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Of course I've dealt out my fair share of abuse at referees who are completely biased and useless. They don't have a clue and every decision is always against your team. To a certain degree I have actually seen some of that kind of behavior but not very often.
But come on seriously it's all part of the game. The real debate is really away from the pitch (so to speak) and comes down to the fact that football is no longer a game it's an industry - and for some a very profitable one.
Refereeing must be one of the hardest jobs around, unless that watch suddenly becomes a time machine or they develop a collection of around 6 eyes equally distributed around their head how can they be expected to always get it right? Even with satellite replays your average armchair supporter doesn’t! But unless they do there will always be room for improvement just as in any job in any industry. There are a lot of attitudes and rules that need changing before any referee ever fulfills their professional potential.
The first is exactly that, referees need to be made professional especially at the top levels. It seems bizarre to me that it's not already the case, clubs seem so obsessed with smashing the next transfer record that the men they depend on to ensure a fair game and result are neglected. I guess the problem is who pays for it - I personally think that teams should. How much each should be responsible for I'm not sure but how can you expect someone to be professional if they are not paid as such. Now I'm not talking about making them millionaires over night but it should be a full time position with a respectable salary. That way there can be no question as to the dedication and time the job requires and whether or not it can be achieved.
The next thing to consider is that they are not infallible. They make mistakes although I'm sure that that would come as a surprise to most refs themselves who seem to think they ARE infallible. Refs - you DO make mistakes. Now we've cleared that up maybe we can start to think of solutions.
The main one that comes to mind and has been pondered over is video evidence and a second ref who can make remote decisions from that evidence. The main argument against it is that it will cause the game to stop and start continuously slowing it down. Another one is that it would undermine the referees decisions and that it would end up with EVERY decision being questioned and argued over i.e. the refs decision HAS to be final and this would contradict that.
My opinion is that video evidence does have its place in the game. The industry and money involved are just too big now. Wrong decisions can cost a club hundreds of thousands of pounds or more (especially if the wrong decisions end up costing promotion or cup progression). While video evidence can reduce that problem it's just not possible to solve - you can't get every decision right.
I think that for the sake of keeping the game running and not turning it into a circus you need to put in place limits. Use it only for major decisions and only when it's a close call. Things like goals that are disallowed for a close offside call or when sending offs can be somewhat questionable etc etc. These can be turning points in any game and as they involved the game stopping anyway what's another minute or two to make sure that the decision is the correct one? And as far as undermining the referee goes, I’ve seen plenty of linesmen in my time end up convincing the ref to overturn sometimes even reversing his decision so it already happens.
Now with the professional status and the extra help I think comes new added responsibility. If you'll pardon the phrase I think that most referees are "too far up their own a***s". They seem to have this God complex and the fact their decisions are rarely ever questioned by officials only adds to the problem.
I think they need to be reviewed and that serious complaints against their decisions should not only be looked into but if proven correct measures should be taken. Lets face it if you weren't doing your job properly would your boss just let you carry on without any repercussions? Refereeing is a job and there are standards that need to be met.
On a last note the people responsible for making the rules need to sit down and co-ordinate with the referees to decide exactly how each rule and directive should be interpreted. At the moment it appears that the guidelines are just too wide meaning every referee has to make up their own mind as to when each should be imposed. This is leading to one referee sending off a player that wouldn't even warrent a caution from another and frustration all round for players, managers, fans and even the referees themselves. Rather than deciding what new rule to add each season perhaps they should look at the ones already in place and outline some crystal clear guidelines.
But despite my loathing of the ref at a game I have to admit they do a very difficult job and when they aren't posing for the cameras or trying to be Mr cool they do it very well. I just think that if you are going to expect them to be professionals then you should treat them like it on all fronts.
Thanks for reading
But come on seriously it's all part of the game. The real debate is really away from the pitch (so to speak) and comes down to the fact that football is no longer a game it's an industry - and for some a very profitable one.
Refereeing must be one of the hardest jobs around, unless that watch suddenly becomes a time machine or they develop a collection of around 6 eyes equally distributed around their head how can they be expected to always get it right? Even with satellite replays your average armchair supporter doesn’t! But unless they do there will always be room for improvement just as in any job in any industry. There are a lot of attitudes and rules that need changing before any referee ever fulfills their professional potential.
The first is exactly that, referees need to be made professional especially at the top levels. It seems bizarre to me that it's not already the case, clubs seem so obsessed with smashing the next transfer record that the men they depend on to ensure a fair game and result are neglected. I guess the problem is who pays for it - I personally think that teams should. How much each should be responsible for I'm not sure but how can you expect someone to be professional if they are not paid as such. Now I'm not talking about making them millionaires over night but it should be a full time position with a respectable salary. That way there can be no question as to the dedication and time the job requires and whether or not it can be achieved.
