(Originally Published September 23rd 2023 for For Green Fields clients)
Referees Mic'd Up is a dangerous concept
The aim of the project is understandable on an array of strategic levels but it suffers from a lack of a pool of talent from which to choose
Michael Owen, racehorse owner, professional gambler, insider trader and former bookmaker to the England team where he brokered bets from team mates through to his business partner Steve Smith at Goldchip private bookies) chatting with a narcissistic former referee who still craves the spotlight (never ever a good sign in a match official) about certain things
The PGMOL would get out of their quagmire by allowing communications between referee, 4th Official and Stockley Park to be on open microphone so that we can all hear how a decision is reached (as in cricket and rugby, for example)
But hardly anybody at elevated layers in the 'sport' desires that structure so selected coverage of certain decisions from certain angles with certain scripts from a rogue gambler and a narcissist is the sum total of the efforts to explain the peculiarities of EPL officiating
Two other things have changed without any warning for season 2023/24
Firstly, although the technology exists for near coincident kick offs on, say, EPL Saturday 15:00 matches (and this was successfully implemented throughout last season), the PGMOL have reversed that policy and are allowing a more randomised start time
In horseracing, randomised start times are market manipulation processes
We will monitor what they mean in the EPL
The other change is that EPL referee announcements will now always be around 10am on the Tuesday prior to the next weekend of games - formerly, if there were no Monday night game, the appointments were announced at 16:00 on the Monday
As referee announcements mysteriously affect prices on the match betting markets, legions of market makers and pro traders wait on these appointments being made public
Once again, last season, there was familiarity and accuracy in the timing of announcement whereas this season, not only have all times moved to Tuesday but also there is an uncertainty window while they get it together to press send
And officials aren't announced on certain games and the information only lands on the Premier League website at a random later time with 'official' routes to the referee appointments being, in effect, a competitive derivatives market where market players fight for first mover advantage
Set against all that Referees Mic'd Up seems positively Orwellian as two desperately insincere men attempt to leak sincerity about something to which the word sincerity could never be applied
© 2023 Football is Fixed
