Rubén Uría analyzes the various measures and controls that would improve the credibility of arbitration
Before the outbreak of the ‘Negreira case’, many fans suspected that football sucks because when money comes through the door, cleaning jumps out the window. Now, after the noise with the ‘affair’ Negreira, things are getting worse. Too much worse. As the social condemnation of the fan is applied and justice upholds the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, there’s no denying that the shadow of suspicion spreads like gangrene. And that is precisely why Spanish football has to amputate. Whatever happens with the issue of Negreira and Barcelona, national football needs new rules and controls that restore the credibility of the refereeing group.
For years, fans and journalists, like trained parrots, have repeated a steadfast phrase: “You can’t question the fairness of the referees”. Big mistake. You have to believe in the honesty of the members, just as you believe in that of journalists, politicians, taxi drivers or sellers of electrical appliances. There are honored. And there are those who don’t. The referees are people, they are not incorruptible. And like journalists, they are not objective, but subjective. Therefore, we must not only ask them for honesty, but also provide the necessary mechanisms to maintain their independence, enhance their credibility and keep them away from conflicts of interest or potential corruption. PTo continue to believe in the purity of the competition, it is necessary for football to think about new measures.
The referees are already professionals, they already earn 300,000 euros per year for the practice of their profession and they have a technology protection network. Now they need new protocols of action to eradicate and combat any kind of suspicion. First of all, it is imperative to clarify, inform and explain who, how, where and why appoints the arbitrators and on the basis of what criteria. In fact, one wouldn’t mind the return of the famous computer designation system, which seems far more fair and arbitrary than the three-person, whatever their name is called, criteria. Secondly, it would help enormously if an independent VAR body were imposed, outside the arbitration group. One such as exists in the NBA or the NFL, made up of former collegiate or former players. That would do away with the variable criteria of each day and introduce a unified, more believable one. And at the same time it would put an end to the clientelism that has arisen among the umpires, who become a kind of owner of a company who is at the same time the union representative. A nonsense.
Another mechanism that would enhance the credibility of arbitration would be for this independent VAR body to act by making its dialogues and decisions during matches public. Thus, there would be no biased interpretations of the arbitration decisions. So even though the VAR interrupts matches excessively, if these decisions were public, they would be accepted and tolerated. The controversy won’t stop and the mistakes will keep happening, but the system will be more believable. The VAR should not only be seen as a tool to minimize errors, but should actively contribute to strengthening the purity of the competition. The less the VAR has to do with the Referees Technical Committee, the better. The current system does not formally guarantee independence. Moreover, it rewards the colleague, because the referee does not eat referee meat.
It would also help to go through all the hand and penalty circulars. No one knows anymore what a hand is and what is not a hand. Neither the players, nor the coaches, nor the fans… nor the referees. The credibility of the competition is at stake. Whatever happens with the ‘Negreira case’, Spanish football needs to think about the arbitration group, it needs to impose new rules, it needs to promote a new spirit and stop some thinking that football is rotten. We charge each other. And no one sees anything they don’t believe in anymore.
Reuben Uria
Source: Goal