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• BBC
• Tue Nov 11 2025

How many times do we witness a referral, and immediately come to a conclusion ourselves after one viewing, only to have to wait an extra two or three minutes - or more - before the same decision is reached by VAR?

The first thing I would change is that any referrals to Stockley Park can last no longer than two minutes to look at any passage of play.

If it takes any longer to make a call, then it cannot be clear and obvious, which is meant to be the threshold in the first place.

Also, if the people in the booth cannot judge a decision in that time, then in my opinion they should not be there.

On that note, I would ensure that every booth also includes an ex-professional - a former manager, coach or player - as well as the replay operator, the VAR and assistant VAR. The professional might not be up to speed with the laws of the game but they would understand the game and how it's played.

As director of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL), Howard Webb is the referees' chief. He works alongside Michael Owen on his own TV show, and former refs like Mike Dean and Dermot Gallagher do the same with ex-professional players on their own shows too.

They all seem to get on pretty well, so let's even it up and get a few ex-players and other professionals helping out with decisions during the game.

Time-keeping is another thing I'd change. I want every game to have a clock that can be stopped for injuries, VAR and excessive time-wasting - at the discretion of the referee.

Everyone in the stadium could then calculate how long there is to go in a game, with no more guessing about how many minutes will be added on at the end.

I used to laugh about this when I was with all the clubs I managed in the Premier League, because if we were beating the big teams there would always be more than five minutes - but if we were losing to them, it was always less than three.