Respect. It’s a four letter word.
I wish we had video replays...
It’s unlikely Aretha Franklin was much of a soccer fan – let alone appreciative of the hapless officials – when she asked us to give her respect, but you sense the men in black may soon need to resort to blasting out the soul classic before the game to get their message across.
The refereeing debate has once again been pushed to the forefront in recent weeks, headed by the bizarre goal that never was in the Watford v Reading game, along with a few iffy penalty decisions, and the reaction of Middlesborough players following Emmanuel Pogatetz’s horror tackle on Rodrigo Possebon.
Already the FA’s respect campaign looks to be stuttering.
Managers roll their eyes talk of giving respect to the referee when he gets the decisions right, while barely a game seems to go by without Andy Gray launching himself into a supersonic apoplexy over a couple of 50-50 decisions before letting the word ‘respect’ hang in the air, like an expert prosecutor concluding his unshakeable case to the jury with a damning final piece of evidence.
Some may say they have a point – if the referee can’t get key decisions right, why should he or she get any respect? But if the man upholding the law continues to be pillared every week, the centre of the game itself is in anger of collapsing, and football, as a sport, does itself no favours by continuing to elevate the officials to the level of Britain’s Most Wanted.
Tackling the root of the problem
It’s no secret that football has a problem with retaining referees, with as many quitting as signing up each year, many of them citing abuse as the main reason for hanging up their whistle. This, in turn, has a knock on effect from bottom to top as it will take longer to train top-class referees and means much time and money is devoted to volunteers who turn their back on the profession after deciding it’s simply not worth it.
Although the cameras catch everything in the Premiership and the rest of the Football League, magnifying the worst instances of abuse (think Manchester United players surrounding Andy D’Urso, Javier Mascherano’s sending off last season, and Paulo Di Canio’s petulant push on Paul Alcock) it’s actually at the lower levels where the abuse is greatest. Just over a week ago, a player was jailed and banned for life for knocking out the referee during a Sunday league game.
But lower level leagues have seized the initiative, so while pundits like Gray and the likes of Ferguson, Hughes and Bruce do their best to question the respect campaign, many regional FAs and non-league officials have stopped talking and simply got on with it.
As per rugby, only captains can approach the referee over match incidents and, at parks and youth level, spectators and subs are taped off away from the pitch to prevent abuse. There’s also the obligatory handshake before the game. Meanwhile, Conference chairman Brian Lee sent a warning shot towards teams at non-league’s top tier warning them bad behaviour on the pitch would not be tolerated, particularly swearing directed at the officials.
However some, including Graham Poll, have argued that such moves should be applied at the top level of the game as well to ensure respect filters down through all levels of the game.
Swearing by the ref’s decision
Poll could have probably gone further with his demands and asked that everybody involved in the game did their bit to make respect work – players, managers, the crowd, the media, the authorities, and, yes, the referees themselves.
The likes of Gray are some of the biggest offenders the undermining of the respect campaign. Pundits are as much role models and ambassadors for the game, so it’s somewhat depressing when the ex-pro brought into summarize offers a continual angry critique of any decision by the referee that offends their sensibilities.
Although Gray is not the worst offender for this – examples can be heard across the spectrum – he is by far the most regular and high-profile and has made his rants towards the ref part of his stock-in-trade. Listening to his commentary at both Everton v Liverpool and Wigan v Manchester City, you’d have been forgiven for thinking the respective referees should have been on trial at the Haig for war crimes. Until media pundits take Respect seriously, much of the rest of the country will have difficulty leaping on board.
Managers too seem to view Respect as a new form of swear word that can be strategically deployed during post-match interviews to make their comments seem balanced but only serve to undermine the cause further.
And yes, referees can help themselves by applying more consistency to their decisions, and striving for accuracy – both will help when it comes to supporting the Respect argument off the pitch. Speaking to the managers and captains before the game and reminding them of their duties, and an opportunity to explain decisions to players, fans, and media alike after the game would help as well. It may even help cut out some of the recklessly dangerous tackles we’ve seen in recent weeks from the likes of Pogatetz and Danny Guthrie.
It is unfortunate that there have been some high profile mistakes in recent weeks, not least the aforementioned phantom goal in the Watford v Reading game (although the Reading players could have easily squared matters themselves). Thankfully, such monumental mistakes are, like assaults or Di Canio’s push on Alcock, preciously rare. One large, bad decision does not mean there is a crisis in qualities of referees.
