Reading RA - From the Middle

Referees have human rights too

There was a story going about early last summer that involved Snow White and football. Snow White was concerned one day, when the seven dwarfs had not returned home. She rushed off to the mine where they worked to discover that there had been a cave in, no doubt caused by the dwarfs constant whistling. As Snow White leaned over the large crater, she heard a voice from below shouting
The Neville brothers for England'. 'At least,' she said, 'we know that Dopey is still alive'.

I suppose I laughed at the joke, because I've never believed Gary Neville to be an international footballer. His comments were no laughing matter however, when he appeared on one of the inevitable pundit panels that TV companies indulge in, when there is a big football occasion. He defended his Manchester United team mate Roy Keane, who had been sent home from the World Cup by the Irish FA. Keane, he claimed, was a straight talker, and Mick McCarthy, the
Irish Manager, should have taken what he said.

According to the newspapers at the time, McCarthy had taken the democratic step of calling a team meeting for players to air their grievances over their travelling arrangements and training facilities. Keane, instead, launched into an abusive personal attack on McCarthy, denigrating his ability as a player and his performance as a manager. 'I was not prepared to take that from anyone' McCarthy quite rightly said. 'No manager would take that level of abuse'.

I'm sure that football club managers up and down the country would agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments, for such behaviour would destroy their authority. And yet many of them seem quite prepared to abuse referees and assistant referees when decisions go against them. This is something, quite rightly, which the FA does not condone. Managers who overstep the mark are fined and very often suspended for a period from watching the game from the
technical area, or the dugout as it often known. They are forced to watch matches from the stand.

We can all think of managers who have had this restriction placed upon them. John Gregory, for instance, who visited the Madejski with Derby County last week has had his fair share of suspensions. Last season, although admitting that his behaviour to the assistant referee was wrong, threatened to take the FA to court. 'I have taken legal advice and I am advised that this could be a restraint of trade' he said.

Graeme Souness, manager of Blackburn Rovers, is another who is
no stranger to this restriction. Following his latest altercation he says he is going to appeal if he is banned once again from the touchline. Not to the FA or the British Courts of Justice but to the European Court of Human Rights. 'It is my human right,' he says, 'to be in the dugout, to be able to bark out orders to my team'.

Presumably he also thinks he has the human right to abuse referees and their assistants. What about the human rights of the referee and his assistants? Do they not have the right to enjoy the game; don't they have the right not to be abused by club officials, without any form of sanction being available?

Personally I've always thought one of the worst places to watch a match must be from ground level alongside the pitch. Managers would see far more from a few rows back in the stand. And why do players have to be given instructions every few minutes? It will be interesting to see if Graeme Souness carries out his threat and if he does, what the ruling of the European Court of Human
Rights will be.

If they rule against the restrictions the FA can impose on managers who abuse officials, then we really will know that Dopey still lives.

Dick Sawdon Smith

Back To Contents