Fights, camera, action ... refs need protection
GUNNER BE TOUGH, UNAI
AN amateur referee has been kicked around a north London pitch like a beach ball.
The sickening footage from a Turkish Community Football Federation game was captured on a camera phone and posted online.
See if you can find it. It’s horrific. This is an amateur game, played out before a handful of spectators. Police enquiries are continuing. Let’s be fair, it was only a matter of time. It could have been on any one of 1,000 pitches anywhere in the land.
Shocked
But what is staggering is that this was the first week that a charity for match officials had asked for such footage.
Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK, had made the request as part of a campaign ‘Ref Abuse Must stop’. And he can’t believe it was the first link submitted.
Cassidy said: “The incident has shocked people. Not because they are surprised it has happened – but because they have seen it.
“I have other anecdotal evidence coming out of my ears. Eighteen-yearold referees being stopped in car parks THE LAST WORD ... UNAI EMERY breezed into Arsenal this week, with Powerpoint presentation tucked under his arm, a willingness to speak English and a £50million budget.
Good for him. But it’s going to take more than a new dictionary and a spreadsheet to make good Arsenal’s shortcomings. The Gunners finished a massive 37 points behind Manchester after matches, with lads running their fingers across their throats at them.
“A teenager called Ryan Hampson, 18 months ago, stood up after being headbutted during a game, calling for greater protection, including body cameras – and that’s what we want to see, for three reasons.
“First, we believe it will act as a preventative measure – and there is already evidence to support that.
“Second, that it can be used to collect evidence.
“And third, it can be used as a training device.
“Referees can improve the way they interact with players, for instance, after reviewing on-pitch conversations.
“We have developed an app that enables an official to push a panic button. It calls their friends or family if they are coming under assault.
“Something must change because behaviour towards referees isn’t.
“How can it be that a streaker runs on a pitch and is banned from every football ground in Britain. Even if you encroach onto the pitch, they can hit you with the same.
Evidence
City. Fourteen behind Spurs and 12 shy of Liverpool’s total.
All of those clubs are going to be armed with Champions League cash and have better squads to start with.
So anyone who thinks that Emery is going to make a significant impact in his first season needs to take a reality check.
“Yet butt a referee and even if the assault is reported to the relevant county FA, it isn’t automatically passed on to the police.
“We want to see lifetime bans for those who commit those offences.” And why not? Cassidy speaks with sense, with passion and has plotted a route forward for football.
He says he has developed a strap that can carry a phone, recording footage that can be used in evidence.
Cassidy says Ref Support UK has grown in importance because problems are not being addressed properly by the football authorities. Football managers see referees as fair game.
Even if they are hauled in front of a panel and asked to give evidence, it generally falls into the category of ‘See no evil, hear no evil’.
No one wants to be seen as a grass, do they? Or failing to back up some code which says that the player in question cannot be responsible for his actions.
And the referee is expected to put up with all this utter nonsense for about 30 quid a match?
Fearing for their safety, worrying about whether the county FA will back them up, running the risk of serious harm.
And all because Big Bill from the Dog & Duck didn’t think his shove on Brendan, the centre-half from the Pig & Whistle, was a foul. Really?
Bring on the camera, give referees more protection.
We spent more time arguing about technology to determine whether the ball crossed the goal line rather than looking after an absolutely essential part of the game.
Because without referees, we haven’t got a game, have we?