Probably the most surreal
experience of my refereeing career was when fans, mainly young
and female, queued up for my autograph while rock star Rod
Stewart walked behind them unnoticed.
This was in the days when I
refereed celebrity charity matches. Generally the ability of the
celebrities was about Sunday League standard although some were
better. Rod Steward had trials in his youth for Football League
clubs and, as I remember, John Francombe, the jockey, was a fair
player. Others took the game as an excuse to fool around, such
as the late Marty Feldman of the bulging eyes. There were some
like Bill Oddie who took it too seriously, forgetting that the
public paid to see the game because they were celebrities and
not because of their football skills.
Usually the games were easy
to control but occasionally there would be someone who fancied
himself as a celebrity hard man. As referee you are in a
difficult position. You don't want to be heavyhanded but you
can't allow possible injury to highly paid celebrities.
I remember a game at Elm Park
when Ken Jones, a Daily Mirror sports writer, started
wrapping his boots around a few legs. After appealing to him to
tone down his tackling, I warned the organisers that if they
didn't substitute him, I would send him off. They duly obliged.
Many referees are faced with
similar problems at friendly matches before each season starts.
In most games, especially at professional level, an agreement is
reached that any player likely to be disciplined by the referee
will be replaced to prevent any such action being taken. I
remember an example at an earlier pre- season friendly against
Southampton at the Madejski Stadium. Matt Le Tissier who was
still playing at that time, swore quite openly at the referee.
During a league match this should have resulted in a red card
but a nod from the referee to the Southampton bench and Le
Tissier was quickly substituted.
During the close season I
attended a briefing by the FA Head of Refereeing. He told us
that these arrangements had to stop. Bad behaviour should be
treated as in any normal competitive match. Not all referees,
however, heeded this advice.
In the Leeds United
pre-season friendly with lowly York City, Mark Viduka the Aussie
centre forward clashed with City's Andrew Jordan throwing the
ball at his opponent's head. Peter Reid agreed to the referee's
request that they should substitute Viduka. They lost his
services for the rest of that friendly but there was no red card
which would have kept him out of a Premiership match when the
season started. The referee was asked by the FA to explain why
he had 'less than proficiently applied the laws of the game'.
National newspapers condemned the FA action, claiming that a
sterner attitude will lead to big clubs refusing to play
friendlies, cutting off a useful cash supply to lower league
clubs. The problem is, where do you draw the line?
At the beginning of last
season a local referee had made this type of agreement with the
two clubs in a pre-season friendly. One player committed the
type of offence which would have seen him sent off. A quick word
to the club and he was called off. Before he left the field
however he called the referee a F******W***** (I'm sure I don't
need to spell it out). Was the referee going to take that as
well? He didn't and the player received a red card and no
substitute was allowed. Another referee this year heard the
coach call out to his players 'It's only a friendly, don't worry
about cautions'. Within minutes he had to issue a yellow
card.
It seems to me that these
arrangements have had their day. As always, you give the clubs
an inch and they take the proverbial mile.
Dick Sawdon Smith