21 November 2024
The Modern Day
Cosa Nostra
The mafia is a form of clan, cooperation to which it’s individual members pledge lifelong loyalty…….friendship, connections, family ties and obedience…..the glue that holds them together. You could be forgiven for seeing the similarities between the ethos and officiating in the Premier League. Even the retired referees will never speak foul of anyone in the ‘family’.
As crazy as it sounds, the similarities between the mafia and Premier League officials nowadays grows day by day. Omerta is a code of silence that originated in Southern Italy, it is now upheld on a weekly basis by the VAR studio and Howard Webb as a PGMOL mantra. Add to that the fraternity is getting murkier by the week and unfolding like the storyline to Goodfellas.
However, someone has forgot the rules of ‘Mafiosa Club’……you never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. Sadly for David Coote, the outcome of that may well cost him his career as a football official. Not unjustly by the way, after what has come to light in recent weeks, his position as a Premier League referee has become untenable. Despite what Gary Neville thinks, there is no way he can be involved in top-flight football matches again.
Don’t get me wrong, to believe that all referees are completely neutral is nothing short of naïve. However, to allow yourself to be recorded on video speaking what should be internal thoughts is pure stupidity. Recording yourself snorting cocaine while on UEFA duty at the Euros is another level and, as if it was needed, will be the final nail in the coffin of what he called a career.
Everyone is now looking back through bad calls he made on the pitch and in the VAR studio and using the recent developments as rationale for those decisions. The fact of the matter is that you could do this for anyone of the referees on the Premier League roster. The bar is so low nowadays, only a jellyfish could get underneath it in a limbo competition.
All too often the rules of the game are not being applied to the letter of the law so as to not embarrass their friends out on the pitch, loose lips sink ships. The ever dwindling levels of officiating in the Premier League are pushing the most ardent football fan to the limits, leaving everyone craving the days where people thought VAR was a sexually transmitted disease.
When it was introduced to the game, the premise of video technology was to ensure that after games people were talking about the football and not the decisions. That has failed miserably. If anything, it has increased the spotlight on the officials and boy do they love it. All of a sudden, these people think that they are the stars of the show. Having some bizarre delusions of grandeur that all these fans are paying overinflated prices for tickets purely to see them perform.
There is not another job in the world where your employers would endure mistakes with such regularity and still employ you. Referees seem to be the new untouchables. To make matters worse, they decided to appoint one of the most controversial referees in the history of the Premier League as their new boss, Howard Webb. The man who had a career amidst moments of controversy and suggestions of bias in games he officiated.
The lunatics have officially taken over the asylum. A good referee, who does their job well, is rarely talked about if ever. It is only when mistakes are made that the fans even take note of a referee’s name. Checking the allocation for games each week, hoping they do not have certain people anywhere near their team’s matches. It is now a game of ‘officials Russian roulette’ and if it costs you points, all you get is an apology from the PGMOL don.
With the financial rewards so high in the Premier League now, poor decisions can have an incalculable cost to the team involved. Unless the quality of performances from officials is addressed, it will not be long before a football club sues PGMOL for loss of earnings. The knock-on effect of such a lawsuit could change the game irreparably. Howard Webb apology letters would not cut the mustard here.
As a result of this David Coote incident, there has to be change from PGMOL on accountability of officials. Unlike the players, as they are not regarded as athletes, there is no drug-testing for those who make the crucial decisions in our game. They need to be held accountable for any mistakes they make in games, more so than the current model of demoting them to officiating in the lower leagues, which does not have any effect on their future performance.
Video technology worked seamlessly in the Euros, until Premier League officials were at the wheel. It underpinned where the problem lies. Instead of VAR taking contentious decisions away from football it has increased it to a level where they even have their own TV show now, with Howard Webb trying to come up with excuses for the poor decisions. Referees should be seen and not heard.
The fans have had enough, they don’t want to see ex-referees on football shows trying to give an insight to the minds of the incompetent. It is like having Jeffrey Dahmer as a consultant on Crimewatch. Something needs to be done about the boss and his soldiers, they are ruining the game we all fell in love with. The Premier League needs a purge much like New York did when they took on the mafia, it is time to give football back to the fans.
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