Richard Keys has used his blog to offer a suggestion as to how the operation of VAR can be improved in the Premier League, following the controversy which cost Liverpool a result against Tottenham on Saturday.
The PGMOL subsequently acknowledged that Luis Diaz’s goal in the Reds’ 2-1 defeat was wrongly disallowed and fulfilled the Merseyside club’s request to hear the audio of the discussion between the officials to explain why it was chalked off.
Furthermore, Darren England and Dan Cook, who were on VAR duty in north London three days ago, are notably absent from the Premier League’s list of refereeing appointments for next weekend’s fixtures.
On his eponymous blog, Keys called for former top-flight referees to be assigned to Stockley Park rather than present day officials, believing that the qualifications of those in the former category are going to waste.
He wrote: “Refs should be allowed to concentrate on getting better at what they do on the field and junk VAR responsibilities.
“I’ve said this before – VAR should be staffed by people like Chris Foy, Mark Halsey, Peter Walton – [ex-refs] who know the laws and can be trained to understand the skill of watching the game on TV as a pro. We need full-time specialist VAR operators.
“Right now people like Foy and Walton are being sent out every Monday to make excuses for a catalogue of errors committed previous weekend. What a waste of time.
“Surely it would be better to divert funds into constructively trying to make things better – not paying people to trot out well rehearsed excuses for poor match-day performances?”
Keys also sided with Liverpool over the statement released by the club in the wake of Saturday’s VAR shambles, saying: “We’re talking about the richest league in the world here. How costly will Saturday’s meltdown ultimately prove to be for everybody? Especially Liverpool, who have every right to express their frustration.”
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The former Sky Sports presenter may well have a valid point in calling for previous Premier League officials to be utilised in the VAR booth, rather than referees currently working in the division.
The likes of Foy and Halsey would still have the requisite knowledge of the sport’s rules and an understanding of how to apply them, leaving the Englands of the top flight to concentrate solely on their on-field duties.
Keys’ point about VAR training is also pertinent, and officials in Stockley Park should be reminded by PGMOL chief Howard Webb that they’re there to do a job objectively, not to fabricate decisions to protect the reputations of their peers.
There’s plenty of expertise which can be drawn upon from retired referees, and it should certainly be considered as an option at the very least.
A generation gap should also help to ensure that there’s little to no pre-existing relationship between former and current Premier League officials, which in turn will likely make it easier for objective decisions to be reached.
Keys appears to have offered some food for thought with his suggestion.