Good thread. A few other factors to throw in the ring when comparing modern refs with the past...
Number of laws, and therefore decisions per game. Refs in the pro leagues are now averaging 200+ decisions per match, rising to 250+ at PL level, with those numbers still rising year on year. Don't know what the figure would have been in the 80s/90s but certainly a lot less. The more laws any game has the more decisions are made and the number of mistakes rises accordingly. Fans *always* notice and remember the mistakes.
New rules are nuanced and subjective
Handball is a classic example. Was never 100% cut and dried but the general rule was a] deliberate (stuck his paw out, whistle) or b] accidental (thumped close range, balancing while jumping, play on). Now? OMG, even at junior level it's a nightmare. If you look at rule changes (or the endless changes to 'interpretation' of rules) over the last couple of decades they nearly all involve more subjective judgements in realtime. A lot of the most obvious inconsistencies we see (ie. the handballs in Wycombe game) are 55/45 level decisions where even a tiny difference in body shape or circumstances can tip the balance based on the hundreds of pages of guidance refs now have to consume. I wonder if tiredness plays a role here too, its fairly well evidenced that tired people remain fairly consistent at simple binary tasks but performance on complex tasks diminishes. Certainly feels like refereeing howlers are more common after the 60/70 minutes mark.
Pace and athleticism
Everything is quicker these days. Not just marginally either. Mainly due to increased fitness but also the impact of rule changes. The distances covered by players and officials with minimal respite are off the scale versus football I grew up with in the 80s. Even at amateur level teams are pressing for 90 minutes, playing from the back and 'transitioning' through midfield rather than lumping it. As anyone who has reffed or even run the line will know the speed of a game is pretty much *the* main challenge.
Which all sounds like a get of jail card for refs. Which it is in some ways. But... I agree there are still far too many who make themselves centre of attention, abuse their positions to interupt rather than enable the game etc. At the higher levels the ridiculous layers of bureaucracy, politics and peacockery are laughable. When Rugby Union professionalised there was an accompanying process to support and help refs adapt to the massively increased levels of physicality, fitness and expectation. Football is a harder game to officiate but has never really had that moment.