Being a bit of an anorak on these matters and a football obsessive I was watching Macclesfield play Chelmsford City last night on ESPN.
It was quite a good cup tie which Macclesfield edged by the only goal of the game. During the first half the linesman the linesman made a good decision and co-commentator David Pleat was full of praise, saying something to the effect that “I hope he takes no notice of all the criticism the officials get these days from the media and continues to enjoy the game.”
In the second half Macclesfield had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside and the same commentators scrutinised the ruling time and time again before sending the touchline reporter to stick a microphone in Gary Simpson, the Macclesfield Town managers’ face and asking him for his reaction.
This, it seems to me, is an ever increasing trait. It’s always somebody else criticising Referees, never the person who is actually doing it.
Harry Redknapp was at it at the weekend after his side lost at Stoke. “I never complain about referees' decisions - I have not done it in 30 years of management, never,” he said.
"But today, I'm afraid, he got some badly wrong. I felt he was quite enjoying giving us nothing.”
For this comment about Chris Foy – which to be fair is pretty awful – Redknapp has been warned about his future conduct, but it his assertion that he “never complains” about Referees is the one which we at Referees Jobs want to take issue with here.
How about this last season about Howard Webb? "I've never been one for criticising referees - it's never been my game - but it was a blatant penalty. If you get the penalty, it could make a big difference."
Or this outburst about Andy D’Urso? "I just question the referee’s overall performance which I thought was inept. Every game I see this season has seven or eight bookings. I think it’s frightening."
Or finally, when he said this about Steve Tanner in 2008? "I never walk in after games and complain about a referee but this guy is scary. He’s a poor referee and I’ve seen him make a mess of so many games. He’s really not good enough."
So, we can conclude that, for a fella who claims he doesn’t criticise referees he seems to do it a lot. But not, strangely enough, after the game at Stoke last season when the same referee missed a ball going way behind the line in the last minute, where it was then handled by Peter Crouch. After that match the Spurs boss said this: “The ball may well have gone over the line, but it was a foul on the keeper before it.”
Thus invoking the other fallback position of the Manager, that of “two wrongs making a right.”
Of course referee Foy and his team didn’t have their finest hour on Sunday and he got some decisions wrong. But then so did Harry Redknapp and his defence. I am happy to say that Mr. Foy has not been taken off the Premier League matches this weekend and will be officiating at Craven Cottage.
It is worth pointing out, though that it isn’t just football that places refs under pressure. Anyone who saw the World Title fight between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson saw referee Joe Cooper deduct two points from Khan, who lost his titles.
The Bolton fighter has appeared on just about every new bulletin there has been all week, telling everyone he was cheated and demanding a re-match at a neutral venue so it is “fair.”
Referee Cooper was entirely right in what he did. He repeatedly warned Khan for pushing, and Khan kept pushing, so what was the official supposed to do?
It can only be concluded that being a Ref in whatever sport is a tremendously tricky and largely thankless task and one which is made more difficult by constant criticism, especially from those who “never criticise."
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Thoughts on the Weekend
Our old friend inconsistency was at the forefront of everyone’s mind again this week.
We have previously argued in these blogs that inconsistency can be explained away by human nature – and again we want the refs to be human, don’t we? And that remains the case but equally, even at Referee Jobs, if a ref gets it wrong then we have to say so.
And so it is that we have to say that Mike Dean got his decision wrong when decided to only give David Luiz a yellow card when he hauled back Demba Ba.
Luiz clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity when he fouled the Newcastle man and, as such, he should have been sent off.
This wasn’t the only mistake of the day either, as a little later in the afternoon Stuart Attwell – who has been no stranger to controversy in his short career – sent off Bolton’s Gary Cahill against Spurs.
It was debateable whether Cahill was the last man, and indeed his red card has subsequently been rescinded, but still the knives were out for the refs.
Unfortunately for referees everything they do is highly scrutinised, and they know this when they sign on for the job. It is easy for the media and for Managers to blame the officials – and the sight of Owen Coyle marching onto the pitch at White Hart Lane to remonstrate with Attwell was unedifying to say the least.
Bolton would most probably have lost that game if it had stayed 11 v 11. The form they have shown this season indicates that they were no match for Spurs, and as we have again argued on these blogs over the last few months, it really is getting to the stage when we have to question the point of the post-match press conference.
I was thinking this again on Monday when Kenny Dalglish (who we have mentioned quite a bit on these pages) said that “decisions went against us” in the wake of the defeat against Fulham. A game they lost, just like the other games during which King Kenny has blamed the ref.
I watched the match on the TV and Referee Kevin Friend absolutely did not cost them the match. What cost them the match was their own wasteful finishing; you know of the two strikers that cost them £50 odd million, and errors from their England right back and world class goalkeeper.
As for the sending off of Jay Spearing, it might have been harsh, but if Mr. Friend deems the tackle to unnecessarily aggressive then he has to produce the red card.
It’s in the rules.
And those rules are something that the Dalglish’s and the Coyle’s of this world might do well to have a brief acquaintance with
We have previously argued in these blogs that inconsistency can be explained away by human nature – and again we want the refs to be human, don’t we? And that remains the case but equally, even at Referee Jobs, if a ref gets it wrong then we have to say so.
And so it is that we have to say that Mike Dean got his decision wrong when decided to only give David Luiz a yellow card when he hauled back Demba Ba.
Luiz clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity when he fouled the Newcastle man and, as such, he should have been sent off.
