I have a dilemma, I am both a football fan and I am a qualified Referee. Ok, I'm not at the same level as Howard Webb, in fact I don't even Ref at league level, but I would argue that I know more about the laws of the game than the average fan.
So what does it take to be a Referee in today's game at any level? Well the game may be played at different levels, but the problems are very similar.
I know that I have made wrong decisions in a game, you have to react how you see it at the time, we all make mistakes, even at the highest level, and whilst Mr Webb gets all his actions scrutinised by pundits and commentators, I have to suffer verbal abuse that I can hear, and that I am not expected to react to, Howard Webb probably does not hear any of the abuse from the fans, because it's drowned out by other noise.
So what does it take to be a Referee in today's game at any level? Well the game may be played at different levels, but the problems are very similar.
I know that I have made wrong decisions in a game, you have to react how you see it at the time, we all make mistakes, even at the highest level, and whilst Mr Webb gets all his actions scrutinised by pundits and commentators, I have to suffer verbal abuse that I can hear, and that I am not expected to react to, Howard Webb probably does not hear any of the abuse from the fans, because it's drowned out by other noise.
That is the crux of the problem, whilst Howard Webb has to suffer the analysis of an ex-player who's probably never officiated a game in his life, and has the benefit of replays, computer simulation and an audience that will be biased into believing what he says is the truth, I do not.
One of the biggest complaints fans have is that the Referee is not consistent from game to game, we have seen this season several two footed tackles, in the case of Kompany he was sent off for one and not for the other, yet Chris Foy gets the criticism for sending him off, whilst the other Ref gets lauded for not making him walk. So who is inconsistent? Well at the start of the season all Referees including myself were told that a two footed tackle is an automatic red card, whether the tackle makes contact or not. So in the Kompany case, Foy is NOT the inconsistent Ref, the one who DIDN'T send him off is. This is where knowledge of the game and of Referee's instructions are important, if commentators and pundits spent as much time researching the laws and its variations during the season as they do on which player is shagging who's wife, we would all be better off for it.
Referees don't demand respect, they deserve it, without them there would be no games. So next time you go to a match, if it's amateur remember the only one being paid is the Ref; if it's a Semi-pro or Pro game, remember you paid to and watch it.
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