ends of the table.
With so much money at stake it is quite possibly only a matter of time before legal action is taken over such decisions !

[KN22]

This may be controversial, but I refuse to believe that the ref didn't give the penalty because it was against Man U. I never have believed that. When we got promoted under Megson and I went to far more away games than I do now, I became embarrassed by how many times our own fans blamed poor results on referee's bias rather than our own shortcomings. If I ever found out it was true, I would stop going to matches.

[Atomic]

This may be controversial, but I refuse to believe that the ref didn't give the penalty because it was against Man U. I never have believed that. When we got promoted under Megson and I went to far more away games than I do now, I became embarrassed by how many times our own fans blamed poor results on referee's bias rather than our own shortcomings. If I ever found out it was true, I would stop going to matches.

Pardon the pun but it's clear and obvious to anyone that just uses their eyes, brains and ignores all the rubbish in the press / media.

If asked why the result can't be changed, for example, I absolutely guarantee there will be some official speak a load of gumph about why its legally impossible and the media will jump on the back of it. But here's the thing, it's the authorities that create the laws of the game so they've created them to give themselves a loophole and cover themselves.

I really do hope some club takes legal action eventually. They'll lose the case and it'll be costly but it will probably lead to a change of laws.

[zippyandbungle]

Yes, and the fact that it was 1-0 with just a few minutes left.  I wonder how many extra points they'll accumulate this season in a such a manner.

.

The VAR was over a hundred miles away

[hardtobeat]

It has been going on for a number of years whereby the bigger clubs shall we say seem  to get the benefit of the doubt. Only have to think back to Dorrans being taken down by Neville admittedly pre VAR. Also I remember there was some very one sided stats of when Riley reffed at Old Trafford .

[alex1]

This may be controversial, but I refuse to believe that the ref didn't give the penalty because it was against Man U. I never have believed that. When we got promoted under Megson and I went to far more away games than I do now, I became embarrassed by how many times our own fans blamed poor results on referee's bias rather than our own shortcomings. If I ever found out it was true, I would stop going to matches.

I think the only way around this is for refs to give post-match interviews if there are very controversial decisions. Fans would have alot more respect for decisions if refs say how they saw the incident. By hiding behind their wall of silence, refs are open to conjecture from all sides.  If there is bias or refs being scared to go against vociferous home fans etc., it would be far more likely to come out.   

[hardtobeat]

The VAR was over a hundred miles away

Might as well have been on Mars !

[zippyandbungle]

This may be controversial, but I refuse to believe that the ref didn't give the penalty because it was against Man U. I never have believed that. When we got promoted under Megson and I went to far more away games than I do now, I became embarrassed by how many times our own fans blamed poor results on referee's bias rather than our own shortcomings. If I ever found out it was true, I would stop going to matches.

Agree
Some are utter rubbish but I don’t think for one second that it’s because it’s Man U
Maybe wolves should be asking why they didn’t convert a single chance ??

[KN22]

Pardon the pun but it's clear and obvious to anyone that just uses their eyes, brains and ignores all the rubbish in the press / media.

If asked why the result can't be changed, for example, I absolutely guarantee there will be some official speak a load of gumph about why its legally impossible and the media will jump on the back of it. But here's the thing, it's the authorities that create the laws of the game so they've created them to give themselves a loophole and cover themselves.

I really do hope some club takes legal action eventually. They'll lose the case and it'll be costly but it will probably lead to a change of laws.

I'm simply saying that I do not believe that the refs are deliberately cheating out of some kind of loyalty to big clubs.

[zippyandbungle]

It has been going on for a number of years whereby the bigger clubs shall we say seem  to get the benefit of the doubt. Only have to think back to Dorrans being taken down by Neville admittedly pre VAR. Also I remember there was some very one sided stats of when Riley reffed at Old Trafford .

And Jay Rodriguez did not use his arm against villa ?

[KN22]

I think the only way around this is for refs to give post-match interviews if there are very controversial decisions. Fans would have alot more respect for decisions if refs say how they saw the incident. By hiding behind their wall of silence, refs are open to conjecture from all sides.  If there is bias or refs being scared to go against vociferous home fans etc., it would be far more likely to come out.

Now that is a good idea!!

[Atomic]

I'm simply saying that I do not believe that the refs are deliberately cheating out of some kind of loyalty to big clubs.

It's not refs it's the Premier League. Refs are just cogs in the wheel.

There was a ref last night but there was also VAR.

When people start to understand its not "the refs" but it is the system then things will start to make sense to them.

