Source: Daily_Mail
GRAHAM POLL: It's all Greek to me, but refereeing experiment reveals the joy of six
'You don't know what you're doing,' shouted the crowd at Goodison Park. Those words have probably never been more appropriate. [LNB]The confusion over the introduction of two extra officials for all 24 Europa League ties last night even stretched to Polish referee Robert Malek, who was given a video presentation on how it would work only at 2.30pm yesterday in his hotel. [LNB]In fact, he was so uncertain that he tried to catch some of Fulham's game on ITV4 before kickoff - only to find he couldn't get the channel.[LNB] Extra help: An assistant referee watches the action from behind thegoal at Goodison Park in the match between Everton and AEK Athens[LNB] More from Graham Poll... Graham Poll gives us the lowdown on UEFA experiment of six match officials16/09/09 GRAHAM POLL: How former Manchester star David Beckham gave a lesson in how to react to fans' abuse15/09/09 GRAHAM POLL: Adebayor, Scholes and Etuhu in the dock on wild weekend14/09/09 Graham Poll: Eastlands horror film will seal Adebayor's fate14/09/09 GRAHAM POLL: Why England star Rooney mustn't be labelled a diver07/09/09 Graham Poll's verdict on the fall guys who must stand up and be counted31/08/09 GRAHAM POLL: Refs' boss Hackett has no need to say sorry to Wenger30/08/09 The Official Line: Massimo Busacca is the right ref for Celtic and Arsenal clash17/08/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE In the opening quarter of an hour you could have been forgiven for thinking the whole experiment was a bit pointless. But then, in the 16th minute, success. [LNB]With the referee in a central position, the ball bounced out to the left of the goal. Mr Malek looked uncertain until the extra assistant told him it had come off a defender. From the resulting corner, Everton scored their second goal.[LNB] One of the strangest things was seeing the extra officials come on to the pitch when the ball was up the other end. [LNB]There is no need for them to do it but you have to remember that this is the first time they have watched a football match from this angle and are just experimenting to see what works best. [LNB]Where they did very well was not to give hand signals when the ball went for a corner or goal kick. That is such an instinctive thing for a referee. [LNB]The system offers some positive elements, most notably that the extra officials can monitor what is going on in the corners on the far side of the assistant referee, allowing the referee to remain central for when the play switches.[LNB] The only slight problem was the referee got in the way more often. [LNB]Did it work? Yes, but at a cost of £1.6 million, is it just a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? [LNB] Explore more:People:Graham PollPlaces:Goodison Park
