Tony Pulis suggests referee league table
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has suggested the Football Association introduces a referees league table where every club can have a say on officiating.
Pulis has seen his Stoke side on the wrong end of a number of decisions over recent weeks, which has prompted the suggestion. However, whether it's taken seriously or not is another matter.
"It cannot be right that these decisions consistently go on without being addressed.
I think we should put in place a system where every Premier League club has a vote at the end of the season on referees, and the bottom three referees should be relegated
to the Championship," said Pulis to SkySports.
While Pulis' suggestion may seem positive on the surface, it is flawed in a number of basic ways that don't take into consideration the current set-up referees work within.
Basic flaws
This suggestion doesn't take into account the fact that referees receive better coaching and guidance than ever before. From Premier League football down to the grass roots,
the Referees Association has never spent more time and money on improving the standard of officiating.
Current referees in the Championship are given a chance to referee in Premier League games. Referees that perform poorly in the Premier League are marked down and are subsequently
sent to over see Championship and League One matches.
Pulis' suggestion does not excuse the basic fact of human error. Most of the time referees get decisions correct and it's only when a few key issues arise that comments
like this get any attention.
"We know we are not going to get certain decisions that other clubs are going
to get. I think that has been made blatantly obvious over the past few games, but there comes a point where you have to stand up and say 'this is not right'," added the Stoke boss.
Betting advice
Stoke has been unlucky and nothing more. To suggest that there is some form of preference to bigger clubs is slightly naive. Stoke remains a good team and a good bet to win any
match.
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