Who'd be a ref?

It's odd how English and Spanish football both have the same laws - please don't call them rules - yet the games are governed very differently, writes Rob Palmer

Rob Palmer, ESPN commentator

Malaga

Friday, 7 February 2025, 15:39

The Real Madrid president is demanding English referees. In the Premier League they are calling for whistleblowers "like those we have in the Champions League." Who'd be a ref?

Inside the Bernabéu, they are screaming that officialdom is against them after an incident, not dissimilar to the one which had more radical Arsenal fans screaming "corruption" just a week before.

Michael Oliver, renowned for being the best English referee, sent off the young Gunner Myles Lewis-Skelly for a deliberate trip. It caused outrage; then there was Spanish outrage when Espanyol's Romero cynically brought down Kylian Mbappé in mid-flight. Just a yellow was shown and to make things worse the alleged aggressor later scored the match-winning goal.

After the English inquest came the Spanish inquisition.

For what it's worth, I thought BOTH were red card offences. If you deliberately foul an opponent, then it's as bad as cheating and you should be dismissed. The current interpretation of the law suggests otherwise, hence the discussion.

It's odd how English and Spanish football both have the same laws - please don't call them rules -, yet the games are governed very differently. In La Liga, there is no goal-line technology - which let to hell being let loose in last season's Clásico; however they have the 'semi-automated offside technology'.

Playing golf with a top Premier League official here on the Costa del Sol, he confirmed that the English league still hasn't converted to the 'semi-automated' system as they consider it to still have a few gremlins. Those gremlins have only raised their heads once in La Liga when Robert Lewandowski's toe was mistaken for that of a defender.

Every day is a school day; this week, I learned that the Fifa and Uefa system that appears to be so slick, uses a chip inside an Adidas ball; thus, it can't be adapted for the domestic leagues because they use a different ball provider.

As a commentator, I do notice subtle differences in the style of officiating. English refs are more familiar with players and try to converse whilst their Spanish cousins are more officious. La Liga referees are also reticent to book players early in the game and then tend to go card crazy in the final half hour. I'm assuming they don't want to have players sitting on a yellow card, one silly challenge away from a dismissal.

For me, VAR is a welcome addition. It helps get more decisions correct and protects the matchday referees and assistants. Angry fans no longer blame the individual out there on the pitch, but instead scream at the sky and the invisible VAR god.

My adage has always been to respect the ref and accept that the final decision is always correct, something I preach when calling a game.

I needed to have a word with myself when I was surprisingly selected to play for a racketball team last week. The umpire clearly made a wrong decision against me, which I politely questioned. I was seen to mumble... "Of course, the ref is always right!" Although VAR would have come down on my side, of course!

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