Wenger is reffing well right

I RARELY agree with Arsene Wenger when he’s ranting about bad refereeing.

But it’s hard to disagree with his latest attack on Mike Dean (which has earned him an FA charge) after he awarded West Brom an extremely dubious penalty that cost Wenger’s side the win.

“We fought very hard, years ago, for the referees to become professional, yet we see no improvement,” said the Frenchman (below).

That is an accurate and damning description of where we are. The game may have got quicker and there may be more forensic analyis of their decisionmaking. But every regular matchgoer can see that the quality and consistency of Premier League referees is on a downward spiral.

There needs to be better coaching, more stringent fitness regimes, more communal clarity around specific laws, possibly better pay to attract a higher calibre of professional. And definitely more transparency and retribution when they get things badly wrong.

Wenger’s post-match attacks can usually be taken with a pinch of salt, but this time the untouchable refereeing hierarchy would do well to chew on his words.