Time has come to give abuse of referees the red card

EVERY football fan – and player – has been there. That tackle in the penalty area which was clearly a foul, or which was fine as the defender took the ball, depending on which team you support.

Or the blatant handball/shirt tug/ offside which didn’t go your team’s way.

Even with VAR (Video Assistant Referee) watching over every move of every player, there are instances which are endlessly debated and argued over, a consistent level of complaining over inconsistencies and cries of foul over opponents crying foul. Who’d be a referee, eh?

The problem seems to be that we are never talking about all the calls which our officials get right week-in, week-out.

You rarely hear praise for referees, as if they are some kind of robot which is only worth mentioning if there is a malfunction in the process of decision-making.

It might seem like human nature to complain about officials not doing what everyone wants them to do, and yet it is not something which happens in any other sport.

Rugby union referees hold so much respect among players that they are called ‘Sir’ when approached by the team captain, who is the only one allowed to make a polite enquiry about the decision.

At the top level, anything which is debatable goes upstairs to a video official who clearly communicates with the referee in a dialogue which everyone can hear, and then a clear decision is reached. No lines are drawn on the pitch, and no backchat is permitted by either team. Any such action would quickly result in a card being given to the player or players in question.

Yet in football we see crowds of players surrounding the referee, sometimes from both teams urging the exact opposite decision.

We see players and managers waving arms at referees, or can lip-read clearly derogatory words being thrown in the direction of the officials, whether that is the referee or the assistants, once called linesmen.

Top-flight referees seem to have very thick skins indeed, as they come back week after week despite this flood of insults, pressure, and then negative comments from pundits who really should know better.

The problem is that for every fan who shouts a rude word or two at the ref from stands, there are others who take it further and end up assaulting referees in grassroots games.

A report earlier this year outlined a severe shortage of referees, especially at grassroots levels of football, because so many officials were not only being abused but physically assaulted by players or spectators.

As many as 10,000 qualified referees had hung up their whistle because they decided it just wasn’t worth it any more – many of them teenaged officials who were just starting their refereeing careers. It shouldn’t be like this, of course. A programme of measures – which should be draconian in order to make a real impact – has to be brought in from top to bottom, so any Premier League player swearing at a referee gets an immediate card, while any team whose players surround the referee should be docked points.

At grassroots level, anyone who assaults a referee should be subject to the same punishments as if they had punched a policeman in the middle of the street.

Young players should be invited to have a go at refereeing other games so that they can appreciate the skills and knowledge it takes to become an official, and maybe then they will have a greater respect for those who spend their time officiating so that their own games can go ahead.

It’s long past time that referees were given the respect they deserve.