This wasn’t the only mistake of the day either, as a little later in the afternoon Stuart Attwell – who has been no stranger to controversy in his short career – sent off Bolton’s Gary Cahill against Spurs.
It was debateable whether Cahill was the last man, and indeed his red card has subsequently been rescinded, but still the knives were out for the refs.
Unfortunately for referees everything they do is highly scrutinised, and they know this when they sign on for the job. It is easy for the media and for Managers to blame the officials – and the sight of Owen Coyle marching onto the pitch at White Hart Lane to remonstrate with Attwell was unedifying to say the least.
Bolton would most probably have lost that game if it had stayed 11 v 11. The form they have shown this season indicates that they were no match for Spurs, and as we have again argued on these blogs over the last few months, it really is getting to the stage when we have to question the point of the post-match press conference.
I was thinking this again on Monday when Kenny Dalglish (who we have mentioned quite a bit on these pages) said that “decisions went against us” in the wake of the defeat against Fulham. A game they lost, just like the other games during which King Kenny has blamed the ref.
I watched the match on the TV and Referee Kevin Friend absolutely did not cost them the match. What cost them the match was their own wasteful finishing; you know of the two strikers that cost them £50 odd million, and errors from their England right back and world class goalkeeper.
As for the sending off of Jay Spearing, it might have been harsh, but if Mr. Friend deems the tackle to unnecessarily aggressive then he has to produce the red card.
It’s in the rules.
And those rules are something that the Dalglish’s and the Coyle’s of this world might do well to have a brief acquaintance with
Friday, 2 December 2011
Football As A Force For Good - The RefereeJobs Christmas Campaign
The tragic death of Gary Speed threw into sharp focus the problem of depression in sport.
It’s not something that people often think about. Why would these people get depressed? They have everything. Lots of money, big houses, fame.
At least that’s how it seems. The answer obviously is a lot more complex than that.
The answer of course is that everyone, in any walk of life, whatever their situation can be struck down with the disease of depression.
The refereeing community was left shocked last week by the plight of Babak Rafati. The German official tried to take his own life before the Bundesliga Match between Cologne and Mainz 05.
Mr. Rafati slit his wrists but thankfully survived his ordeal. He was found by his two linesman and German Paramedic’s have praised the pair, saying their prompt actions saved his life.
Happily Mr. Rafati is making a full recovery, with his father saying: “He said he was sorry. He said he loved me, I am very happy he’s ok.”
Babak is a veteran of 84 Bundesliga games and has been refereeing in the Professional game since 1997, and he plans, once he is better, to make a return to the game.
The PFA have produced a booklet in the wake of Mr Speed’s terrible passing aimed at helping players cope with depression and the Director of the Sporting Chance Clinic, an organisation aimed at helping footballers who are suffering from addictions and other types of mental illness has reported that 10 Premier League Footballers have contacted them seeking help.
Football is a tremendous force for good. At Referees Jobs we have seen first hand just how it can bring families closer together, how lifelong friendships can be formed through a mutual love of the game and just what a positive influence football – whether playing or officiating – can be.
The PFA’S message was that “no one in football needs to feel alone.” And that is something that Referee Jobs passionately believes in.
That is why we have decided to try and do our bit to help and we are urging you to do the same.
We are backing the Samaritans Christmas Wishes Programme. A tremendous initiative it encourages people to leave messages throughout the Festive Period which can then be read by those who are less fortunate.
It is sometimes easy to think that football is far more important than it actually is. Football can feel like – as Bill Shankley is reputed to have said (although the actual words are often misquoted) – “a matter of life and death.”
As this weeks tragic and awful events have shown it is anything but.
It’s not something that people often think about. Why would these people get depressed? They have everything. Lots of money, big houses, fame.
At least that’s how it seems. The answer obviously is a lot more complex than that.
The answer of course is that everyone, in any walk of life, whatever their situation can be struck down with the disease of depression.
The refereeing community was left shocked last week by the plight of Babak Rafati. The German official tried to take his own life before the Bundesliga Match between Cologne and Mainz 05.
Mr. Rafati slit his wrists but thankfully survived his ordeal. He was found by his two linesman and German Paramedic’s have praised the pair, saying their prompt actions saved his life.
Happily Mr. Rafati is making a full recovery, with his father saying: “He said he was sorry. He said he loved me, I am very happy he’s ok.”
Babak is a veteran of 84 Bundesliga games and has been refereeing in the Professional game since 1997, and he plans, once he is better, to make a return to the game.
The PFA have produced a booklet in the wake of Mr Speed’s terrible passing aimed at helping players cope with depression and the Director of the Sporting Chance Clinic, an organisation aimed at helping footballers who are suffering from addictions and other types of mental illness has reported that 10 Premier League Footballers have contacted them seeking help.
Football is a tremendous force for good. At Referees Jobs we have seen first hand just how it can bring families closer together, how lifelong friendships can be formed through a mutual love of the game and just what a positive influence football – whether playing or officiating – can be.
The PFA’S message was that “no one in football needs to feel alone.” And that is something that Referee Jobs passionately believes in.
That is why we have decided to try and do our bit to help and we are urging you to do the same.
We are backing the Samaritans Christmas Wishes Programme. A tremendous initiative it encourages people to leave messages throughout the Festive Period which can then be read by those who are less fortunate.
It is sometimes easy to think that football is far more important than it actually is. Football can feel like – as Bill Shankley is reputed to have said (although the actual words are often misquoted) – “a matter of life and death.”
As this weeks tragic and awful events have shown it is anything but.
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