Yet another Premier League weekend has come to an end and there are more than a handful of clubs that have a legitimate right to be concerned about the level of refereeing in what is supposed to be the best league in the world. If it wasn’t Granit Xhaka’s violent stamp on Raphinha, which didn’t even warrant a free-kick, then it was Harry Kane’s reckless tackle on Andy Robertson that only produced a yellow card. Staggeringly, VAR could have intervened at any stage but chose not to despite the overwhelming evidence. When all is said and done, it was inexcusable and could have dire consequences for both teams in this example.
Leeds are, of course, fighting against relegation and the latest betting on football suggests Marcelo Bielsa’s men are in a desperate fight for their top-flight lives with the Whites priced at odds of just 3/1 to go down. Meanwhile, Liverpool are no longer the favourites to win the Premier League in the most recent football tips after dropping points against Spurs. As mentioned, incompetent refereeing displays have the potential to decide the league table at the end of the season which is cause for huge concern.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>No booking 👀❌<br><br>Granit Xhaka has got away with one there! <br><br>📺 Watch <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/LEEARS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#LEEARS</a> live on Sky Sports PL <a href=”https://t.co/VT28CPFXal”>pic.twitter.com/VT28CPFXal</a></p>— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1472276511487102983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
In short, drastic action needs to be taken in order to make sure that the league’s referees do not continue to make the wrong decisions. The problem, however, is that any movement for meaningful change, which is becoming all the more pressing, is undermined by Jurgen Klopp’s righteous indignation after a decision goes against his team. Indeed, every time the German enters the field of play full-time or speaks to the press during his post-match interview, it becomes the Klopp show.
The 54-year-old’s latest sensational accusation is that referee Paul Tierney has a personal issue with him, which is why he remonstrated with the official after the draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by saying: ‘I have no problems with referees – only you’. Klopp knew the Sky Sports cameras were on him and did his best to play up to the watching audience.
In reality, it was a histrionic outburst that doesn’t stand up to any real scrutiny, given that Klopp has a go at the officials almost every weekend. Furthermore, this narrative about a referee having a personal vendetta against him is exceptionally counterproductive in the ongoing battle to improve officiating as it makes the story about Klopp and Tierney, when in actual fact it, is every club against the current shambolic refereeing.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>🗣 "I have no problems with any referees. Only you." 😡<br><br>Audio from Jurgen Klopp's confrontation with referee Paul Tierney after the game <a
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