After the publicity, not to say notoriety, achieved by a certain national newspaper sports journalist, with nasty comments about Reading Football Club, Reading’s players, Reading’s ground and
its chairman, I thought that, if I want to boost this column and perhaps get a local radio phone-in show as he did, then I should find someone to be nasty about.
I couldn’t think of anyone particularly obnoxious and then I watched last Saturday night’s
Match of the Day. There was the perfect candidate - Neil Warnock made a number of stupid accusations against the referee at his team’s game that afternoon.
One thing he said was that Steve Bennett must go to bed reading the
Laws of the Game. I would have thought that something to be commended and not condemned. Greater understanding of the
Laws, is surely something every referee should strive for.
What raised this particular piece of idiocy was when one of his players who had left the field of play for treatment, came back on without the referee’s permission and was duly cautioned. ‘Why couldn’t Steve (note his creepy use of the
referee's first name) use his common sense? Did he really think that the assessor in the stand would deduct him marks if he failed to show the yellow
card?’ Well yes, actually he would almost certainly have had marks deducted. All referees do if they fail to carry out mandatory sanctions.
The Laws tend to fall into two categories. One is where the referee acts according to his
opinion. For instance, in the offside law, a player is only penalised if, in the opinion of the referee,
he is interfering in active play. In law 12 some offences are
dependent on the consideration of the referee. For example, after a bad tackle a player may be cautioned if the referee considers it to be reckless or sent off if he considers the force used was excessive. Two people looking at the same tackle may give different decisions, because it’s down to their consideration, their opinion.
But other offences are mandatory. There’s no discretion, no ‘common sense’. The law says ‘a player entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee’s permission
shall be cautioned’. Not should be, not could be, not you can if you like.
Warnock’s other complaint was that the referee had been conned into giving Liverpool a penalty. When the incident was shown, however, the Sheffield United player had his arms around Steven Gerrard in the penalty area. When Gerrard went to move away,
he was prevented by the outstretched arm and went down.
I’m sure we are all fed up with the tactic now employed even in local football, of defenders in the penalty area at corner or free kicks, wrapping arms around attackers’ middle. It’s against the letter and spirit of the law and the only reasons it doesn’t get penalised more is because, with so much going on, the referee is looking at the action elsewhere.
In this case the player did it rather foolishly under the referee’s nose. The only way we are going to stop this nonsense is by penalising it whenever seen and not by ignoring it as Warnock would have us do.
Warnock’s great catchphrase is ‘if you’ve played the game’. ‘We’ve all had the arm in the face,’ he said on one occasion. Well, he did play the game, not too well by all accounts, but what he is suggesting is that referees, who by inference don’t understand the game, should ignore all the off-the-ball incidents if they spot them, as it’s
'just part of the game'. That’s providing it’s his team that’s committing them of course.
My problem, I’ve realised, is that writing criticism of Neil Warnock won’t get me noticed or lots of attention. Everyone else already knows he’s a plonker.
Dick Sawdon Smith
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© R Sawdon Smith 2007