Salford City boss Karl Robinson has stated that the standard of refereeing in the EFL has fallen since he took on his maiden managerial role in 2010.
The Ammies brought in Robinson as a replacement for struggling predecessor Neil Wood in January. Following his appointment, Salford City embarked on an eight-game unbeaten run and through this upturn in form the club have established a points buffer from the relegation-threatened sides below.
Despite Robinson’s successful start at Salford, the former Oxford United head coach has remained outspoken in his criticism of League Two’s officials throughout his tenure. Since his arrival in the North-West, Robinson’s post-match interviews have been characterised by lengthy referee criticism.
With his team experiencing a recent blip in form, the 43-year-old has become increasingly more vocal. Speaking to the press after Salford’s most recent 2-0 loss against Playoff-chasing Gillingham, he expressed concern about the state of refereeing in the EFL.
He said: “I’m baffled by some of the officiating I’ve seen this season, it’s so far off the mark.”
The Ammies’ coach was especially disappointed with the manner in which The Gills scored their second goal of the game. He felt that Salford defender Theo Vassell was unlawfully robbed of possession by Gillingham forward Ashley Nadesan, who drove down the wing to square for midfielder Timothee Dieng to score.
“I thought the officials were good enough to give the foul that led to their second goal.”
Robinson suggested that the FA are over-policing managers’ ability to scrutinize referee’s performances; he believes that this is an issue adversely affecting the standard of refereeing.
“You would love to tell the truth (in press conferences) it’s so funny because we have an organisation that stops us from telling the truth. We should be allowed to speak about horrific decisions without being punished.”
Earlier this season, he suggested that Salford City were on the receiving end of poor decisions due to the club’s reputation: “We’re not very well-liked and you can see that. It’s what I hear; I think that people want to make a statement.”
While the team have been on the receiving end of many unfortunate decisions this campaign, it is impossible to say with any real clarity that they are being refereed any differently from their League Two opponents.
Now 14 years into his coaching career, Robinson thinks that the “level of refereeing has declined” since he took over the leading role at MK Dons in 2010.
“It needs to be better. In this country, we have the greatest level of competition from top to bottom. We have more competitive games in our country than in any other country in the world.
“The problem is that we are looking for a greater depth in referees -that obviously is not there. We have a higher level of games that are played so we need a higher level of referees to officiate them.”
One potential solution to fill the demand for top-level referees is to import them. Currently, only two referees have been introduced from abroad into the EFL system: Jarred Gillett (Australia) and Lex Chilowicz (USA).
When asked if he believes that bringing in more referees from abroad would improve the standard of officiating, Robinson said: “I would always want the best referees; the ultimate level of challenge is finding them.”
Writers view
Although it seems to be unanimously acknowledged that the EFL has a shortage of quality refs to match the level of the competition, football’s governing bodies appear indecisive as they look to remedy the problem.
As touched on by Robinson in his interview, we are searching for a non-existent depth of referees. With the constant scrutiny officials get in the media and the amount of criticism they endure from players and coaches, it is hardly surprising that we seem to be falling short when recruiting referees at the grassroots level.
Perhaps importing quality referees from abroad would be the best way to address current problems, it could be a quick fix to solve the EFL’s issues.
