The fallout from Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments about the Newcastle goal has gone in three directions. VAR is rubbish and should be scrapped; VAR and refereeing standards are inadequate and need urgent improvement; Arteta is a moaning Minnie.
For this blogger, a key is in what referee Stuart Attwell saw and thought for himself at the time.
If he thought the ball was kept in by Willock (late of this parish), that Gabriel wasn’t fouled, and it wasn’t handball or offside, and there had been no VAR, then the goal would have been given. It would have been the same outcome if he wasn’t sure and elected to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker. Goal. This would, in this context, make the argument about doing away with VAR superfluous.
But what if Attwell was inclined to think at least one of the issues was an infringement? It would have resulted in the goal being disallowed. But he would probably have sought confirmation from VAR. If VAR then said there was insufficient evidence to award a goal and persuaded Attwell to change his view, then Mikel Arteta is spot on. If VAR is going to decide and rule on key decisions when the stakes are so high, there can be no ‘grey’ areas, no ‘insufficient evidence’ excuses. Equally, if Attwell couldn’t see the push on Gabriel but VAR did but didn’t (or couldn’t) intervene and suggest a second look, Arteta again has every right to be angry. Almost everybody is saying it was a clear and obvious foul, so what was stopping VAR from advising the man in the middle?
Regarding the two technical excuses; the ball over the line and the offside so close to the goal line that it. couldn’t be checked because there was no suitable technology, one has to concede that these are issues that hadn’t arisen before. It’s called learning from experience. Except, as Arteta said, ‘This is nowhere near the [refereeing] level to describe this as the best league in the world.’ If it’s still trial and error, it shouldn’t be dictating the outcome of Premier League matches.
And for those criticising Arteta, much of it seems to be mixing his reaction to what he considered to be an unjustifiable officiating error with player performance and team selection. They are not the same. To make that link feels like feeble journalism, looking for ‘balance’ when the two are completely separate issues. It’s a trick couples use in arguments, introducing something different to deflect from the main point.
As for the comments from a manager whose team had two players sent off and was himself yellow-carded, they are beyond parody!
But the Newcastle match is over. The points are lost forever. However, we must wait to see what happens as a result of the criticism – punishment, no change or improvement. Any bets on which it’ll be?
RS 7/11/23