The next thing to consider is that they are not infallible. They make mistakes although I'm sure that that would come as a surprise to most refs themselves who seem to think they ARE infallible. Refs - you DO make mistakes. Now we've cleared that up maybe we can start to think of solutions.
The main one that comes to mind and has been pondered over is video evidence and a second ref who can make remote decisions from that evidence. The main argument against it is that it will cause the game to stop and start continuously slowing it down. Another one is that it would undermine the referees decisions and that it would end up with EVERY decision being questioned and argued over i.e. the refs decision HAS to be final and this would contradict that.
My opinion is that video evidence does have its place in the game. The industry and money involved are just too big now. Wrong decisions can cost a club hundreds of thousands of pounds or more (especially if the wrong decisions end up costing promotion or cup progression). While video evidence can reduce that problem it's just not possible to solve - you can't get every decision right.
I think that for the sake of keeping the game running and not turning it into a circus you need to put in place limits. Use it only for major decisions and only when it's a close call. Things like goals that are disallowed for a close offside call or when sending offs can be somewhat questionable etc etc. These can be turning points in any game and as they involved the game stopping anyway what's another minute or two to make sure that the decision is the correct one? And as far as undermining the referee goes, I’ve seen plenty of linesmen in my time end up convincing the ref to overturn sometimes even reversing his decision so it already happens.
Now with the professional status and the extra help I think comes new added responsibility. If you'll pardon the phrase I think that most referees are "too far up their own a***s". They seem to have this God complex and the fact their decisions are rarely ever questioned by officials only adds to the problem.
I think they need to be reviewed and that serious complaints against their decisions should not only be looked into but if proven correct measures should be taken. Lets face it if you weren't doing your job properly would your boss just let you carry on without any repercussions? Refereeing is a job and there are standards that need to be met.
On a last note the people responsible for making the rules need to sit down and co-ordinate with the referees to decide exactly how each rule and directive should be interpreted. At the moment it appears that the guidelines are just too wide meaning every referee has to make up their own mind as to when each should be imposed. This is leading to one referee sending off a player that wouldn't even warrent a caution from another and frustration all round for players, managers, fans and even the referees themselves. Rather than deciding what new rule to add each season perhaps they should look at the ones already in place and outline some crystal clear guidelines.
But despite my loathing of the ref at a game I have to admit they do a very difficult job and when they aren't posing for the cameras or trying to be Mr cool they do it very well. I just think that if you are going to expect them to be professionals then you should treat them like it on all fronts.
Thanks for reading
Referees have a hard job even at lower levels. I play for a team in a third divison of a county league in Wales. Sometimes, are matches have no proper referee, so one of the managers does the refreeing.
One game, are coach was not there so one of are players who was not selected did the job of referee. This was the first time I have ever seen a referee push over a supporter before!
The ball went out for a throwing. The player came to throw it into play and it did not cross the line. The referee said it had and played on.
A supporter shouted to him and carried shouting at him, saying that the ball did not cross the line. A bit of abuse as well, and the referee ran over and swore at him and the supporter carried on.
The referee pushed him over. I was thinking at the time, I wish it was Di Canio being pushed over.
It was just like the ref being pushed over by Di Canio, the supporter stagged backwards and fell over.
The players had to kept the two apart!
It was very funny at the time.
One game, are coach was not there so one of are players who was not selected did the job of referee. This was the first time I have ever seen a referee push over a supporter before!
The ball went out for a throwing. The player came to throw it into play and it did not cross the line. The referee said it had and played on.
A supporter shouted to him and carried shouting at him, saying that the ball did not cross the line. A bit of abuse as well, and the referee ran over and swore at him and the supporter carried on.
The referee pushed him over. I was thinking at the time, I wish it was Di Canio being pushed over.
It was just like the ref being pushed over by Di Canio, the supporter stagged backwards and fell over.
The players had to kept the two apart!
It was very funny at the time.
Referees have a hard job even at lower levels. I play for a team in a third divison of a county league in Wales. Sometimes, are matches have no proper referee, so one of the managers does the refreeing.
One game, are coach was not there so one of are players who was not selected did the job of referee. This was the first time I have ever seen a referee push over a supporter before!
The ball went out for a throwing. The player came to throw it into play and it did not cross the line. The referee said it had and played on.
A supporter shouted to him and carried shouting at him, saying that the ball did not cross the line. A bit of abuse as well, and the referee ran over and swore at him and the supporter carried on.
The referee pushed him over. I was thinking at the time, I wish it was Di Canio being pushed over.
It was just like the ref being pushed over by Di Canio, the supporter stagged backwards and fell over.
