Foreign observers, VAR recordings… Former referee Uğur Temel evaluates the TFF's decisions for 12punto

Selçuk ÇELİK - 12punto.com.tr

Refereeing decisions continue to be a subject of debate. The VAR system has not been a solution to the controversies occurring in almost every match. Most recently, the Turkish Football Federation announced the implementation of foreign observers and the disclosure of VAR recordings. Former referee and GazetePencere sports writer Uğur Temel evaluated the new agenda of the football world.

‘’NOTHING WILL CHANGE’’

The TFF recently announced that a team of foreign observers would be involved in determining the scores of league referees. Stating that this decision will change nothing and that there will be problems in the referee scoring system, Temel said, ‘’Of course, the people who will serve as observers are individuals who have refereed at the highest level. However, the grade these referees give will affect 50 percent of the total grade. The remaining 30 percent of the grade will be given by another observer, and 20 percent by people appointed from a committee consisting of 120 referees. In other words, if these foreign observers could determine 100 percent of the referee scores, it could have been an effective solution. But how powerful can their influence be in a system where they determine 50 percent? I don't think these foreign observers will be very effective.’’

OUR FOOTBALL CULTURE IS DIFFERENT

Emphasizing that the foreign observers coming to Turkey have refereed at a high level in the past but do not know the football culture in our country, Temel said, "Actually, the situation is this; even though these foreign observers have refereed at a high level in their careers, they may not be very familiar with our country's football culture. We can say that our country's football culture is quite different. It could have been much better if a system had been adopted where foreign observers determined all of the referee grades. This newly introduced system could cause some disconnects.’’

REFEREES WHO CAUSED DISASTERS ARE NOW IN VAR

Commenting on the TFF's decision to disclose VAR recordings, Temel said, "The question here is this. There is no problem with the image on the screen. After all, we can see the positions the referee sees from VAR from many different angles. What matters is what you talk about before you call the referee to the VAR. What do you tell the referee before you call them to the VAR? Now the situation is very different. Let's look at the VAR referees. You look at Erkan Engin, who caused disasters in Turkish football last year, and today he is working as a VAR referee. This referee couldn't make the right decision on the field, so what will he see and decide in VAR? If you try to take a referee who caused disasters on the field and sit them at the VAR desk, you won't get efficiency from this.’’

FORMER REFEREES CAN SERVE IN VAR

Making statements on how the VAR problem in Turkish football can be solved, Uğur Temel stated that it would be beneficial for former referees who have served in our country to take part in VAR.

Temel said, ‘’People may think it is right or wrong, but we have referees who have retired from refereeing and have refereed at the highest level. Can't you consider evaluating them at the VAR desk? I think it can be considered. I think our former referees could be much more useful than Erkan Engin.’’

ASSISTANT REFEREES TO THE FIELD

Stating that assistant referees should officiate matches in lower leagues to gain refereeing experience, and at the same time emphasizing that referees who manage extremely poor matches should not be at the VAR monitor, Uğur Temel concluded his words by saying,

‘’After the 1990s, the linesman position was abolished. You are now an assistant referee. You have to think like an assistant referee. Therefore, there is a great need for the assistant referee to gain such experience by officiating matches in lower categories to think like a referee, to manage like a referee, and to assist the referee on the field. That is why if you cannot manage a match properly on the field, you should not sit at the VAR screen. Names that caused major scandals last year are in the VAR squad today. All of these referees may be very good people, but that doesn't matter. Everyone has seen that you didn't make the right decisions on the field. You have received very serious penalties. Now why are you sitting at this VAR screen?’’