The Incompetence of Officials

THIS season, the standard of officials has dropped dramatically. Games are won and lost in the split second that a blatant offside is not flagged, or penalties for virtually nothing are awarded.

Chelsea collected three points last night in a 2-1 victory over Premier League leaders Manchester United and, although referee Martin Atkinson got the penalty decision spot on, Blues defender (and scorer of the first goal) David Luiz should have been dismissed for a second bookable offence after upending Wayne Rooney off the ball.

I criticised referee Mark Clattenburg for his decision not to send off Rooney after the England striker savagely elbowed Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy at the weekend, so I think it is only fair to tar everyone with the same brush.

Although there was no malice in Luiz's challenge, there was certainly intent, as there was in an earlier altercation with Mexican Javier Hernandez. We saw Nemanja Vidic sent off for two bookable offences that were no where near as bad as what Chelsea's £21.3m Portuguese defender committed.

"When I saw who the referee was I feared the worst," said Red Devils' manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has had previous run-ins with Atkinson. Just last season he awarded a dubious free-kick in this encounter, which lead to Chelsea skipper John Terry nodding home the only goal.

"That's three years in a row now. It's hard to take," added the furious Scot.

Now, as a Manchester City fan, watching United lose last night gave me a great sense of pleasure, but as a football fan, watching some of the incompetent decisions being made took a bit of gloss off the occasion. I would suggest demoting Atkinson for his performance, but that would only mean some poor Championship clubs being lumbered with his horrific errors.

But the FA do not seem to work that way. Remember the curious case of Stuart Attwell? His unbelievable decision to award Reading with a goal at Watford when the ball had gone out of play and hooked back in by Royals player Noel Hunt on September 20 2008. Yet, the man who graduated from Staffordshire University in 2004 was awarded with promotion to the Premier League. Marvellous.

But, that is not the most shocking decision we have seen. Attwell is merely the tip of the dung heap. Does the name Robert Shoebridge spring to mind? It should do if your are a Crystal Palace fan. His decision to award a goal kick when Freddie Sears shot bounced out of the net after hitting the stanchion at Bristol City on August 15 2009 is one of the worst decisions in refereeing history, and all he got was a two week suspension.

And do not even get me started on Graham Poll after his horrendous display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is amazing how one man can humiliate a nation even more than the terrible performance of the national team.

The list goes on, so surely the element of human error is enough evidence for FIFA President Sepp Blatter to introduce some sort of technology into the game that gives officials the help they so desperately need. Especially after the farce at the 2010 World Cup where Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda controversially ruled that Frank Lampard's shot had not crossed the line in the last 16 tie with Germany.

UEFA are experimenting with two officials at either end of the pitch to give extra support, but again, these officials are susceptible to errors.

We have seen the effect of technology in cricket, tennis and rugby, so why is football still living in the dark ages when so much is at stake for a club that is on the wrong side of an atrocious officiating decision?

If any technology is introduced, it would be better than the sorry state we are in now.