Bill Shankly’s famous quote has never felt more appropriate this season.
“Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death, but I am very disappointed in that attitude. I can assure you that football is much, much more important than that.”
Watching Unai Emery’s furious reaction after Elliott Anderson challenged Olly Watkins in Aston Villa’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, the words of the legendary Liverpool manager still resonate.
Mikel Arteta was left “incredibly furious” after receiving a farcical penalty call in Arsenal’s draw with Atletico Madrid. Closer to home, I had to sympathize with David Moyes for his bizarre decision not to award a penalty after Everton’s defeat to West Ham.
read more: Aston Villa manager shares Unai Emery’s anger over Elliott Anderson’s VAR decisionread more: Arsenal star Declan Rice could face Champions League sanction as UEFA launches investigation
West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes was effectively juggling the ball inside the box. No wonder Everton decided to raise their concerns with PGMO.
A farcical decision in the FA Cup match between Newcastle and Aston Villa. That was a decent promotion for VAR. A timely reminder that the decisions made in the Champions League and Europa League are actually not just for the Premier League…everyone makes mistakes.
Except you can’t do that right now. Not during the preparation period for the Premier League. You can’t demote a team because of a referee’s mistake. Or an illegal VAR call. Details are just as important as standards.
Or a team that wins the title because of a controversy in the last few games. You’ll never hear the end of it. Arteta has already bookmarked one complaint, claiming Manchester City defender Abdukkodir Kusanov should have worn a red for Arsenal’s match at the Etihad.
Elliott Anderson avoids red card for challenge on Ollie Watkins
You can’t even allow management to make complaints against staff. It is important that both ends of the table are determined on the pitch.
Can you imagine Villa coming on when Andersson scores the decisive goal? Otherwise Tottenham would be one point behind and the panel would decide it should have actually been Everton’s penalty at West Ham.
Whoever wins the title will deserve it. But this one is especially cramped. Arsenal have four games left and City still have a game in hand, so they are effectively level.
It’s really hard to understand why the Premier League didn’t reschedule City vs. Crystal Palace long before the run-in. There were opportunities, there were slots – that’s what matters. Why on earth didn’t they relocate it? That’s strange.
That was City’s mainstay and it would be a shame if they missed out on the trophy because of a narrow comeback that was frankly unnecessary. If they had done that, they would have had no problem upsetting Palace against Bournemouth.
Arsenal were furious at the decision in the first leg against Atletico Madrid (Image: Getty Images)
Trophies should be decided on the pitch. If Arsenal play Atlético, we will never hear the end of the complaints about the penalty being overturned by VAR – and rightfully so.
You can’t do the same in the Premier League. Matches are always decided by split-second talent and skill, or mistakes.
However, the mistake was made by an unlucky full-back. Or the striker is missing a sitter. Then that’s just life. The managers have no one else to blame.
In fact, more managers should stop complaining about referees and focus on their own shortcomings. But by the same token, don’t give them anything to complain about. The best Premier League referees are some of the best players, so make sure they’re in the important matches.
That’s why we have to be consistent now. The best referees make the right decisions and make no big mistakes for the sake of the match. Or will we always wonder?
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