Referees have been advised to use pitchside monitors to make a final ruling on red card decisions.

The clarification comes after a routine meeting involving match officials in Loughborough this week.

Officials were reminded that they should go to the so-called referee review area (RRA) when the video assistant referee (VAR) suggests upgrading a yellow card to a red or downgrading a red to a yellow.

In most areas the guidance to Premier League referees is that the monitors should be used sparingly.

The remote VAR system, based at Stockley Park in southwest London, has been a source of controversy in the game, sparking criticism among players, managers and fans.

So far this season, after nearly 220 Premier League games, no official has gone to review a decision using a monitor, instead relying on the VAR.

However, referee Michael Oliver checked a monitor before issuing a red card to Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic during an FA Cup tie against Derby earlier this month.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson was asked after that game whether he would like to see more referees follow Oliver’s lead and said: “No, not particularly.

“If it is going to be the referee’s decision on that field that counts why do you bother with the VAR people sitting there in Stockley Park?

“Make up your mind. You either want the people in Stockley Park to referee it or the referee to referee it.”

Last month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino told Sky Sports News he wanted to see referees use pitchside monitors and he was unaware they had not been used in the Premier League this season.

Arsene Wenger, the new head of global football development for world governing body FIFA, said last month it was “a worry” that the monitors were not being used regularly in the Premier League.

“The referees on the field are there because they have the experience and they are confident,” the former Arsenal boss said.

“Let’s not forget that it is video assistance for the referee, so (the VARs) are not the ones who should make the decision but the ones who help the referee to make the right decision.”

Source: Read Full Article