![Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken attends the U.S.-Wales Men?s World Cup Match and Opening Ceremony in Doha, Qatar, on November 21, 2022. [State Department photo by Ronny Przysucha/ Public Domain] Picture: Wikimedia Commons](https://wokingham.today/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Img638362.jpg)
So it’s over. What was probably the most talked about and controversial of FIFA World Cups, has come to an end in many ways, as the most successful and dramatic.
The controversy was of course about the venue chosen for the games rather than the games.
Although we had two referees at the games, no English VARS were selected. This some have said is due to the Premier League’s poor start with the use of VARs when they began by agreeing not to look at the monitor, for which they were reprimanded by FIFA and then for the lines drawn across the pitch for offsides, using toes as a guide.
They admitted at the end of the season that there were 20 disallowed goals that should have counted. Howard Webb who introduced VAR successfully to the MLS in America and Canada, takes over as head of refereeing for the PGMO on January 1, so perhaps we can expect changes.
This reminds me that we didn’t see too much of the new piece of technology that was introduced at the games. This was the semi-automated offside alert. In case you are not aware of this innovation, it not only tells the relevant assistant referee, when a player is in an offside position, but also whether that payer was offside when the ball was kicked.
The few photos we did see showed a much clearer picture if the player was offside but it didn’t meet its other objective of doing away with the delayed flags. This is where the assistant referee, if spotting an offside, keeps his flag down until the ball goes out of play, one way of the other, in case the VAR has another opinion. One of those things that annoys many fans.
Our two referees didn’t get any of the ‘plum’ games but from what I watched, I thought that they performed well, especially Michael Oliver.
I was surprised to see his name on the ‘go home list’ before the final appointments were announced. Having said that, I must agree that Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, did a superb job at the final. He stood no nonsense from the players and didn’t shirk making tough decisions at crucial moments. He is an ex-player and an experienced referee, with many top games behind him.
In four years’ time it will all happen again but in the less controversial countries of America and Canada and we mustn’t forget that next year 2023, the Woman’s World Cup will be held in August and September in Australia and New Zealand.
By Dick Sawdon Smith
