Referee set to quit after being locked in room
THE Football Association has confirmed that it is investigating a complaint by a referee in Cornwall that he was locked in a changing room following a “feisty” game on Saturday. Gavin Arnold, who has been a ref in Cornwall for three years, says he has told the FA that he no longer wants to do the job following the incident.
Mr Arnold told WMN sister website CornwallLive that he believes he was locked in the changing room by someone from the disgruntled Lanreath first team following a tetchy match between them and Bude Town’s reserves at Bude.
He said: “I’m a qualified referee and went out to referee the game, as you do. They disagreed with the decisions I made. I issued a red card. After the game, they came into the changing room, recording me, which was out of order and about three or four minutes later, I heard the lock go, so I know they shut the door and locked me in.
“Fortunately, I was only in there for five to ten minutes, before someone realised I was in there, but that’s not the point. The point is that they physically locked me in and I had no way of getting out.”
A post on Bude Town Football Club’s Facebook page about the match states: “At home the reserves took on unbeaten Lanreath and came out 3-1 winners. We went 1-0 up in the first half, Lanreath equalising after the break. The second half got pretty feisty ... and saw two Lanreath players sent off ... but we kept our composure scoring two more goals.”
Mr Arnold added: “I had to give a red card to one of their players and that’s where it all stemmed from. They disagreed with it and were being a bit mouthy, giving me grief all game. Something like this needs to be publicised as there’s no support for referees – I could have been in that room for hours. I’ve sent a report to the FA.
“This sort of thing happens on a continuous basis. We’re out there to do a job and this is how we get treated. If I was in that room any longer, I would have called the police, which is what I should have done.”
Mr Arnold said he did not approach anyone from Lanreath afterwards as he feared it would “escalate”. “They were so hyped up so I was worried it could turn violent. It’s a horrible situation to be in – you’re a single person against 22 people and it can be quite intimidating. It did scare me.
“I asked the person from Lanreath to stop recording me and he put the phone down,” added Mr Arnold, who thinks the same person locked him in. “They’ve taken it one step too far and this is why there is such a shortage of referees. I have actually said to the FA that I don’t want to ref anymore. I’m not interested in refereeing now because of this. I reckon I’ve probably refereed over 50 games.”
The referee, who lives in Bude, does not normally get appointed to games on his home patch. “On this occasion, I was appointed to a local game and this is the consequence. I just feel that something needs to be done as there’s no support from the FA. They need to start acting on this sort of thing.”
Richard Pallot, football services manager for Cornwall FA, verified that the association had been made aware of Mr Arnold’s complaint and an investigation was pending, with both football clubs being contacted.
The news comes less than a month after it was confirmed that bans were handed to 380 players and coaches for attacking or threatening referees and match officials in English grassroots football last season. CornwallLive has contacted both Lanreath and Bude Town football clubs for a comment.