Referee says VAR now bears the heavy burden of mistakes they used to carry

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The pressure on Premier League referees has never been greater, with cameras focusing on every move, pundits questioning decisions and an army of fans condemning each mistake on social media. And that’s before the brunt of criticism from the stands has abated.

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BBC Sport spoke to former Premier League referee Bobby Madley and 1998 World Cup final assistant referee Mark Warren to find out what things are really like for officials at the highest levels of the game and how they cope with abuse they receive. “Refereeing can be a lonely place sometimes,” says Madley, who officiated 19 Premier League matches last season before leaving the UK to live in Norway.

The 33-year-old, now resuming his career from the lower reaches of Norwegian football, had taken charge of more than 100 top-flight games before his departure. And he says that while little has changed on the pitch since he graduated to the select group of referees in 2013, interest off it has made things tougher.

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“I don’t think pressure from players and managers has increased because you can never please 22 people,” he says. “As a referee you understand that. You also understand people’s livelihoods are at stake, and although one decision doesn’t get somebody sacked or relegated it can heavily contribute.

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“Scrutiny from the media has increased a hell of a lot. There are more cameras, the quality is clearer, the technology is better, and people want more information.

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They don’t just want highlights of goals any more. “We work with sports psychologists and if you make a decision sometimes you get a gut feeling you might have made a mistake. You just understand the reaction from players, managers, the crowd and think: ‘I might have got this wrong.’

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While pressure in football is felt from the boardroom down to players, Warren, who describes the 1998 World Cup final as “the ultimate”, says the mental strain on officials is “severe”.  “You can feel it, no doubt about it, especially on the biggest stages,” the 59-year-old adds. “You are so absorbed on one thing you try to detach yourself from everything else.”

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