Ignore offside calls that seem dubious, VAR’s seeming unfairness, Mikel Arteta’s uneasiness, haughty remarks made by teams that ought to know better, Anthony Taylor, long games that seem to go on forever, and the nuances of the handball rule. The best team in the Premier League will win, no matter what; the lowest team will go to the bottom. Never give credence to the notion that VAR compromises the integrity of the game.
Players trying to trick referees, managers who allow this behavior, and teams like Arsenal that back their manager’s elitist statements are what really damage the Premier League’s reputation.
When the twenty top executives or owners get together in an elegant London hotel to negotiate their next multibillion-dollar television contract, they ought to take their managers’ and players’ actions into consideration.
They should all agree to push these people to come to terms with the fact that officials work hard to maintain the fairness of the sport in their own unique ways and to meet them halfway. It is worthwhile to hear what Ange Postecoglou has to say. He admitted that during the course of the last 25 years, decisions had been made both for and against him, proving that the proverbial “these things balance themselves out” is, in fact, true. Well done, Ange, for realizing that.
However, there’s probably little chance of persuading athletes and other managers to accept the unavoidable unpredictability of referee calls. The most important takeaway from Postecoglou’s Monday press conference following the game was his statement regarding the “continuous erosion of the referee’s authority.”