One of the joys of football is you can show 50 different people the same match and they’ll all come away with 50 different opinions on every aspect of the game. The same is true for refereeing decisions. The men in black are only human, will make mistakes and don’t have the benefit of endless immediate replays to clear up confusion.
But the more marginal (and even not so marginal, like Ashley Cole and his teammates’ reaction to his booking against Spurs last season)) decisions will provoke heated discussion, which is why respecting the ref’s decision is so vital.
It would be interesting to see how Premier League managers, players and pundits would react to watching lower level referees. The gap in quality between the likes of Steve Bennett and Mike Riley compared to their counterparts in the Conference and below is high – and understandably so. Put the two side by side and it becomes easier to see why they’ve risen to the top. It’s also noticable that the best refs in the Conference get quickly moved up the pyramid, which suggests the FA’s system of assessment is working.
Learning from others
Much has been made of the idea of placing more responsibility upon the captain in the respect campaign; only that one player is allowed to communicate to the officials about match incidents. It’s an idea taken from rugby and there’s much else the oval ball game could teach football.
The sport is arguably more physical than football, and the rules can be even more confusing with referees decisions over fouls, penalties and infringements often even more debatable. Yet rugby doesn’t seem to have the same problem that football does with respecting the officials and it’s clear where the authority lies on the pitch. The ‘captain only’ rule plays a large part in this.
A TV video judge has also improved matters considerably as well (although, as England will well testify after the last World Cup Final, there will always be some tries that are too tight to call even with video evidence) and the likes of Arsene Wenger have long been advocates of such technology.
The worry is video replays would move football towards a more stop-start nature, but this needn’t be the case. A TV referee needn’t be called upon for every decision, just those where the referee cannot be sure and requests a second opinion, or where a decision is immediately and obviously wrong, such as the phantom goal that never was. Players may also be less inclined to dive or lunge in if they think there’s less chance they’ll get away with it.
But ultimately, it’s within the game that football should look for a prime example on how to treat the game properly. The late Brian Clough may divide opinion over many issues, but when it came to discipline his teams were second to none.
Rarely would you see one of Clough’s teams surround the referee or spending several minutes complaining and swearing in the direction of the officials after a decision went against them. Clough simply would not accept that behaviour from his players, and encouraged them to direct their frustrations towards winning the game. Today’s managers could learn a lot of Old Big ‘Ead.
Well said.
It’s clear that Respect is not being taken seriously in certain quarters, and I’m pretty certain it won’t last much longer before some outburst from a player or manager makes it so laughable that it disintegrates.
We simply weren’t ready for it. It’s beginning to look like begging on the part of the referees, it was all too sudden and in hindsight it was always going to struggle to gain traction with the likes of Gray and Ferguson unlikely to change their ways.
I’m actually in the middle of writing a five-parter about refereeing, the first part of which is due to be posted tonight. You might find it interesting – but you’ll disagree with the slant.
Chris – drop the link here when it’s up.
I think the Respect campaign is long overdue, but 1) it needs to be much stricter and 2) it needs to apply to everyone from top to bottom. The FA need to stop worrying about their image for once and take stronger action to set things right.
Good article. Raised many valid points. And that last bit about Brian Clough was the cherry on top. I remember him criticizing Wenger and the Boys after their unbeaten season, for the team’s disciplinary record. Sometime I think Wenger took that advice a bit too much into his heart.
As for the solution I think it is a good idea to copy Rugby on that only the team captain should be allowed to complain to the referee. I mean, I do admire characters like Keane and Viera but some good behaviour should be encouraged on the pitch and it should start with the team captains.
first the quality of refreeing should be improved b’fore thinking about RESPECT …..RESPECT would come automatically with QUALITY….there are not enogh steve bennet’s around and don’t ever call mike riley a good refree….he is a shame …..for once he gave Cole an yellow against spurs for that horrendous challenge and behaviour…..now a red for cahill for a simple foul(yellow would have been acceptable)….see the consistency within the league thyself…for all the premier league money the standard of refreeing is still at a low level….we have good ones like bennet and mavericks like rob stiles and riley….ther is no consistency…..
