Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer, says the fixture list is already at breaking point and they cannot give Club World Cup participants Man City or Chelsea extra time off
Premier League bosses will refuse to give Manchester City and Chelsea any special treatment for the Club World Cup.
Tony Scholes, the Premier League ’s chief football officer, says the fixture list is already at breaking point and they cannot give City or Chelsea extra time off while he also gave a stinging rebuke to FIFA.
The 32-team FIFA Club World Cup will be played in the United States this summer with the final taking place on July 13 in New Jersey. The Premier League starts just over a month later on August 16 which means City and Chelsea will not get a proper break if they go all the way in the US.
Many Premier League teams will have returned to pre-season training while the Club World Cup is still going on and the Prem’s stance is likely to annoy Chelsea and City.
But Scholes said: “We’ve looked at it. We’re having this imposed upon us, particularly by FIFA, so there’s an element of us saying: ‘why would we adjust our competition when they’ve imposed a competition that we don’t agree with.’
“That’s one element. But the more significant element, though, is that we simply can’t. It’s as big as it can be at the moment and we can’t afford a delay to the start of the season.”
Scholes also gave a passionate defence of the Premier League’s refereeing standards while he insisted that PGMOL chief Howard Webb does not have a problem with the dynamic of VAR officials and referees.
Referee Michael Oliver, the Prem’s most decorated official, was VAR at West Ham in October as he recommended a penalty was given against Manchester United. It was later deemed a mistake after now-disgraced referee David Coote gave the decision.
That raised a common accusation that junior VAR officials do not stand up to senior referees and vice versa. But Scholes said VAR officials are trained to ignore seniority while also denying there is any trust issue surrounding referees.
Scholes said: “The Premier League has looked at it because it’s kind of natural isn’t it? We all defer to someone who is maybe more experienced and more knowledgeable and, in Michael and Anthony, we are very lucky that we’ve got two of the very best in the world.
“Howard’s position is that we want our best referees on the pitch. So we want Michael, Anthony Taylor, Chris Kavanagh on the pitch because decision making begins and ends on the pitch.
“But alongside that, the training and the rigour of that has gone up considerably and part of that is to have the courage of their convictions. If it’s a factual decision then they can overturn it on their own.
“But if it’s a subjective decision then it goes to the referee on the pitch anyway. The VARs are trained to ignore who is on the pitch and to encourage them to make their decisions subjectively.
“We’ve made great strides. There’s a dozen of them who are fully and specially trained as VARs who have dramatically improved accuracy.
“We’ve all got a responsibility in terms of balance with comments that are made. We cannot have officials – such a big part of the successful and entertaining league that we have – facing the kind of abuse they suffer on occasions.
“In terms of trust in the officials, all we can do is to get the balanced message out there and remind people that these guys are good. I know that’s not always the perception and the rest of the world recognise that. Do we live in a world where trust is lessened? I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, Scholes insisted that there have been “great strides” in the last month over development of technology around semi-automated offsides. It has been delayed in the English top flight despite it being used in major tournaments and the Champions League. Adidas has a patent to a chip inside the ball while Nike are the Premier League’s ball suppliers.
Scholes added: “We believe we’re going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system. Clearly, if we’re not confident until the last two or three match rounds, I think you then arrive at a pragmatic place where you just say, it wouldn’t make sense to introduce it now.
“But if we’re able to introduce it in advance of that, then it’s something that we’re actively considering.”
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.