When I returned home from holiday last week, amongst the messages left on my telephone answering machine, was one from a regular reader of this column. When he actually made the call, he had just finished listening to the radio commentary on Reading's away game at Sheffield United.
What prompted him to pick up the phone was that he understood from the commentators, that Reading's goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann, was prevented by Sheffield stewards, from going into the crowd to give his shirt away to a Reading fan. It was all done apparently in the name of crowd safety. Surely, my caller queried, the stewards were usurping the jurisdiction of the referee, who by the way, he said, didn't seem to see anything wrong with players going into the crowd to celebrate a goal.
Perhaps I ought to point out for anyone who is not aware, Marcus Hahnemann makes a habit after every game, of giving his goalkeeper's jersey away to a Royals supporter. I recall seeing a photo in the
Evening Post, when after one game he handed his shirt to a handicapped fan in a wheelchair. What's more, he pays for each shirt out of his own pocket, a generous gesture. You might say, typically American.
It is true that the referee's jurisdiction does cover action on and off the field, before and after the game. In fact it starts when he arrives at the ground and ends when he leaves it. During that time, it embraces behaviour by players, officials and spectators. This doesn't mean that he would be expected to deal personally with any crowd trouble; that is quite clearly laid down as the responsibility of the home club. The referee would however if he saw it, be duty bound to report any disturbance to the appropriate authority and if possible, say who he thought was responsible for it.
So it can be seen that whilst any disturbance by spectators would be reported by the referee, it is up to the home club to prevent it and prevention is all important. When it comes to players, what the football authorities are concerned about is a player making unseemly or provocative gestures to opposing spectators, which would be likely to incite violence.
I can't think that any referee would consider Hahnemann's attempt to donate his shirt to his own fans was a provocative action but obviously a number of Sheffield stewards felt otherwise and saw it as their duty to prevent it happening.
To take up the other issue of player's actions at goal celebrations, it's worth looking at the additional instructions given to referees in the
Laws of the Game. They are instructed that, whilst it is permissible for a player to show joy when a goal is scored, the celebrations must not be excessive. Leaving the field of play to celebrate a goal is not in itself a cautionable offence, but it is essential that players return to the field as soon as possible
However, a player must be cautioned and shown a yellow
card when, in the opinion of the referee, he makes gestures, which are provocative, derisory or inflammatory, or he climbs
on to a perimeter fence to celebrate a goal. For the most part in this country, perimeter fences have disappeared but this sanction could still be applied for players jumping into the crowd.
A yellow card must also be shown to any player who removes his shirt over his head. This however only applies to players celebrating a goal so Marcus Hahnemann's bare-chested approach to fans to give his shirt away after the game, would obviously not call for such action. The instructions go on to say that referees are expected to exercise common sense. Whilst appreciating that stewarding is a difficult job, perhaps this should also be included in the job description for football club stewards.
Dick Sawdon Smith
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© R Sawdon Smith 2006