Football is far from perfect. Kicking off a new series, Ryan Keaney looks around the world of sport to find things that can be adopted to improve the beautiful game…
It goes without saying; rugby referees and officials receive an incredible amount of respect from the players that they take control of on the field.
They are rarely bigger than even the smallest players on the pitch and yet; whatever decision they make – it isn’t argued with. There might be the odd explanation requested from a captain or a shake of the head from the guilty party but never are they put in a position that causes them to backtrack. They are never forced to retreat away from a crowd of angry sportsmen like their footballing counterparts.
Football needs that in their sport. Crowding referees, screaming in their faces, grabbing their shoulders and forcing opinions on them. It just shouldn’t happen.
Take this year’s Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France, for example. Less than ten minutes into the game, Sam Warburton – a physically impressive young man and exceptional captain for his country – stood very strong in a tackle of a French winger. Upon impact, the French player was off his feet and in the Welshman’s control. What happened and how it happened remains a matter of debate. Whether it was a spear, spike or dump tackle. Whether Waburton “drilled” Vincent Clerc into the ground or let him go and allowed graity to pull him down; there are many differing camps of thoughts on it – even now, two months on.
Every rugby fan appears to have a different opinion on what Warburton was trying to do. They also have thoughts on the referee’s decision.
Alain Rolland, without the assistance of the video referee or much consultation with his line judge, elected to show the Wales captain a red card. A red card in rugby is a much bigger punishment than it is in football. It is only shown in the most serious of situations as it effectively ruins games to see rugby sides playing with just 14 men.
There remain camps that believe Rolland was heavy handed with his decision. There are those that thought at the time it was deservng of a severe punishment but have since changed their mind. Some opinions have even gone the other way with further viewings.
Yet, Rolland wasn’t for a second surrounded by a string of red-faced, screaming, threatening Welshmen. Warburton protested some innocence but as soon as the decision was made and the card shown, he walked from the pitch.
Whether right or wrong, overeager or spot on with his punishment, or even panicked by the occasion, the referee retained complete respect amongst the players.
There wasn’t a week of protests from the Wales coaching staff or even an appeal of Warburton’s three week ban that followed the game. They’d have expected around a controversial decision in football. It didn’t in this instance.
Of course, there are excuses to be made for the fact that Warburton didn’t miss any important games in his ban and the appeal may have in truth been frivolus. Wales were eliminated from the World Cup following his tackle. And there are conversation to be had about the education and social environments that rugby players grow up in. It helps them develop different relationships with people in positions of authority.
But still, the level of respect befitted upon the officials is incredible and needs to become part of football. It needs to be strived for at the very top of the game; and if done properly will filter throughout football.
It can be done by recording every word exchganed between the referee and the teams. Not only is the language kept clean and respectful, it allows the referee to explain their decisions to the watching public.
You could hand out cautions and punishment for swearing and aggressive behaviour. Sure, it might lead to a month of games ending with ridiculously low numbers on both sides but the point would be made.
Or stop every club manager from even mentioning the referee in their comments to newspapers, radio stations and television channels following games. All too often the referee is used as an excuse for a poor performance or a far from ideal result. Where a club manager may try to deflect attention from his side, fans never forget. They wait for the next time the same referee leads out their side and quickly jump on his every movement. In the most severe situations, blame from a manager has lead to an official experiencing death threats.
Start a campaign of proper zero tolerance at the very top and the respect campaign will find its legs very quickly.
When a rugby official makes a decision, it isn’t questioned. It may not be liked, but it’s understood that there is no one on the park in a better position to make that call. Football could learn from that.
