Salford City boss Karl Robinson has expressed concern about the state of refereeing in the EFL.
Speaking to the press after his side’s 2–0 defeat to Gillingham, The Salford City Head Coach fumed over refereeing performances this campaign.
Robinson said: “I’m baffled by some of the officiating I’ve seen this season, it’s so far off the mark.”
Against Gillingham, both goals the Ammies’ conceded were pervaded by an air of controversy.
In a tight game, the Kent-based team made the breakthrough before half-time. Centre-back Shad Ogie was adjudged to have timed his run to perfection, getting in around the back of Salford’s defence to head home from close range.
Following the match Robinson suggested that: “Their first goal looked like it was borderline offside. If VAR was here we would have got it, but I don’t think that the officials are good enough at this level to give them.”
Despite feeling “unlucky,” Robinson’s chief frustration surrounded the manner of Gillingham’s second goal.
The Ammies’ coach felt that defender Theo Vassell was unlawfully robbed of possession by Gillingham forward Ashley Nadesan who drove down the wing to square for midfielder Timothee Dieng to score.
He explained: “I thought the officials were good enough to give the foul that led to their second goal.
Robinson had no issue with the official’s integrity: “I don’t question anybody’s personality, I don’t question anybody’s loyalty for their job- I question their poor refereeing decisions.”
Salford City’s coach believes that the FA are over-policing managers’ ability to scrutinize referee’s performances. “You would love to tell the truth (in press conferences) it’s so funny because we have an organisation that stops us from telling the truth. We should be allowed to speak about horrific decisions without being punished.”
Earlier this season, Robinson suggested that Salford City were on the receiving end of poor decisions due to the club’s reputation: “We’re not very well-liked and you can see that. It’s what I hear; I think that people want to make a statement.”
The FA can regulate manager and player comments about match officials. Rule E3.1 is in place to ensure that referees are properly protected from “discriminatory behaviour.”
Rule E3.1 states: “A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use anyone, or a combination of violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.”
This season football’s governing body introduced a ‘participant behaviour charter’ targeted at “addressing unacceptable conduct on the pitch, on the side-lines and in the stands.”
Now more than ever before, the FA are empowered to take disciplinary action over comments that are adjudged to be offensive to the referee.
Robinson suggested that regulating criticism of match officials is detrimental to the sport.
🗞️ Reaction from today’s defeat at The Peninsula Stadium.
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) March 2, 2024
Now 14 years into his coaching career, Robinson thinks that the “level of refereeing has declined” since he took over the leading role at MK Dons in 2010.
“It needs to be better. In this country, we have the greatest level of competition from top to bottom. We have more competitive games in our country than in any other country in the world.
The problem is that we are looking for a greater depth in referees -that obviously is not there. We have a higher level of games that are played so we need a higher level of referees to officiate them.”
One potential solution to fill the demand for top-level referees is to import them. Currently, only two referees have been introduced from abroad into the EFL system: Jarred Gillett (Australia) and Lex Chilowicz (USA).
When asked if he thinks bringing in more referees from abroad would improve the standard of officiating, Robinson said: “I would always want the best referees; the ultimate level of challenge is finding them.”
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