Arsene Wenger has launched a stinging attack on refereeing standards — and claimed Premier League officials are living in the dark ages.
Boss Wenger insists his Arsenal side have been on the receiving end of a string of “unbelievable” decisions this season even before referee Mike Dean’s controversial late penalty award at West Brom on New Year's Eve that led to a 1-1 draw.
The Frenchman is unrepentant despite the FA charging him after he angrily confronted Dean after the game at the Hawthorns, although these latest comments are hardly likely to help his position with the suits at Wembley.
Also, Wenger listed FOUR games this season where he feels bad decisions have cost Arsenal dear.
He went on to insist referees should be less interested in being the centre of attention and more worried about making the “crisp, sharp” decisions required in modern football.
“For me, they have to serve the game, like we have to serve the game, and to try to give positive emotions to people who love football in the stand," said Wenger. "That’s what they have to do. They must not be the star.
“We have to respect the game as people want it to be played. That’s our responsibility. It’s not [appropriate] any more, in 2018, that the guy calls a player, speaks half a minute or a minute to him, to say, ‘Look, you have to behave properly.’ That is gone.
“People want crisp, sharp action — and the referee has to make sure that that happens. This is [from] the 1950s, where the guy talks to him, 'If you’re not nice, I might punish you.’
“Come on! Let’s not waste time. What does it help for the game? Nothing. Nothing happens.
“People who sit in the stand don’t want to see that. They want to see, 'Come on! Let's get on with it and play.” That’s our responsibility. We don’t live in the dark ages.
“There are some decisions that have happened to us this season that are unbelievable.
“Stoke [Arsenal lost 1-0, and were refused a penalty for a Mame Biram Diouf challemge on Hector Bellerin], it was a red card, and he doesn’t even give a penalty.
“At Watford [Arsenal led but lost 2-1, with the Hornets being awarded a controversial penalty ]. At Man City [a 3-1 defeat, with City's second goal coming on a dubious spot-kick and the decisive third being allowed despite a clear offside in the build-up].
“At West Brom — this one is a bit of a farce, seriously.
“You do not give, in the last minute of a game, a penalty like that. When you see how he shows his arm it is nothing to do with what happened. So he sees what he wants to see.”
That last comment may get the Arsenal boss in further trouble as it appears to imply there was bias in Dean’s decision-making.
But Wenger also attacked a lack of consistency and says whistlers are wasting their time visiting training grounds, as they did before the start of this season to explain directives including handball.
Before Wednesday's home derby game against Chelsea, he added: “They don’t look to have the same rulebook. They should spare us that visit and stay at home, because they never respect what they [the rulebooks] say.”
There is a clear, four-point directive on handball issued by the PGMOL for referees.
They include how far away players are, whether arms are moved towards the ball, if arms are in the expected position and if they are used to stop the ball going past.
The Premier League is in favour of Video Assisted Referees (VAR) - it will be trialled in Brighton’s FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace next Monday - and a vast majority of former referees believe Dean made a mistake.
A PGMOL spokesman told Mirror Sport: “The angle from which Mike Dean saw the incident made it look like Calum Chambers was attempting to handle to ball.
“If VAR had been in use, Mike would have made a more informed decision. He would have had the chance to see the reverse angle which shows the Arsenal defender was trying hard not to handle the ball.”
PROBABLE TEAMS
ARSENAL Cech; Koscielny, Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Xhaka, Wilshere, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Sanchez, Lacazette.
CHELSEA Courtois, Moses, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Bakayoko, Hazard, Pedro, Morata.