Should football have a rule to stop players going near the ref?

Vault Dweller

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Absolutely, yes. Both to the hoop and players going near them.

Seriously though, really only should be captains permitted to talk to them refs and a player if the ref calls them over first. The refs aren't great, we know that. But the behaviour of the players and managers really does need to improve.
 

Lyng

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Yes. Either that or microphones on the refs like in rugby
 

Chief123

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I don’t think it’s too far fetched to see a future in football without on field refs. With video technology nowadays and the introduction of new tech being used in the UCL to accurately decide offside situations, I can see Refs being sat behind a camera making calls from there. There will still need to be some fine tuning for situations like fouls and how quick they can be called, but with the lack of refs coming through I think at the top level this could happen. Obviously lower levels will always require on field refs.
 

Plant0x84

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If this is a serious question then mics on the refs for transparency are the way forward.

If not serious then the ref should be in some sort of Dalek like contraption with proximity sensors so the players get tased if they come too close. You could also have a VAR camera so you can see exactly what the ref is looking at, might explain/excuse weird decisions. Sky sports could then charge extra for a SkySports|Refcam channel and pay for some decent pundits to replace Sourness and Merson.
 

Posh Red

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I don’t think it’s too far fetched to see a future in football without on field refs. With video technology nowadays and the introduction of new tech being used in the UCL to accurately decide offside situations, I can see Refs being sat behind a camera making calls from there. There will still need to be some fine tuning for situations like fouls and how quick they can be called, but with the lack of refs coming through I think at the top level this could happen. Obviously lower levels will always require on field refs.
I think you need an on field official to maintain the speed of the game. What happens when a free kick is awarded, and the player tries to take it twenty yards from where the foul occurred? Having the ref in close proximity helps to overcome things like that more quickly.
 

Big Andy

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They should suspend the referee above the pitch like that spidercam thing, and he zips around following the play on a system of pulleys and levers.
 

Thunderhead

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I don't think so but ref's need to use everything in their power, last week Jamie Vardy went running up to the ref effing and blinding, why did the ref not just book him, players need to change their attitude but ref's need to be stronger and actually book and send players off for dissent
 

golden_blunder

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They should wear a plastic pod around them at all times

ORdo away with refs completely, have 200 cameras covering every angle and 300 more hanging down. If you commit a foul you get shot by a laxer mounted to the closet camera. That would soon cut the shit out
 

Tom Cato

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I like the way it works in Rugby where players are actually respectful of the ref. Its absoluely a result of long standing culture where the ref is seen as the ultimate arbiter on the pitch, and dissent will be dealt with fairly immediately.

In football, players appear to view the ref as someone who gets in their way, as opposed to the person overseeing the game. Theres a reason the only ref I can think of off the top of my head that players today would simply not barrage the way they do almost anyone else, is Pierluigi Collina, a man who would quite literally butt heads with players who approached him and made them feck off 10 steps back
 
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steffyr2

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I'd like for the laws of the game to be applied consistently for every player, throughout every minute of the game and to be applied the same by every referee for every game. Once that happens, there won't be too much to complain about.
Since that doesn't happen, why shouldn't the players complain? And the managers? And the fans?
 

Smores

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It's only football where this really happens isn't it. NFL and Rugby you rarely see any interaction with the ref the judgements are just accepted.

It's the refs fault though as they are influenced by it so players carry on doing it. They just need to be firm and book anyone who isn't the captain trying to interfere.
 

crossy1686

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I would prefer it if all referee's moving forward were deaf or agreed to have their hearing removed as part of the hiring process and players/managers were only allowed to complain via text message, and were allowed their phones with them during the match
 

GJNJ

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They could be dipped in poo before the game so no player wants to go near them.
 

Mb194dc

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No, refs should just actually enforce dissent with yellow cards.

If a hard line was taken consistently the problem solves itself.
 

Dan_F

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As others have said, it doesn’t happen in other sports because the punishment that the players get isn’t worth the reward of pressuring the ref. If players got yellow cards for swearing at the ref, the managers would be absolutely furious at the players. It could be solved in the space of a week.
 

Anustart89

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No, refs should just actually enforce dissent with yellow cards.

If a hard line was taken consistently the problem solves itself.
But then they chicken out on giving second yellows for actual yellow card offenses. They tried this six years ago and said they were clamping down on dissent. They then started being much better at booking players for dissent, but then they let them off when they made obvious yellow-card tackles later on in the game, so the players faced no consequence. If they had just followed through with it and actually sent off players for second yellow-card offenses, they might have been able to make a change, but as they "managed the game" and didn't send players off we're having the same discussion ten years later.

This mindset of not wanting to influence the game is still very much a thing and shows that the referees don't have a problem with bending the laws of the game to suit the way they want the game to go (Scamacca kicking Martinez in the head being a very good, recent example of that). So for me, as long as they officiate on factors not related to the laws of the game, they won't be able to stamp certain things out like dissent, diving time-wasting etc.
 

yumtum

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Refs should be able to carry a cattle prod, would be way more entertaining for fans too.
 

AndySmith1990

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Putting the ref on a segway is my favourite idea. Perhaps expand on it by attaching a machine gun turret
 

CallyRed

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The ref should sit on a massive umpires chair by the touchline. His whistle mic'd up to the stadium tannoy system.
 

ManRed

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We should have snipers with air gun pellets around the stadium incase players get too close to the ref.

Seriously I dont care seeing how incompetent the refs are in the game. They are not even consistent with VAR.
 

Anustart89

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Putting the ref on a segway is my favourite idea. Perhaps expand on it by attaching a machine gun turret
I'd love to see the players exhausting all their energy chasing the ref to complain about a call as he zips around the pitch on a Segway.
 

Scandi Red

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Aren't the players already wearing GPS trackers? The solution is simple: give the referee a switch that allows him to give the players a small but not insignificant electric shock if they don't behave!
 

Glorio

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I don’t think it’s too far fetched to see a future in football without on field refs. With video technology nowadays and the introduction of new tech being used in the UCL to accurately decide offside situations, I can see Refs being sat behind a camera making calls from there. There will still need to be some fine tuning for situations like fouls and how quick they can be called, but with the lack of refs coming through I think at the top level this could happen. Obviously lower levels will always require on field refs.
Big risk that Licha might maul some unfortunate opponent before officials can get on the pitch
 

El Zoido

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I'd love to see the players exhausting all their energy chasing the ref to complain about a call as he zips around the pitch on a Segway.
It’d be like when you got booked in FIFA on the mega drive and could leg it away from the ref.
 

MikeKing

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I'd prefer a lenient system that doesn't really protect the refs in any meaningful way, but can still be used to disiplin teams or managers just to set an example. Not a lot of work, just in a few highprofile games per season when players surround the ref. That way we wont fix the issue at hand, as it is a non issue.