Robotic referees are infuriating.
The common sense part of controlling a game of football feels like it’s been chucked out the window these days.
And VAR isn’t helping either.
I’m not a fan of the technology and I’m certain Dundee fans aren’t either after Saturday’s clash with Kilmarnock.
I think we saw clearly just how out of touch from football fans referees are in the way the game is viewed.
Handball
Firstly, the handball against Amadou Bakayoko is something we’re seeing more and more of.
Despite the ball being only a yard or two away when it’s hit at him and the player having no chance of doing anything about it, we see a penalty given.
By the rules these days, it’s a penalty.
But the massive punishment for something a player has no control over is way over the top.
Common sense
Then came two red cards – one for Josh Mulligan of Dundee and the other for Killie boss Derek McInnes late on.
Both were ridiculous decisions.
The McInnes one is where I point to a lack of common sense.
The rigidity and robotic nature of officials these days probably comes from above.
But I don’t think anyone would have been that bothered had he just given the Killie boss a telling off and got on with the game.
The Mulligan one, though, had Dundee spitting feathers and it’s not hard to see why.
It’s just not a red card challenge.
Referee David Munro will be under pressure to get decisions right – and maybe that affects the thinking for a referee; the fear of getting something wrong in the end makes you get something wrong.
But to ignore the recommendation of the VAR official to review the tackle and then stick to your guns beggars belief.
Out of touch
In my experience, refs were never willing to admit they’d got something wrong – and that only adds to the fury.
If they just went: ‘OK, I maybe got that wrong,’ what can the players or manager really say? The decision stands but there’s an understanding.
But the refusal to admit an error only adds to the feel that officials are robots and out of touch with players and fans.
And the pressure ramps in a game; it becomes far harder to manage the contest because you’ve infuriated either half the stadium or the entire stadium.
Players get angry, other tackles fly in and before you know it you’ve lost control.
Referees, the rules and VAR really do bug the life out of me these days.
Character
But it was refreshing to see Dundee show real character to put that disappointment behind them and battle back to gain a really positive result with 10 men.
It would be good to see some wins sometime soon because their points tally doesn’t really reflect how good their start to the season has been.
Next up is Hibs away, which will be tough, but they’ll be going there to get a result.
Conversation