Video replays won't work. It's simply the wrong game.
As for the penalty, I can think of two possible explanations:-
1)Williams simply didn't see him hit the ball first. Sometimes you simply have the wrong angle and there's nothing you can do (if this is the case though, then he should sought his AR's opinion first. It only takes a moment)
2)He thought our player was going for the attacker ie deliberately and unnecessarily collected him on the follow through (just because you get the ball first, it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a foul). I disagree with it, but I find myself wondering which it was....
Throughout the match though, Adelaide probably copped the bigger stick - some of the cautions left me scratching my head. Then there were the blatantly late tackles designed to slow the game after our 2nd goal which were just as late as earlier ones resulting in a card, but received nothing...
Aside from the cards, and the penalty, I don't think Williams really did too much else wrong (though I missed most of the first half because the Mantra's Foxtel connection was screwing up)
Anyway, I'm sure a number of you know my opinion on the HAL refereeing - that it's the people behind the scenes that need a kick up the arse more than the referees. Politics is played way, way too much - and naturally this is to the detriment of the game.
Again, the lack of full time referees is a problem. Is it reasonable to expect these guys to be at peak performance on a weekend when many of them work full time, as well as spending a number of hours during the week training? There's a good reason many of them perform better on FIFA fixtures - IMO it's because they're not flat out all week, then having to referee elite football when most of us just want to put our feet up after an exhausting week at work. The issue of part time referees has gotta be affecting performance.
Sub-par performance on the field is only the public front of the problem. The problem goes beyond what we see.
Unfortunately it's those politics that also keeps underperforming officials in their position, and prevents better officials from rising to the top. I know of officials who have been told by state coaches that, because of something they've said to that coach, they don't have a chance of getting to the top. And absolutely disgraceful abuse of power, and as such, blatant corruption - but this is politics. Really, you get the same nonsense happening in a large business.
As for YL, I do think it should be a place where officials are dropped to after a poor performance, though I think it should take more than a questionable penalty to do so. The NRL has always dropped officials to the lower grades after a bad match or even a bad decision - a few years ago they did it so often that officials became afraid of making decisions, and the game suffered. There needs to be a balance. Unfortunately, I don't think FIFA want to use NYL as a 'rehabilitation ground', so the question is moot.
And yes, the FFA needs to pull their head out of their arse and get past this notion that Shield, Breeze and Williams are the 3 best officials in the country, end of discussion. The FFA have shown zero interest in allowing other officials a fair chance to promote their rankings, nor have they shown any interest in recognising when those 3 slip in their performances. Again, politics is to blame.
Amen brother
