Through the eyes of an armchair critic : Being a match referee

Let’s face it, the armchair supporter has an array of tools available to him that a referee can only dream of. We live in a world of numerous camera angles, slow-motion replays, and the always high quality opinion and analysis of various television pundits, meaning every decision (or non-decision) that a referee makes can be confirmed or discredited in a matter of moments. The debate over whether modern technological advances should be brought to bear in real time to aid a referee’s decision making rages on. Whilst it is mystifying that certain features, such as goal line technology, are seemingly miles from being introduced (despite the obvious positive impact of video technology on close calls in sports such as rugby, cricket and tennis), that is not the point that this article will make.

Rather, this piece will expand on a question, Does involvement with analysing close calls and those debatable moments affect the way I feel about referees and the job they do? In terms of where I rank England’s referees in world football, the simple answer would be no. Week-in, week-out, referees and their assistants get close calls right. Sometimes, when you consider the time they have to make a decision and the view available to them, it’s all the more impressive. And this really leads me on to where my feeling has been altered. The panel of judges on Debatable Decisions are a reliable lot. Each one has an allegiance, but we can be trusted to put these aside when examining decisions. But the one thing we almost never are is unanimous. With all the camera angles and worthy observations from the aforementioned pundits, unanimous decisions remain largely elusive.

Scapegoats?

Does this mean I feel the man in black should be absolved from blame for those moments when he makes the wrong call? If this were to happen, the great scapegoat of supporters and managers alike would be gone. It’s fair to say that this suggestion would be given short shrift by the overwhelming majority of football managers – witness just last week Neil Warnock’s rant about the performance of young referee Michael Oliver following QPR’s 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa; “referees should be seen and not heard, but he made it all about him.” And then there’s Andre Villas-Boas, the young manager of Chelsea, who felt so dissatisfied with the performance of referee Phil Dowd during his side’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester Utd at Old Trafford that he presented a complaint to referees’ chief Mike Riley. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish claims to have had productive discussions with the Referees’ Association following what he feels was a string of poor officiating performances. To be fair to Dalglish, I think he has a point there.

The simple answer is that it would, of course, be a mistake to claim that referees are blameless when their decisions wrongly impact on a team. Everybody, whatever their profession, faces pressure. And I can’t escape the feeling that, if referees were asked to explain certain decisions – perhaps only those where video evidence suggests they may have gotten it wrong – it would take some of the sting out of the criticism they get and the bile that is regularly spouted in their direction. Though, in all honesty, that might just be scratching at the surface. What we really need is proactive, creative leadership at the top of the game. Extra referees behind the goalline is one thing, but how is a referee or his assistant ever to really know whether a thumped volley crashed against the underside of the bar landed behind the line or not?

Need more support

For any England fans still bitter about Frank Lampard’s goal that wasn’t against Germany in South Africa, I would suggest your frustration be directed far more fervently at Sepp Blatter than at Jorge Larrionda and his assistants that day. Let’s also remember that Armand Traoré’s tug on Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Mr. Oliver every opportunity to award a penalty to Aston Villa at Loftus Road. Neil Warnock alluded to this in his criticism of Traoré following the match. Meanwhile, Villas-Boas may have a right to feel aggrieved about the goal that gave Manchester Utd the lead at Old Trafford, but let’s remember that it takes a camera providing a specific angle for us armchair fans to be certain of Chris Smalling’s offside position. Furthermore, Villas-Boas could be considered lucky that he could call on the services of his first-choice left-back for last Saturday’s clash with Bolton.

For as long as I remain involved in examining referee’s decisions, the man in black will have a degree of sympathy from me. He can count on the benefit of the doubt. English referees are not, by and large, predisposed to favour some teams over others. But they are asked to do a mighty difficult job – one that a group of beady-eyed armchair pundits haven’t necessarily proven better at. There will always be frustration when your team falls foul of a wrong decision. But just remember, next week it might all be different. You might get that penalty you deserve. One thing is for sure, the man in the middle is on his own. Those at the top of the beautiful game are far more concerned with their seat on the Qatar gravy train than they are with giving referees a sporting chance.