Legendary referee Hackett slams “decline in the standards of refereeing”
“There are some referees that have reached the dizzying heights [of the Premier League] who have shortfalls in capability and I don’t think they are good enough.”
Former Referee chief Keith Hackett
FORMER Premier League referee Keith Hackett has delivered a scathing review of the standard of officiating in the modern game. Speaking exclusively to Fair Game’s We Love You Football, We Do podcast, Hackett criticised refereeing in the Premier League, including the use of VAR in the controversial incident in the recent match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.
Speaking to renowned former broadcaster Graham Miller, Hackett suggested that refereeing in the English game was getting worse.
Hackett said:
“What we have seen over the years is a decline in the standards of refereeing. They’ve lost some of the required management skills, the good communication skills between players and referees.
“There are some referees that have reached the dizzying heights [of the Premier League] who have shortfalls in capability and I don’t think they are good enough.”
Hackett, whose refereeing career spanned more than 20 years at the top levels of the game, also suggested that Luis Diaz’s controversially disallowed goal in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on 30 September was a mistake that could have been corrected during the game.
“There is a lack of basic law knowledge,” Hackett said. “VAR protocol says if there is a serious missed incident, the game can be stopped. Referees are practitioners of the law and if they’re not studying the law on a regular basis, we’re not going to advance refereeing.
“Referees get into trouble these days because they are lazy. Nigel Owens, the top class rugby referee, warned me that the danger you have with VAR is it will promote lazy refereeing. And it has done that. I see referees hesitating on what is clearly a penalty.
“Is it fear that they don’t want to make an error or is it that they are waiting for the decision to come from the stop department?
“The role of the referee has to be to make the decision and then VAR to come in and help.”
Hackett also lambasted the current behaviour of players. He said:
“There is no question that acts of stimulation, feigning injury are [on the rise]. There is more cheating now than there was one when I was refereeing.
“Players receive a yellow card now and it is almost a badge of honour. We need to be moving towards a sin ban like rugby, go off for 10 minutes calm down.”
The podcast can be listened to in its entirety here
