Lee Probert spent more than 20 years as a referee and took charge of the 2014 FA Cup final. He officiated in the Premier League from 2007 until he retired on medical grounds in 2019.
With debate continuing about the standard of officiating in the Premier League, Probert talks about the handball rule, VAR and the fear of the ‘Match of the Day mistake’.
Handball is a minefield. It always has been. There have been problems with the rules and as we saw in Fulham’s defeat to Tottenham on Thursday, plenty of controversy.
Fulham’s Mario Lemina had no chance of avoiding Davinson Sanchez’s attempted clearance so it was no wonder Cottagers’ boss Scott Parker was angry to see Josh Maja’s ‘goal’ chalked off.
It didn’t matter that Lemina’s hand was down by his side or that it was unintentional. The rules as they stood on Thursday meant it could not be allowed because the ball struck a hand or arm in the build up. Curiously, though, a defender would not expect to concede a penalty in the same circumstances.
That’s how daft the law is and why football’s law makers – the International Football Association Board – announced changes on Friday to return to something that officials and football can understand for next season.
It comes too late for Fulham, but common sense seems like it is going to be applied at last.
I’ve always found bad decisions arrived in waves but at the moment we seem to be discussing refereeing decisions every week. People say VAR is ruining football, but it isn’t. Things like offside are factual. They are black-and-white decisions.
The problem is some things are open to different interpretations. If you have no clear definition of what constitutes a handball, you’re going to get different decisions from week to week.
And when you add that to the fact there is a game nearly every night at the moment, it becomes an increasingly difficult job.
The current schedule does not allow for much recovery time so fatigue, injuries and mental tiredness all come into play for both players and officials.
It’s not like in normal times and officials are the same as everyone else in the public. They are not getting together as normal and when you are off you’re stuck at home and mentally tired and weary from the pandemic.
I’ve been in this position plenty of times. Two players (Mason Greenwood and Callum Hudson-Odoi) come together and you can’t really see what’s happened.
It’s something we used to refer to as the ‘Match of the Day mistake’, where you only know it’s a penalty after driving home and watching the highlights.
However, in this instance the law – which says ‘deliberately touches the ball with the hand or the arm, moving towards the ball’ – and VAR should come to the rescue as it tells the referee it is something he has missed and needs to look at.
I didn’t understand why the penalty was not given because Hudson-Odoi’s hand moves towards the ball – but the on-pitch referee is the decision maker and it is their interpretation.
At least it’s a step away from earlier in the season, when ridiculous decisions were being given.
