Graham Cummins: Can we take a break from referee bashing?
Referee John McLoughlin with players as they tussle during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Waterford and Dundalk last week. The men in the middle have a thankless job and deserve respect, says Graham Cummins. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Drogheda United boss Tim Clancy did not hold back when assessing the performance of the match officials after their recent draw with Sligo Rovers.
Clancy was sent off after exchanging some verbals with fourth official Derek Tomney and accused some referees of thinking that the game was ‘about them’.
There seems to be a lack of respect creeping into our league towards officials. I understand that managers get frustrated when referees choose not to explain their decisions. However, that might be because of the behaviour or respect a manager has shown to the whistleblower. How often do we see a manager go to a referee at half-time or full-time, demanding explanations? This is a clear lack of respect towards the official.
A referee is within his right to show the same lack of respect by not responding to the manager. Respect is a two way street. A manager’s best chance of getting answers from a referee would be to politely talk to him in the tunnel after both have walked off the pitch rather than try and belittle the official by shouting at him in front of thousands of spectators.
As supporters of the league, we don’t want to hear about a poor performance from referees, but they are human and they are going to make mistakes. Players are judged by their goals, assist and clean sheets. Unfortunately for referees, they are judged on the big decision and not on the countless number of other decisions they make throughout a game.
Does any supporter ever go to a game and study the decisions made by a referee? If they did, I’m sure they would see that referees get more decisions right than wrong.
Clancy also referenced a pre-game incident involving striker Chris Lyons in a previous game, where Lyons slipped before the game and the referee mocked the player about going to ground easily. From a player’s view; I feel there is no harm in this and it gave Lyons an opportunity to engage with the referee and create a relationship. Lyons could have joked that he was only going to ground before the game because there was no point in doing so later because the referee would give him nothing. Nine times out of 10 the referee would see that as banter and might even favour the striker when there is a decision to be made.
There has always been a school of thought that referees have preconceived notions about specific players but the same can be said about management’s views of officials. Some managers will talk about certain referees before games as they feel such mind games will work in their favour. They will instruct players to complain about a decision as a group rather than on an individual basis in an effort to heap more pressure on him.
Before some games, managers have talked about the need for different players to approach the referee for each decision so that he will be reluctant to book a player that has only come to complain to him once.
Even though some people choose not to believe it, referees are held accountable for their actions. They will be punished by having to miss a game-week. I’m sure their poor decisions will be still in their mind when they return to matchday action and they will be worried about making another mistake. They also receive horrific abuse on social media, and unlike a player — who can share the blame for a bad game with teammates — referees are on their own when it comes to such criticism.
I don’t believe referees are perfect but sometimes we are too quick to judge. I do feel that relationships could improve with managers, players and referees. Before, players could have a laugh and joke with every referee but nowadays, that kind of interaction is nearly frowned up.
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