Why did the referee do that?

Admitting that you are a referee is a bit, I suspect, like saying that you work for the Inland Revenue or that you’re a clergyman not wearing your dog-collar. People always seem to react in one way or another. Studied silence is one tactic but for referees a more common response is the ‘Why did the referee give that penalty last night in the UEFA cup-tie. Obvious to everybody that he dived’, ‘I can’t imagine why you referees do it, considering all the hassle you get’ and so it goes on.

The truth is we are misunderstood. Not in the sense that we feel sorry for ourselves because people seem unsympathetic. Literally. Players and fans do not understand our decisions, Sometimes, often even, it is because they don’t know the Laws, but sometimes it’s either because of their viewpoint as opposed to ours, sometimes it’s because they’ve made an assumption, jumped to a conclusion, just not seen or understood the bit that matters.

Worse for young referees . . . .

I was recently watching a young colleague who was refereeing well but was being misunderstood and getting continual stick. I think it’s always easier for older referees because you look more experienced and physically battle-hardened. The players just need to test out whether you are past it. On this occasion the referee had events as well as his appearance working against him.

It started with one of those difficult pushing/backing-in situations which I thought he got right, but others read it differently when a goal was scored from the free kick. From then on everything the referee did was scrutinised and loudly objected to by one group or another.

. . . . even when they get it right

From a free kick near the halfway line, the ball was floated towards the penalty spot. A defender challenged for the ball, shoulder-charged the attacker and cleared upfield. The referee blew his whistle and indicated a penalty. Defenders and their spectators protested in disbelief. How could he penalise a perfectly fair shoulder charge? What the protesters had failed to see was that the goalkeeper had a striker in a neat armlock as the ball came in, to stop him going to collect it. Excellent decision by the referee which, perversely, further damaged confidence in him.

But his problems were not over. Two players were trying to control the ball when one clearly struck the other with a blow to the head. The referee correctly showed him the red card. The assailant protested that he had been provoked by what he had been called and that his opponent should be sent off as well. Although the referee suspected something might have been said, he could only discipline the misconduct he had seen. Again, confidence in the referee was further (and unfairly) diminished.

But we can all be understood

And it doesn’t just happens to young referees on the local parks. Remember how much adverse comment Premiership referee Uriah Rennie got when he showed Shearer a second yellow and a red card for an offence which was not in itself cautionable. He was in fact penalising the last of a series of offences which together added up to misconduct – for persistently infringing the Laws of the Game.

Just a couple of suggestions

So what can be done about it? Are we always to be misunderstood? Two suggestions spring to mind. Don’t always assume the referee is doing the obvious. He has a different angle of view and is almost always going to be nearer the action than you are. He may well have seen something else or, with qualified assistants, he may have been told of something else that they have seen.

The other solution is obvious and we do keep on offering it – get to know the Laws better. Now it really is easier than it has ever been. For example, you can just go to the Reading RA website and with a few clicks of the mouse button download the latest version of the Laws to be read offline at your leisure. Or, if you prefer, you can print them out for reference. All for the cost of a few moments on your phone (or someone else’s!).

You frequently hear people say that the referee had a bad game. More often than not, I suspect, it’s a bad game that had a referee.

Brian Palmer

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