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Match officials are the bane of our lives. Not a season goes by without numerous decisions being made that we do not agree with, the game, against Reading on Saturday was no different. But, on Saturday, it was more, I would say, about inconsistency, especially when it comes to the enforcement of the new leniency tact being introduced. On more than one occasion, Reading players benefitted from it, after committing niggly fouls, while Luton Town players found themselves penalised. And, of course, there was the incident where Lisbie gave Naismith a clear push in the back, only for play to be waved on, with Reading breaking away to make it 3-1. After the game, and as reported by – Luton Today the Luton Town boss, Jack Wilshere, quite rightly in my opinion, reckons referees should be held accountable for their performances. But have refereeing standards been on the slippery slope for several years, quite possibly due to the introduction of VAR. Let me explain! The game operates with a pool of officials, naturally the better ones are allocated to the Premier League. With VAR being introduced that pool was stretched with Premier League games requiring 4 or 5 officials to take charge, some at the ground and others at Stockley Park, With the pool stretched, it had to be backfilled, and it is my view that those that filled the spaces may not have been as adequate as those who would normally be used ad, perhaps were not quite ready for the job in hand. I fear that the lower you go down the tiers of English football, the less competent the officialdom gets. Now you may think I am barking up the wrong tree, if so, please feel free to correct me. I accept that referees do a difficult job and that mistakes are mistakes, not intentionally made, but I need to ask this all-important question: Is The Standard Of Refereeing Declining? YES! NO! COYH