‘Howard Webb will never say this’: Alan Shearer has point to make about officials after Newcastle vs Arsenal

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Alan Shearer has now been discussing the level of refereeing in England following a controversial match between Newcastle United and Arsenal.

Shearer was speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast and simply said the standard wasn’t good enough.

The pundit explained how English football is the beacon of the sport in so many areas, and yet is let down by the level of referees.

Shearer admitted that Howard Webb, head of PGMOL, will never admit to insufficiencies despite several examples in the game between Newcastle and Arsenal.

He said: “Howard Webb will never say this but I reckon and certainly my opinion is that we have the best football, the best stadiums, the best managers, the best atmosphere, we have the best of everything, in our country – but we haven’t got the best referees.

“Unfortunately the pool of referees, at this moment in time, I just think they are not good enough.

“It’s a difficult job, they are in a no win situation at times, but I don’t think they are a good set of referees and I think they are worse now because of VAR.”

Shearer criticises level of referees in England after Newcastle vs Arsenal

Of course, Shearer did initially question Mikel Arteta’s rant after he felt wronged by decisions on Saturday.

Arsenal have now released a statement backing their manager’s thoughts and sharing his disappointment at the decisions made.

The main decision in the spotlight is the call to allow Anthony Gordon’s goal, despite several question marks.

Gabriel Magalhaes felt as if he was being fouled, as did his manager after the game.

Eddie Howe will certainly have a different perspective, and will just now have his focus on a trip to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Arsenal on the other hand, will host Sevilla in another crucial Champions League tie on Wednesday.

Both Arsenal and Newcastle do now have to move on, but Shearer clearly thinks action needs to be taken to improve the level of officiating.

And although these decisions will sometimes act in certain team’s favour, a better consistency across the board would surely be enjoyed by all.