The players had to kept the two apart!
One game, are coach was not there so one of are players who was not selected did the job of referee. This was the first time I have ever seen a referee push over a supporter before!
The ball went out for a throwing. The player came to throw it into play and it did not cross the line. The referee said it had and played on.
A supporter shouted to him and carried shouting at him, saying that the ball did not cross the line. A bit of abuse as well, and the referee ran over and swore at him and the supporter carried on.
The referee pushed him over. I was thinking at the time, I wish it was Di Canio being pushed over.
It was just like the ref being pushed over by Di Canio, the supporter stagged backwards and fell over.
The players had to kept the two apart!
Nice topic! Although some of the stuff I dont agree with :P
erm... Referees do have a hard job, but then so do Doctors, Lawyers and most other jobs. Referees are getting paid to ref and if they make a mistake they should admit it like any normal person.
Infact lots of professions to allow "errors". If a doctor "accidentally" put someones heart in their arm by mistake their would be quite an outcry and he would no doubt get sacked. If a ref makes a really bad mistake that costs a team 3 points, should they be sacked?
OK maybe the doctor example wasnt such a good one! :-D
erm... Referees do have a hard job, but then so do Doctors, Lawyers and most other jobs. Referees are getting paid to ref and if they make a mistake they should admit it like any normal person.
Infact lots of professions to allow "errors". If a doctor "accidentally" put someones heart in their arm by mistake their would be quite an outcry and he would no doubt get sacked. If a ref makes a really bad mistake that costs a team 3 points, should they be sacked?
OK maybe the doctor example wasnt such a good one! :-D
That's an interesting topic!
Sticking up for the referees eh???
Yeah, there are probably a load of other things that would have to be sorted be for the ref's situation can be dealt with, but something really does need to be done soon!
Maybe 2 refs on one pitch, 1 in each half??
Sticking up for the referees eh???
Yeah, there are probably a load of other things that would have to be sorted be for the ref's situation can be dealt with, but something really does need to be done soon!
Maybe 2 refs on one pitch, 1 in each half??
Of course I've dealt out my fair share of abuse at referees who are completely biased and useless. They don't have a clue and every decision is always against your team. To a certain degree I have actually seen some of that kind of behavior but not very often.
But come on seriously it's all part of the game. The real debate is really away from the pitch (so to speak) and comes down to the fact that football is no longer a game it's an industry - and for some a very profitable one.
Refereeing must be one of the hardest jobs around, unless that watch suddenly becomes a time machine or they develop a collection of around 6 eyes equally distributed around their head how can they be expected to always get it right? Even with satellite replays your average armchair supporter doesn’t! But unless they do there will always be room for improvement just as in any job in any industry. There are a lot of attitudes and rules that need changing before any referee ever fulfills their professional potential.
The first is exactly that, referees need to be made professional especially at the top levels. It seems bizarre to me that it's not already the case, clubs seem so obsessed with smashing the next transfer record that the men they depend on to ensure a fair game and result are neglected. I guess the problem is who pays for it - I personally think that teams should. How much each should be responsible for I'm not sure but how can you expect someone to be professional if they are not paid as such. Now I'm not talking about making them millionaires over night but it should be a full time position with a respectable salary. That way there can be no question as to the dedication and time the job requires and whether or not it can be achieved.
The next thing to consider is that they are not infallible. They make mistakes although I'm sure that that would come as a surprise to most refs themselves who seem to think they ARE infallible. Refs - you DO make mistakes. Now we've cleared that up maybe we can start to think of solutions.
The main one that comes to mind and has been pondered over is video evidence and a second ref who can make remote decisions from that evidence. The main argument against it is that it will cause the game to stop and start continuously slowing it down. Another one is that it would undermine the referees decisions and that it would end up with EVERY decision being questioned and argued over i.e. the refs decision HAS to be final and this would contradict that.
My opinion is that video evidence does have its place in the game. The industry and money involved are just too big now. Wrong decisions can cost a club hundreds of thousands of pounds or more (especially if the wrong decisions end up costing promotion or cup progression). While video evidence can reduce that problem it's just not possible to solve - you can't get every decision right.
I think that for the sake of keeping the game running and not turning it into a circus you need to put in place limits. Use it only for major decisions and only when it's a close call. Things like goals that are disallowed for a close offside call or when sending offs can be somewhat questionable etc etc. These can be turning points in any game and as they involved the game stopping anyway what's another minute or two to make sure that the decision is the correct one? And as far as undermining the referee goes, I’ve seen plenty of linesmen in my time end up convincing the ref to overturn sometimes even reversing his decision so it already happens.
