Wise: New respect for officials

He may have picked up 70 yellows and five reds during his long football career but former professional Dennis Wise has now had a change of heart towards referees in the game.

During 'Suppor the Ref' week, Wise became a referee for one evening and has insisted that it made him realise just how difficult an official's job can be.

"For a long, long time I made ref's lives a nightmare! I gave them a lot of stick, but you did it for a reason, to see if you could get a decision going your way," the former 'Blues' revealed.

"But it all happens so quickly in the heat of the moment, trying to react, and it's difficult to know if you've got it right or not.

He continued: "I see how difficult it is now for referees, I really do. When they ref in the Premier League, you've got 40,000 people looking at you, and with the pace of the game, you've got a quick second to make that decision.

"It's very difficult for them, so now I've got more respect for them. I look at from an outsider point of view, I was very annoying with them, always trying to get decisions.

Wise also now supports the introduction of VAR into the game: "But I look at it now, stepping back, and admit they have a very, very difficult job. If they can be helped in any way possible with the VAR, I think they should take it on board.

"It's crucial times for teams, when you desperately need to win games, if there is something that can help assistants and referees, I'm all for it."

Wise made 332 appearances for Chelsea between 1990 and 2001, scoring 53 goals in the process.