Bring in The European Referees

Regular readers to my blog for the boys at Pitch Talk will know that week in and week out I have had plenty of refereeing decisions to discuss this season. This weekend has been a breath of fresh air with nothing to report for the guys. Now before everyone falls off their chair in the belief that the Barclay's Premier League referees have cleaned up their act and become mistake free, relax the only reason we are not discussing more errors is the fact we have had an international break this weekend. With this in mind, I would like to this week have a look at an issue that comes up on a regular basis when the referees in the Barclay's Premier League screw up. The issue I am talking about is the call for European referees to be introduced into the English game to alleviate all the mistakes. Let me below give you the reasons in my opinion that it would not work.

The likes of Nicolai Rizolli, Jonas Ericksson and Felix Brych are three names that spring to mind when I think about the top elite referees in Europe. These guys are performing at the top level week in and week out throughout the season and very rarely drop any clangers. We would see these guys on a regular basis in Champions League action International games, they always seem to get their big calls correct. I have heard fans saying these guys should be brought in and used in the Barclays Premier League, well in my opinion it just would not work. The English game is played at a greater pace than these guys would be used to. Also the criteria laid down in Europe towards miss behaving teams can lead to huge fines if players get out of hand. It is a totally different world refereeing in Europe and I reckon that if you were to give the elite referees a run out in the Barclay's Premier League they too could eventually get themselves into bother.

You have often read my blogs for the boys at Pitch Talk where I have heaped praise on both Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg, two of the best referees in my opinion in Europe. The reason these two lads are so good and so consistent in Europe is the fact that they are stepping down in pace when they go to Europe. I have often watched the pair perform in games and feel sometimes they could sit back in an armchair and have a cigar when refereeing in Europe. I am not so sure I could say the same about Rizolli, Ericksson and Brych if they were to ply their trade in the Barclays Premier League. So as we continue in this 2015/16 season let us stick with the referees we are using as they are doing a difficult job in tough circumstances. I just hope when we return to the action next weekend I am not blogging on a referee who has upset your team by giving a bad decision against your team. 

Until next time enjoy your football.