David Moyes was spot on in his assessment that Martin Atkinson had spoiled what was building up to be a scintillating Merseyside derby. No one is suggesting he did this deliberately. Whilst his decision to send of Jack Rodwell, for a supposedly reckless tackle favoured Liverpool, Atkinson’s last red card in this fixture (the dismissal of Sotirios Kyrgiakos) favoured Everton.
People will no doubt point to the fact that the Greek defender’s dismissal was justified, which it certainly was. However, Atkinson neglected to send off Fellani for his two-footed lunge in the same tackle.
The main issue is that Martin Atkinson made a mistake. What has been debated since last Saturday is should he have been made to come out and explain his decision to red card Rodwell; to explain what it was he saw at Goodison Park that no one else in the stadium or at home could see. After all, numerous replays proved that Atkinson had a completely unobstructed view of the incident. Admittedly, the theatrics of Suarez didn’t help the situation, but the referee is expected to judge the challenge in itself.
Moyes’ criticism, whilst fully justified here will have come as no surprise. In general, managers, it must be said are quick to scape-goat refs. If their star striker misses a hatful of chances, but the ref fails to give a throw-in on the halfway line they’ll always blame the ref.
If Arsene Wenger was a sitcom character his catchphrase would be ‘I didn’t see it’. But this only applies to misdemeanours committed by his own side. I recall a game a few years ago at Anfield where he claimed Liverpool’s equaliser came from a corner that shouldn’t have been given (despite repeated replays proving inconclusive).
Referees exist in a one-shot world. They have seconds to make a decision and they must always make it correctly. When they don’t, the fans and the media converge on them. We’re all armchair pundits who have screamed for a penalty, then accused the referee of bias against ‘us’ only for a replay to prove there was no offence. Referees don’t have that luxury.
Just why anyone would want to be a referee anyway is beyond me. Every week there are tales of abuse and, particularly in the amateur leagues of violence against the match officials. Even at children’s levels the abuse from parents borders on criminal.The men, women and occasionally teenagers who referee these matches get paid around £50 a match. Hardly worth it for what they put up with. In 2009 assaults on referees occurred over 300 times.
Football at the elite level is now a billion pound industry where errors cost points and relegation costs tens of millions. The sport is also far quicker than it was, requiring referees to be capable of certain levels of fitness. One recalls Sir Alex Ferguson questioning the fitness of Alan Wiley after a game with Sunderland. Ferguson scoffed: ‘He was not fit enough for a game of that standard…it is an indictment of our game.’ Prozone stats showed that Wiley had run nearly 12km during the game, more than all bar seven of the players on the pitch.
The pace of the game is important when considering the decisions referees have to make. Thanks to Sky the armchair fan is used to seeing the same incident in super slow motion from five or six different angles. After all this analysis they will then make their assessment on whether the decision was correct.
The referees have none of that. They make their decision based on one viewing at normal time and have to make it in a matter of seconds. It is inevitable that they will make mistakes. Managerial pressure is another aspect of the game that referees have to deal with. Alex Ferguson has made a career out of questioning the official’s decisions but, in the case of Martin Atkinson (him again) he actually questioned the official himself: ‘You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway… when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst.’ But Fergie is by no means the only one. As stated earlier Wenger has been hyper-critical over the years, and in the short space of time Kenny Dalglish has been back in the Anfield dugout he has complained about the reds’ treatment, especially this season.
The FA has tried to instil a respect for referees. Managers are no longer able to question the men with the whistle, although they can still criticise the decision. In 2008 they announced a scheme which would see them pump in £44million a year into grass roots schemes, one of which was the retention of referees. There has also been the much-maligned ‘Respect’ campaign.
But sometimes it is undeniable that referees have only themselves to blame. I recall in 2008 Javier Mascherano being sent off at Old Trafford. His offence was to continue his complaints at the referee, Steve Bennett even after being instructed to move away. Despite team mates and his manager trying to get him to end his protestations, he carried them on until Bennett showed a second yellow card. At the time I agreed with the decision.
Mascherano was warned and failed to heed that warning and the referee should be shown more respect. However, in the ensuing weeks Bennett took varying levels of abuse in other games from different players without giving so much as a free kick. What this did was to undermine the original decision and set the campaign back.
Premier League referees are paid upward of £90,000 a year. Put against the salaries of the footballers around them it appears a small sum, but when compared to the national average wage (around £25,000 a year) it is a good level of pay. This may go some way to answering the question of why these men put themselves through it (Sunday league referees pay is insignificant again, but neither do they have to deal with the media scrutiny).
As we have found all too often in football, money can transform itself into arrogance. Referees have been seen turning up to games in fancy sports cars with personalised registration plates (a number of which feature the word ‘ref’). Many fans have also seen referees signing autographs as if they are somehow part of the entertainment.
In his autobiography, Jeff Winter wrote of his final game (at Anfield): “I played a little bit of extra time, waiting until play was at the Kop end, before sounding the final shrill blast . . . the fans behind the goal burst into spontaneous applause. It was longer and louder than normal, even for a big home win. Did they know it was my final visit? Was it applause for me? They are such knowledgeable football people, it would not surprise me.”
I’m sure there won’t be any fan that doesn’t come to the same conclusion upon reading that…and it certainly endorses the assessment that some referees are plain arrogant. Of course, not all referees are the same. And Winter does come across as one of the more pompous whenever he appears on television. But an undercurrent of arrogance does seem to travel with the officials.
Many of them are invited to come out and speak after games but they refuse almost all the time. A journalist wrote recently of a referee who sent off Joseph Yobo in an Everton game for being the ‘last man’. The ref in question called David Moyes the following day and said that, whilst he hadn’t wanted to send the Nigerian off, he’d been left with no choice due to the (at the time) new interpretation of the rules’. Moyes appreciated the gesture and the two men parted with no ill-feeling.
Similarly, Rob Styles, back in 2007 contacted Rafa Benitez when he incorrectly awarded Chelsea a penalty that gave them a draw. He was stood down from Premier League action. This was unusual as, normally, the FA backs the referees 100% and in a way they have little choice. There can be no doubt about the organisation’s faith in its officials.
In spite of this many Everton fans will never forget the handling by Mark Clattenburg of the 2007 Goodison Merseyside derby. On that day Clattenburg sent off Tony Hibbert, awarded Liverpool a couple of penalties and denied Everton two penalties of their own, as well as dismissing two Everton players. The ref was excused from action the following week but neither he, nor the FA has ever admitted culpability. However, in the four years since, Clattenburg has never refereed Everton in the Premier league suggesting that the FA are all-too aware of his performance that day.
So, should referees be made to speak to the camera after a game? In my opinion the answer is no. Yes they make mistakes, and yes they cost teams points. But so do the players (who do it on a more regular basis), not to mention bad managerial selections. A red-carded player, or a striker that missed a sitter, or a goalkeeper that dropped a ball aren’t all summoned as a matter of obligation to go before the cameras.
Of course, we have more respect for them if they do come out and ‘explain themselves’, and I believe referees might start getting treated more as human individuals if they too did it for the more contentious issues. I don’t know anyone who, immediately after the challenge thought that Rodwell’s tackle warranted a red, so it would be interesting to know why Martin Atkinson thought it was.
Whether they like it or not (and judging by Jeff Winter’s comments they do like it) referees are a big part of football. To me, their opinions and views are as intriguing as managers and players and for this reason I think they should make more of an effort not to be cocooned away by the FA and Premier League. However, to force them to subject themselves to the glare of the media spotlight and be scrutinised on every decision they make in a match just puts them under even more pressure, and subject to even more of, what are human errors.
By Alan Bradburne
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