Mr. andrews, for an instance put urself in the boots of a bolton player…..they were fighting tooth and nail …..but to be done by a refreeing decision of that stupidity, doesnt it hurt you…..like a disciplinary panel for players a panel should be set up for refs and they should be made to pay for their howlers……Let’s see whether Ashley cole would turn his ass to Pedro Collina…he wold be sent home the next sec……not enough Collina’s in the league
I’ve seen some shocking decisions in my time. The ref who sent off our goalkeeper for picking up the ball inside his box. Then there was the time one of Exeter’s players got elbowed in the face in a tackle. The ref allowed play to continue, despite blood streaming from the player’s face. The opposition scored to level the scores. A win from that game would have kept us up. So, yes, I’ve seen some shockers.
I haven’t seen the Bolton penalty, so I can’t comment on that, but it’s interesting you bring up the Cole and Cahill incidents. I was at the game where Ashley Cole got a yellow and my first reaction was it was just that – not a great challenge, but just a yellow. Watching it again on TV later, and there was a definite case for it being a red.
I watched the Mersyside derby on the TV and my first instinct on seeing Cahill’s tackle was ‘red card’. Watching replays again I think you could make a case either way for red or yellow.
Which brings me back to a few points in the article. Everybody sees the game differently and one man’s red with be another’s yellow. The referee, also, is only human and has to make a decision without the aid of countless TV replays. It’s why I’d like to see them introduced if the referee wants a second opinion on a red card or a penalty (much as the umpire will do for a contentious wicket or ref for a try their not sure about).
As for the training – yes, we need more top level referees but, as the article says, given that as many refs are quitting as are being taken on, we’re probably losing some of those who could make it to the top level.
Referees will make unpopular decisions week in week out. That will happen with any ref, no matter how good they are. That doesn’t excuse, though, sites like Terry leading his team to bellow in the referee’s face (and, in the Cole game, had the baying mob of Chelsea players got their way, Cole would have escaped scott free. Is that respect?)
The refs are the people in charge and without them we wouldn’t have football full stop. Showing them respect will tighten up the game, and will hopefully encourage referees to up their own game.
As I’ve said, if we want respect and to up the standard across the game, everybody needs to play their part and take responsibility – pundits, managers, fans, players and referees alike. But, as Chris and Ahmed say, we’re unlikely to see a change unless respect is enforced and leading figures start taking it seriously.
Referees can run around with an iPod and look at the video that the editor sends to the iPod.
yes i do agree with ur point Mr.Andrews that pundits are too cynical in their views while commenting or during the game round up…..they too should understand the spate of the refs….but my point is that there are double standards in refreeing here i.e. there are extremely good refs and notoriously stupid refs…..they are not consistent and sometimes i do feel that the art of tackling may be lost…..we may not see tigrish tacklers like keane or viera anymore…..bad refrees may lead us to this….if u had seen the chelsea and man utd game u can understand what i am speaking…if keane was still there he would have been sent off within 15 mins
my question to the author is:
1ok…the respect campaign should be imposed strictly….but what if the refs make major goofs like the ghost goal by reading….should they not be punished harder…if that is so there is no need for respect campaign as such as the players themselves will respect the ref
Here’s the first part of the Google juice crea…sorry blog post I mentioned: http://www.twofootedtackle.com/2008/10/blueprint-for-better-
refereeing-part-1.html
Or even here http://tinyurl.com/4a95q3
Respect should be earned. A look at Rob Styles face after he has given one of his stupid penalty decisions is not to give respect but a hard punch on his face. Players train so hard every week only for the faggots in black to come along and destroy the entire hard work these players have put in.Any player no matter which level he plays in will lose his mind if these idiots who are suppose to watch whats going on the field can’t even get simple facts right.
I agree with 11.
You dont enforce respect.
YOU EARN IT!!!
I think it’s important to make our criticism (which, in my view, is often deserved) of referees as constructive as possible. Simply slagging them off isn’t good enough anymore.
Respect does have to be earned and not enforced, but I suspect the authorities are forcing the initiative on the referees as well as everyone else – at least with the word ‘Respect’ taking centre stage.
I think most referees would agree they need to earn respect. But they don’t deserve the abuse we give them either.
Whether they’re capable of earning that respect without a complete change in structure is questionable.
The respect campaign is a myth
I quite like @6’s suggestion, and I don’t think it’s too far off a future.