Refs are just a tool.

[Atomic]

And Jay Rodriguez did not use his arm against villa ?

That was nothing to do with the authorities or VAR. That was a genuine error by the ref / linesman. Yes it can bite you in the bum but human error I think we can all live with.

[Atomic]

I think the only way around this is for refs to give post-match interviews if there are very controversial decisions. Fans would have alot more respect for decisions if refs say how they saw the incident. By hiding behind their wall of silence, refs are open to conjecture from all sides.  If there is bias or refs being scared to go against vociferous home fans etc., it would be far more likely to come out.

How would it be likely to come out? People need to get real and stop being so naive.

Players these days are media trained, the same would apply to referees who would've been previously sent on courses on how to react to the media in various situations.

[elmo_in_swansea]

Refs make mistakes end of. Swings and roundabouts used to generally even things out over a season. VAR was supposed to eliminate these errors, but this is all subjective and controlled by another ref and it all mushrooms because they make mistakes too! In my opinion VAR is just a waste of resources, together with this ruling about putting the offside flag up half an hour later its becoming a joke, no wonder games are lasting 100 minutes plus. The only thing technology wise that's any good is the goal line tool which is based on fact, even then the cameras miss things ala the lucky Villa vs Sheff Utd. All in all I think we should go back to how it was.
I think all anybody wants is consistency and that ain't going to happen anytime soon!
Btw what is the natural position for your arm to be in when someone blasts a ball at you from 5 yards anyway 😂

[NJS]

The VAR ref has technology in his/her armoury from the grid lines drawn across the pitch and the replays as well as some time to judge the event.
I think that this time should be limited and if the VAR ref cant make a decision based on his technical aids them the refs decision should stand.  That way the game can be restarted more quickly.

[johnny Cash]

I don’t think it’s deliberate, but I do believe there is unconscious bias.

As for all teams / fans thinking refs are against them, I know it’s anecdotal but most the bigs clubs and supporters of teams seem to reference big decisions that go against them in games against other big clubs. It doesn’t seem they regularly get screwed in matches vs ‘smaller’ clubs. They seem to get big moments  go their way incorrectly far too often in those games.

[alex1]

How would it be likely to come out? People need to get real and stop being so naive.

Players these days are media trained, the same would apply to referees who would've been previously sent on courses on how to react to the media in various situations.

That's ok if refs were media trained. They would still have to say what rule they were interpeting, and how they interpreted the latest version of it. By saying nothing, its left as a bit of a mystery, so inevitably speculative accusations such as bias etc follow from that.   

[Barrington]

I can forgive the on-field ref's for getting a decision wrong occasionally, but when there is a VAR panel with multiple angles and the benefit of as many replays as they want, how can they justify getting simple decisions wrong?

It's either absolute incompetence that should mean that that person is never allowed in the VAR room again, or it's bias or corruption and so again should never be near a VAR room or a pitch again.

It is genuinely as simple as that. I've been on here after many games since VAR came in saying the same things after totally mind-bending decisions or non-decisions from VAR since it came in and they promised to get their act together long ago but apparently still can't get the simple things right. The amazing Howard Webb was supposed to be coming in and sorting it out but after the first weekend and a VAR panel awarding a win to one of the biggest clubs in the country we're still scratching our heads as to what the hell is going on. If anyone believes that all of these baffling decisions over the years have simply been accidents by ref's or VAR then I'm afraid to say that I think you're very naive to how the world really works and what motivates people and how they can easily be corrupted by their own desires or by outside influence.

It really helps when you don't ever have to come out and explain how you arrived at your terrible decision too. Handy, isn't it?

[WBArgo]

There's a differnence between a group of hooded top 4 executives sitting in a dark room with top refs and real life media bias, influence (such as what Ferguson did) and a pressure from the Premier League/FA to help out the top teams to keep the status quo. It's always been that way.

As mentioned earlier, Gary Neville nailed Dorrans and got away with it. He quickly retired after and has since said himself that he was amazed it was never given. More recently, we got absolutely battered by VAR when Allison got the late 2-1 winner to get them into the top 4.

In short, football has always favoured the bigger teams. With VAR, it's now more systematic and unfair than ever.

[MarkW]

I honestly don't think it's even as malicious as 'influence' or 'pressure'. The role of unconscious bias is woven in the fabric of football, whether its fans who have favourites or refs who judge more based on reputation than what happened, we as humans are really bad at thinking logically in many situations. It's a completely rational (unconscious) thing to be less willing to upset a large fanbase, even if a ref would never consider themselves biased.