SEAN DYCHE: STOP MAKING REFEREES ANNOUNCE DECISIONS, LET THEM OFFICIATE
Sean Dyche questions the lengthy 5:33 VAR deliberation in Forest's 1-0 victory, arguing the speed of decisions must improve to protect managers.
After Nottingham Forest's 1-0 win at Wolves, manager Sean Dyche expressed his confusion over the lengthy VAR reviews.
Igor Jesus had a first-half goal disallowed for offside after a VAR check that took five minutes and 33 seconds.
Even though Dan Ndoye was clearly offside in front of Wolves' goalie, Sam Johnstone, VAR official Rob Jones needed a very long time to tell referee Tim Robinson to look at the monitor. Then, the referee also took a long time to decide, even though it looked obvious on the replay.
Jesus did score the winning goal in the second half, but Dyche was more concerned about the time it took to make the offside call.
Dyche said managers used to worry about bad calls that could cost them their jobs. Now, VAR should make things more fair, but there will still be hard decisions, even with VAR.
He went on to say that five minutes is too long. With so many people in the VAR room, they should be able to make those calls much faster.
Dyche understands the fans' frustration, but he also knows that his job can rely on these calls. It’s a tough situation. When reviews take that long, it goes back to what he said when VAR was first introduced: they need to speed it up.
Dyche also doesn’t get why referees have to announce the decision to the crowd after a VAR check.
"It takes forever already, so just make the call and move on," he said. He thinks referees have a tough job and do well overall. There’s no reason to add more pressure by making them speak in front of a huge crowd. It’s not natural for everyone, so just let them do their job without making it harder.
One goal was always going to be enough against Wolves. They haven't scored in five league games and look like they're headed for relegation.
They haven’t won in 14 games, and with games against Manchester United and Arsenal coming up, they could be in trouble.
Wolves' manager, Rob Edwards, seems to have accepted their fate. He asked his players if they were scared at halftime, and they said no. He told them that they don't want to go down without a fight. That will be the message moving forward.
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
