Nottingham Forest chief Sean O'Driscoll backs referees
SEAN O'Driscoll has launched an impassioned plea for referees to be given more support with video evidence – after seeing his Nottingham Forest side benefit from a dubious decision.
The Reds claimed a point at Leicester after Simon Cox converted a penalty the manager admitted, with remarkable honesty, should not have been given.
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The big talking point: Billy Sharp goes down under the challenge of Leicester City's Zak Whitbread, which resulted in a penalty being given. Picture: Dan Westwell
Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot after Zak Whitbread had slid in from behind on Billy Sharp – but appeared to have won the ball.
After being on the wrong side of several refereeing injustices himself this season, O'Driscoll says it is time for match officials to be given some support, both via video replays during games and through the assessors who sit in the stands to monitor their performance levels in games.
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"I am on the side of referees. I complain about them, I write reports about them and I am honest when I do," said O'Driscoll. "But I am on their side.
"They have a difficult job and we need to give them more support, rather than less support. You have a split second to make a decision, when you have seen an incident once.
"We have technology that can take that problem away from them. I don't understand it. Other sports do it without it being an issue.
"Why hasn't technology been brought in? The whole game is moving forward at an incredible pace. Yet we leave the decision making to one man who is looking at challenge after challenge.
"We don't give him any help, it is ridiculous. We played Derby and had a rookie referee, in a game that felt like a much bigger derby than this one.
"He had no help at half-time, he had nobody giving him advice or help. Why can't that happen? Why can't the assessor go and talk to the referee at half-time and say 'you need to do this, that or the other'?
"We talk to our players at half-time, we give them advice about the impact they are having on the game. We give them a kick up the backside or an arm around the shoulder.
"Nobody is allowed to do that with the referee. It is archaic. The game is a multi-million pound industry and this is a big part of it. But we don't do anything to help the referees."
Comments
by Freddude
Monday, November 12 2012, 9:29PM
“It was a tackle from behind, feet off the floor, studs up, leg in front and across Sharp's. Nuff said!”
by Mark3212
Monday, November 12 2012, 9:21PM
“Clough:
"It should be over emphasized how hard it is to referee a match"”
by RichieW
Monday, November 12 2012, 9:05PM
“The teams at the top would suffer if video evidence was brought in, maybe thats why its not in ?
Forest have had over 14 months without a penalty so no one can begrudge us this one.
It will a bit clumsy by the Leicester defender and you will always be in danger if you tackle like that in the modern game.
Forest were not at their best and a draw was not really good for either team.”
by patbrett
Monday, November 12 2012, 8:47PM
“It does'nt matter if you get the ball, if you go through the player to get it it's a foul. I attend a joint coach/refs pre season meeting every year and this point is ALWAYS stressed to both parties. Pearson knows this as well.”
by patbrett
Monday, November 12 2012, 8:39PM
“no no figaro, I though it was a russian horseman!! Ah, what ever happened to the likely lads? one is in Scotland and the other in the USA, but both still loving Football and supporting the super reds.”
by sluggerred
Monday, November 12 2012, 8:12PM
“Sean o Driscoll opinion of referees reminds me another manager we once had at the City Ground, a certain Brian Clough”
by Bodyguard_Rob
Monday, November 12 2012, 8:11PM
“At least we had a distraction from the fact SOD got it WRONG again
JOMs not happy and let Fawaz know how he felt”
by AcapulcoAngus
Monday, November 12 2012, 7:59PM
“If it was a clear cut stone wall penalty then there would be no debate about it. As pundits are divided on whether or not it was a foul gives value to the possibility that it may have been. If there is a chance that it may have been then the referee has made a decision based on what he has seen. Forest fans have been fair in general where the jury out but are happy to accept the referees decision. The festers that have commented have all said that it was definitely NOT a foul and the ref made an error. It would be nice to hear from a fox who may have the powers of reason and who may see the decision without blue specs on. YOU REDS!”
by Mark3212
Monday, November 12 2012, 7:19PM
“If that tackle was in open play it's a blatant, definite, hand on heart, 100% guaranteed is the Pope Catholic, the grass they play on is green, free kick. PENALTY END OF STORY, we deserved a point, got the point and lets put the matter to bed and look at the Wednesday game this Saturday. 2 traditional big football clubs will be clashing at the City Ground. Bye.”
by wrexhamred
Monday, November 12 2012, 6:58PM
“Refs jobs are being made impossible-players behave like spoilt idiots and pundits back them. The so called experts do not often know the rules-I have lost count of the times I hear that something is a penalty even though the handball was not deliberate-every time it strikes someones hand in the area it seems to be a pen and if not refs are criticised. My personal bugbear from 'experts'(and Shearer is a particularly bad offender with this) is when they say a player is 'entitled to go down' if touched-NO they are entitled to try to stay up and try to score-no wonder refs can't win
As for Saturdays pen-it probably wasn't and fellow Forest fans would not have thought so had roles been reversed-but guess what we may get a dodgy decision against us next week( like Dex v Derby)-thats life, thats sport and long may it continue(and do not even get me started on technology-I know,you didn't!-this goal was brought to you by the 'skycam'-'we have had nothing all season from the 5th ref in the skybox'-Wenger,Ferguson,Allardyce-you can hear them now!!)
Lay off refs-its a **** job and they get more right than wrong-the ref Saturday got more right than the players around him who could not pass to the same colour shirt-perhaps they should be critcised
Going for a lie down now”