Now with the professional status and the extra help I think comes new added responsibility. If you'll pardon the phrase I think that most referees are "too far up their own a***s". They seem to have this God complex and the fact their decisions are rarely ever questioned by officials only adds to the problem.
I think they need to be reviewed and that serious complaints against their decisions should not only be looked into but if proven correct measures should be taken. Lets face it if you weren't doing your job properly would your boss just let you carry on without any repercussions? Refereeing is a job and there are standards that need to be met.
On a last note the people responsible for making the rules need to sit down and co-ordinate with the referees to decide exactly how each rule and directive should be interpreted. At the moment it appears that the guidelines are just too wide meaning every referee has to make up their own mind as to when each should be imposed. This is leading to one referee sending off a player that wouldn't even warrent a caution from another and frustration all round for players, managers, fans and even the referees themselves. Rather than deciding what new rule to add each season perhaps they should look at the ones already in place and outline some crystal clear guidelines.
But despite my loathing of the ref at a game I have to admit they do a very difficult job and when they aren't posing for the cameras or trying to be Mr cool they do it very well. I just think that if you are going to expect them to be professionals then you should treat them like it on all fronts.
Thanks for reading
But come on seriously it's all part of the game. The real debate is really away from the pitch (so to speak) and comes down to the fact that football is no longer a game it's an industry - and for some a very profitable one.
Refereeing must be one of the hardest jobs around, unless that watch suddenly becomes a time machine or they develop a collection of around 6 eyes equally distributed around their head how can they be expected to always get it right? Even with satellite replays your average armchair supporter doesn’t! But unless they do there will always be room for improvement just as in any job in any industry. There are a lot of attitudes and rules that need changing before any referee ever fulfills their professional potential.
The first is exactly that, referees need to be made professional especially at the top levels. It seems bizarre to me that it's not already the case, clubs seem so obsessed with smashing the next transfer record that the men they depend on to ensure a fair game and result are neglected. I guess the problem is who pays for it - I personally think that teams should. How much each should be responsible for I'm not sure but how can you expect someone to be professional if they are not paid as such. Now I'm not talking about making them millionaires over night but it should be a full time position with a respectable salary. That way there can be no question as to the dedication and time the job requires and whether or not it can be achieved.
The next thing to consider is that they are not infallible. They make mistakes although I'm sure that that would come as a surprise to most refs themselves who seem to think they ARE infallible. Refs - you DO make mistakes. Now we've cleared that up maybe we can start to think of solutions.
The main one that comes to mind and has been pondered over is video evidence and a second ref who can make remote decisions from that evidence. The main argument against it is that it will cause the game to stop and start continuously slowing it down. Another one is that it would undermine the referees decisions and that it would end up with EVERY decision being questioned and argued over i.e. the refs decision HAS to be final and this would contradict that.
My opinion is that video evidence does have its place in the game. The industry and money involved are just too big now. Wrong decisions can cost a club hundreds of thousands of pounds or more (especially if the wrong decisions end up costing promotion or cup progression). While video evidence can reduce that problem it's just not possible to solve - you can't get every decision right.
I think that for the sake of keeping the game running and not turning it into a circus you need to put in place limits. Use it only for major decisions and only when it's a close call. Things like goals that are disallowed for a close offside call or when sending offs can be somewhat questionable etc etc. These can be turning points in any game and as they involved the game stopping anyway what's another minute or two to make sure that the decision is the correct one? And as far as undermining the referee goes, I’ve seen plenty of linesmen in my time end up convincing the ref to overturn sometimes even reversing his decision so it already happens.
Now with the professional status and the extra help I think comes new added responsibility. If you'll pardon the phrase I think that most referees are "too far up their own a***s". They seem to have this God complex and the fact their decisions are rarely ever questioned by officials only adds to the problem.
I think they need to be reviewed and that serious complaints against their decisions should not only be looked into but if proven correct measures should be taken. Lets face it if you weren't doing your job properly would your boss just let you carry on without any repercussions? Refereeing is a job and there are standards that need to be met.
On a last note the people responsible for making the rules need to sit down and co-ordinate with the referees to decide exactly how each rule and directive should be interpreted. At the moment it appears that the guidelines are just too wide meaning every referee has to make up their own mind as to when each should be imposed. This is leading to one referee sending off a player that wouldn't even warrent a caution from another and frustration all round for players, managers, fans and even the referees themselves. Rather than deciding what new rule to add each season perhaps they should look at the ones already in place and outline some crystal clear guidelines.
But despite my loathing of the ref at a game I have to admit they do a very difficult job and when they aren't posing for the cameras or trying to be Mr cool they do it very well. I just think that if you are going to expect them to be professionals then you should treat them like it on all fronts.
Thanks for reading