Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton has let rip at the EFL in a furious social media rant at the state of refereeing in the English lower leagues.
Barton was left seething by a handball decision in his side's 2-0 defeat to Accrington Stanley as the opening goal was allowed to stand despite a home player seemingly handling the ball. The replay was brought to Barton's attention on Twitter and he responded with a scathing tirade that reached as far as Manchester United's controversial equaliser against rivals City that was given by VAR.
Former Rangers midfielder Barton blamed the EFL for not appointing full-time referees for the lower leagues and accused officials of "making things up as they go along." He also called for more accountability from whistlers and claimed paying punters are "suffering" as a result of the officiating. He wrote on Twitter: "The offside in the Manchester Derby. How is that not interfering with play? The handball leading to the goal in our game at Accrington. How is that not advantageous to the player and team handling it? What is the point if the officials just make it up as they go along!
"When I go in and see him (ref) after the game, he’s standing with his rule book out reading me a passage that backs up his game changing error! Referees should be interviewed after games and held accountable for match altering decisions. They get away with it otherwise.
"We have millions/billions of pounds in our national game. Why do we have professionals refereed by part time/amateur officials in EFL League One and Two? How can you expect an official who works a 9-5 job, 5 days a week to be competent? Makes no sense.
"Stakes are higher now. Too many big clubs now in those leagues. Too much money at stake. Cannot leave it in the hands of part time/amateur officials. Refereeing should move into modern era. Make them accountable. They should have to speak to the press.
"There is a former referee on every major football game or radio station, chipping in with his or her opinion of the rules. Why not allow press to ask ref questions after the game. We have to make the best ones have a voice. Better officials make a better game.
"I also don’t understand why still in 2023, we have people buying tickets to live football matches suffer. Vs the ‘couch potato’ supporter who has a more info of what happened in the game. No VAR replays in the stadium? No giant screen? No Mic’d up official? Ludicrous."
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