PGMOL seeks to ‘end the shortage of VAR officials’ by advertising for potential candidates who have FOUR key characteristics… but ‘little or no experience’ is required to apply
- Referee organization is ‘increasing attempts’ to attract new VAR officials due to shortages
- Current civil servants are ‘overworked’ and ‘afraid of reactions’ to wrong decisions
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According to reports, the PGMOL is advertising for new VAR officials amid a shortage of qualified referees.
The lack of referees comes at a time when top officials have never been under so much pressure.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta branded the current standard of refereeing ’embarrassing’ after his side were defeated in Newcastle by a controversial goal from Anthony Gordon last weekend.
This came after Liverpool suggested their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham should have been replayed after Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed for offside.
Both clubs involved have issued statements demanding reforms, and further criticism has been leveled by Wolves manager Gary O’Neil.
Officials controversially upheld Anthony Gordon’s goal against Arsenal, leading to Mikel Arteta criticizing Premier League referees
And that came after Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham was wrongly disallowed for offside following a communication error among VAR officials
There was also criticism after Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Tottenham on Monday, with a single VAR stoppage at one stage lasting more than seven minutes in a match that stretched to almost 112 minutes.
But now referee chief Howard Webb wants to add numbers to his VAR staff to improve the performance of his officials. according to the sun.
The report suggests an advertisement has been circulated to qualified officials encouraging them to become ‘specialist VAR personnel’, without any experience of using the video technology required.
Referee chief Howard Webb is now looking for additional VAR officials to reduce the workload for the current crop of Premier League referees
The job description states that potential candidates must ‘communicate clearly under pressure’, as well as ‘be able to self-reflect on how they have performed’.
It goes on to say that they must be able to ‘identify when VAR needs to intervene’ and adds that candidates must have the ‘ability to concentrate and good communication skills’.
It is also suggested that VAR officials currently need more time to make decisions due to the potential backlash against making an incorrect decision, with many also feeling overworked due to the lack of VAR qualified colleagues.
This weekend there will be four referees working on both Saturday and Sunday.