@11 & 12 so you think it’s acceptable for players to use violence against referees if they get decisions wrong?
@7 Just as you get good players and bad players, you get good refs and bad refs. And from my experience of the lower leagues, the good refs do get moved higher up the leagues. I don’t think tackling will be lost, but ever since the Eduardo tackle I think refs have been more concious of clamping down on the studs-up two footer. Pogatetz’s tackle probably goes a long way towards enforcing that in their minds (and you can bet Ferguson would have been the first to defend his player if the situation had been reversed).
Yes, there should be more consistency towards refs who make mistakes. But I also don’t think that – hard as it may be to take – we should be crying to hand, draw and quarter the ref after one bad mistake. Sure, punish, fine or demote them for a brief period, but unless they’re serially bad period then view it as a similar punishment a straight red would draw for a footballer.
I think what it’s easy to lose sight of is that the referee has to make a snap judgement when an incident occurs, which is why I’d like to see video technology introduced.
I think, when comments are made such as ‘referees have never been worse’ or ‘in the old days player x would have gotten away with that’, it’s easy to lose sight of how the game has changed. Back then, we didn’t have endless video replays highlighting their mistakes, or pundits squabbling over the rights or wrongs of the ref’s performance. Players could get away with a lot worse tackles that we see today. Whilst I’ve criticised TV pundits, I think in some regards, the advent of Sky Sports has helped up the standard of refereeing and made the game safer, which is a good thing.
I genuinely believe that if you give refs respect, there’ll be less likely to make a pressured, wrong decision.
That said I agree with Chris (@13). Refs definitely don’t deserve the abuse they get, even if some of the criticism is justified. There need to be wholesale changes, and the respect campaign needs to be more than just lip service. I can’t see this happening though.
The video ref would be a much better solution.
You can enforce respect by players and officials, and it may be a good idea. You won’t enforce respect by fans for refs making certain decisions. That’s most important.
BTW, I strongly disagree with the idea that the TV commentator should be barred criticizing decisions. That’s nonsense. That’s against free speech. Players and officials yes, they are under the rule of the game, the ref is like a policeman to them. Commentators may express their point of view. It’s England, not Saudi Arabia. Next thing we know, the TV coverage itself won’t be permitted to present dubious plays from all angles so as to not show the refs’ monumental errors.
The iPod suggestion – I don’t think we’ll ever see this. It would be a step in the right direction, and the bosses have repeatedly shown they don’t want this. If they ever were to change their mind, there are probably better ways for video assistance.
“Just as you get good players and bad players, you get good refs and bad refs.” – yes, except that if the player is bad, he and his team will suffer, whereas if the ref is bad, some poor team will who aren’t at fault.
This whole debate is nonsense. It’s been going on for deacdes and it all comes down to human nature.
As long as there is a single referee on the pitch there will always be mistakes (human nature).
As long as it’s a high stakes, very competitive game, players and managers will get emotional, some more than others, depending on their make-up (human nature).
As long as there are fans they will take their biased views on every incident and thrive on the controversey (human nature).
Take the human side out of football (impossible) and there’s nothing left.
Cut the bullshit and let’s get on with it.
> Take the human side out of football (impossible) and there’s nothing left.
There’s a little too much of it for my taste. The video ref wouldn’t take it all out, of course, but maybe just bring it to the right level.
Actually, reading back it does seem what I’ve written suggests pundits shouldn’t be allowed to criticise refs or the respect campaign, which is definitely not what I believe in. Far from it. They’ve got as much right to say what they like about refs as I have.
But on the other hand, it does irk me somewhat that some pundits seemed to view respect as a joke from the start and do their best to undermine it. Ho hum.
Anyway, hands up who’s looking forward to Joe Kinnear’s reaction to the first bad refereeing decision against his side?
> But on the other hand, it does irk me somewhat that some pundits seemed to view respect as a joke from the start and do their best to undermine it. Ho hum.
You probably have a point here, but you know, that’s how it goes. He’s free to call it as he sees it and you’re free to do the same about him on Soccerlens.
I think the best the FA can do is enforce it seriously on the pitch and ignore the pundits.
I like what you wrote at the end about video help. I for one think it could go a lot farther that that, without significantly affecting the game flow. But they could begin with a more limited approach. But they most likely won’t do it, not very soon anyway.