The ugly side of the beautiful game
Credit:
A culture of ridicule has seeped into football in recent years and the game is a lot worse for it as cases are becoming more extreme.
Friday night in Tallaght Stadium. The atmosphere is building before an FAI Ford Cup quarter-final between Shamrock Rovers and Galway United with a lot at stake for both teams.
The game is only a few minutes old when confusion sets in. A long ball forward towards Rovers striker Thomas Stewart is headed on by a Galway defender. He is onside, but the linesman has raised his flag and the players have stopped wondering what is going on.
Referee Anthony Buttimer correctly waves play on. The game jolts back to life. Stewart turns and shoots, forcing a save from Galway keeper Barry Ryan. Yet, no corner is awarded.
Baffled looks were exchanged amongst players and supporters alike at the decision. How could the referee spot an onside that the linesman got wrong and not see that Rovers should have been given a corner?
Okay, it was a mistake. We’ll move on. But not much time has ticked by when the referee is at the centre of another controversy. This time, though, things get a lot more heated.
Ryan feels that he was fouled by James Chambers as a cross comes into his box and falls to Stewart to open the scoring. There is nothing really in it, yet Ryan charges out of his penalty area to confront the referee.
Clearly he has taken his protests too far as he recieves a yellow card for dissent, but the keeper won’t give it up. The referee should be taking control of the situation and calming everything down, although he flashes a red card to send the player off.
While Ryan was over-reacting and should have handled his appeals a lot better considering he is an experienced player at 32 as well as the team captain, there is no hiding from the fact that Mr Buttimer made the wrong call.
That dismissal ruined the game as Rovers eased to a 6-0 win due to Galway unable to keep up with the extra man that their opponents had. But it was an incident that could have been avoided.
Ryan didn’t have to go over the top with his protest, but his actions were an example of how referees are now treated in modern football. Every decision they make is ridiculed with the type of venom that charges a mob baying for blood.
Of course, referees don’t always helps themselves with some truly odd calls. Yet, the culture of blame that they are at the centre of ensures the pressure is far greater on them than ever before.
Referees need more help. And that needs to come from the higher powers in football, but also from common sense. If Mr Buttimer had dealt with the Ryan confrontation in a sensible manner then the keeper would have shuttled back to his goal and the game would have continued as 11 v 11.
Some referees have tended to respond to the constant ridicule from players, managers and supporters by making weak decisions. Many are struggling to handle the pressure that comes with a big game, but that does not excuse the fact that it has become all too common for people to launch verbal tirades against referees – even for correct calls that they make.
The introduction of technology will help in some aspects of the game, but until the culture of blame is addressed then referees will find it difficult to get through 90 minutes without upsetting someone that takes their protests too far.
Surely there is a real fear of attracting a new generation of people into refereeing if they see how the official is treated (or mistreated) even when they have a good game. There is simply no balance to it as the culture of ridicule has gone too far.
Friday night in Tallaght Stadium. The atmosphere is building before an FAI Ford Cup quarter-final between Shamrock Rovers and Galway United with a lot at stake for both teams.
The game is only a few minutes old when confusion sets in. A long ball forward towards Rovers striker Thomas Stewart is headed on by a Galway defender. He is onside, but the linesman has raised his flag and the players have stopped wondering what is going on.
Referee Anthony Buttimer correctly waves play on. The game jolts back to life. Stewart turns and shoots, forcing a save from Galway keeper Barry Ryan. Yet, no corner is awarded.
Baffled looks were exchanged amongst players and supporters alike at the decision. How could the referee spot an onside that the linesman got wrong and not see that Rovers should have been given a corner?
Okay, it was a mistake. We’ll move on. But not much time has ticked by when the referee is at the centre of another controversy. This time, though, things get a lot more heated.
Ryan feels that he was fouled by James Chambers as a cross comes into his box and falls to Stewart to open the scoring. There is nothing really in it, yet Ryan charges out of his penalty area to confront the referee.
Clearly he has taken his protests too far as he recieves a yellow card for dissent, but the keeper won’t give it up. The referee should be taking control of the situation and calming everything down, although he flashes a red card to send the player off.
While Ryan was over-reacting and should have handled his appeals a lot better considering he is an experienced player at 32 as well as the team captain, there is no hiding from the fact that Mr Buttimer made the wrong call.
That dismissal ruined the game as Rovers eased to a 6-0 win due to Galway unable to keep up with the extra man that their opponents had. But it was an incident that could have been avoided.
Ryan didn’t have to go over the top with his protest, but his actions were an example of how referees are now treated in modern football. Every decision they make is ridiculed with the type of venom that charges a mob baying for blood.
Of course, referees don’t always helps themselves with some truly odd calls. Yet, the culture of blame that they are at the centre of ensures the pressure is far greater on them than ever before.
Referees need more help. And that needs to come from the higher powers in football, but also from common sense. If Mr Buttimer had dealt with the Ryan confrontation in a sensible manner then the keeper would have shuttled back to his goal and the game would have continued as 11 v 11.
Some referees have tended to respond to the constant ridicule from players, managers and supporters by making weak decisions. Many are struggling to handle the pressure that comes with a big game, but that does not excuse the fact that it has become all too common for people to launch verbal tirades against referees – even for correct calls that they make.
The introduction of technology will help in some aspects of the game, but until the culture of blame is addressed then referees will find it difficult to get through 90 minutes without upsetting someone that takes their protests too far.
Surely there is a real fear of attracting a new generation of people into refereeing if they see how the official is treated (or mistreated) even when they have a good game. There is simply no balance to it as the culture of ridicule has gone too far.
About Gareth Maher
Gareth Maher is an award-winning journalist who has covered domestic, international and women's football for the best part of a decade. Previously a columnist for the Irish Daily Mail and Football Editor for Setanta Sports, … View Full Profile