"Time to make the change" - Nigel Owens calls for football to follow rugby

“TMO works better than VAR in the way that people know what’s happening,” Owens told William Hill.

“When you put a decision up in rugby, it’s explained and shown why the decision is given or changed so that everyone watching the game in the stadium or at home knows exactly why the try was disallowed because he’s knocked it forward.

“You may not agree but you know why the decision has been made, so it’s better in that context.

“In football, when you’re in the stadium you don’t know why the goal is disallowed. Fans can’t understand it, which is why they get frustrated because they think there’s nothing wrong with the decision, they haven’t seen it again.

“But if they had seen it again and the referee explained why you are offside, whether they agree with it or not, it’s offside. So, the TMO works better in that way.

“But the way it doesn’t work better is it’s used too much in rugby. Football use it much less than we do, though they can definitely use it more effectively like we do, so there’s pros and cons for both.

“Rugby is more understandable and easier to follow the decisions thanks to TMO, but it’s used too much. Football is using it far less than we do, although it’s a far less complex game.”

"I think if they brought in something similar to what they have in rugby with citing. You can look at an incident after the game and if a player is found to be guilty, then you can ban the player depending on the seriousness of the offence.

"That doesn't stop the flow of the game. You don't have to look at any replays. I think it would be hugely beneficial.

"Those people who tend to dive are the ones who score the goals and if you lose your best scorer for a couple of games then it's pointless having him in the club because he's not playing enough games."

 Owens believes respect between players and officials was the"main issue that soccer needs to address,” adding:

“It’s not acceptable really, because football, more than any other sport in the world, has a bigger influence on society and everyday life and young children’s lives, in looking up to their heroes than any sport in the world, and it has the duty to show that respect.

“Rugby can’t take the moral high ground on soccer, because there are things in rugby that we need to do better.

“Certainly the respect in rugby is there and it needs to be maintained and kept, as it’s an integral part of the whole game. There’s no doubt about that.

Owens believes introducing a microphone would help make the necessary change.

He said: "Introducing this change in football would put an end to the endless speculation and debate too. In rugby, where a player abuses another player or an official, then it can quite often be picked up on the ref’s mic. That means it’s not a case of ‘he said this, I didn’t say that’, rather the evidence is there for everyone to see."

"The unsavoury incident involving Joe Marler and his comments to Jake Heenan in December is a prime example, he was caught red-handed, everyone heard it and he was promptly issued with a ban.

"But in football, we’ve seen players make complaints of racial abuse which have not been picked up anywhere during the game, and without that evidence, the issues have raged on and not reached swift conclusions. Having that evidence would mean anyone at fault is dealt with appropriately and we can get back to focusing on what the sport should be about."