Wenger: Refshave torespect thegame
ARSENE WENGER has launched a stinging attack on refereeing standards - claiming Premier League officials live in the dark ages.
Wenger insists Arsenal have been hit with a string of “unbelievable” decisions this season even before Mike Dean’s controversial late penalty award at West Brom.
The Gunners boss is unrepentant despite the FA charging him after he confronted Dean following the game on Sunday. His latest comments won’t help.
Wenger listed four games where he feels bad decisions have cost Arsenal and also says referees should be less concerned about being the centre of attention.
Wenger said: “They have to serve the game like we have to serve the game and try to give positive emotions to fans in the stands.
“They must not be the star. We have to respect the game as people want it to be played. It’s not any more, in 2018, the guy calls a player, speaks half a minute or a minute to him to say, ‘Look, you have to behave properly’. That’s gone.
“People want crisp, sharp action and the referee has to make sure that happens.
“This is the 1950s, where the guy talks to him, ‘If you’re not nice, I might punish you’.
“Come on, let’s not waste time. People who sit in the stand don’t want to see that. We don’t live in the dark ages.”
Wenger’s comment on the West Brom clash may get him in further trouble as it suggests bias in referee Dean’s decision-making.
He added: “Some decisions that have happened to us this season are unbelievable. Stoke, it was a red card and he doesn’t even give a penalty.
“At Watford. At Man City. At West Brom. This one is a bit of a farce. Because 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.”