The game is refereed out of fear. There's a 'thing' called 'safe refereeing'
Safe refereeing is a strategy employed by all professional and semi-professional referees. It's based on the premise that we get less grief for disallowing contentious goals than we do if we allow them. However, it's taken a lot further than that to the point that goalkeepers and defenders are excessively protected. Especially in the semi-pro game, we're coached to kill a game that gets heated as the stop/start approach takes the wind out of the player's sails but it also ruins it as a spectacle (for paying spectators!). The Laws are applied very selectively. Again, we're mostly coached to **** foot about instead of just applying the rules indiscriminately. There's so much wrong with the way the game is refereed, but much of it is down to the culture we've encouraged. As Ref's we've dug a hole for ourselves that is inescapable. The pro game is purely refereed to ensure nobody gets sent off because it spoils the game and potentially impacts the commercial side of the game. In the end, the commercial side of the game is literally all that matters and referees further down the pyramid a totally screwed as everyone copies exactly what they see on TV. I can't see it ever changing

Money has ruined the game YOU need Var as goals were been disallowed a mile on side