[Football] Do Referees Actually Enjoy Their Job?

[trueblue]

Now if you're a ref it's almost like the chance to be a minor celeb, to have a bit of the PL stardust fall upon you. Get your name on MOTD, maybe get a TV career after. For that reason the people attracted to the role now tend to be people who love themselves a bit too much to be a good ref.

I'm not sure people go into it for that because reaching PL level is such a remote possibility. Totally agree though that PGMOL and the Premier League has led to the rise of the 'celebrity' ref, which is the antithesis of everything good refereeing should be about. I know of one, for instance, whose number plate bears his name. What ref of 30-40 years ago would have wanted to make themselves that visible? (Ok, Roger Milford maybe - he seemed to like the limelight). Hopefully Howard Webb can get a grip and start prioritising those that go quietly about their business.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I don't disagree. And I'd also like to see some ex players doing it. But my point was very ambitious people will carry on.

You're a teacher, you must realise there are people in your profession who will put up with a low salary to be abused in an inner city school because they want to become a Head or Deputy Head somewhere nice one day?

Very true and there are also teachers who put up with it because they enjoy the challenge. You are probably right that refs fall into similar categories.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

The big trouble is that the behaviours of the likes of Arteta, Klopp and Pep who all have their moments being arseholes to refs are replicated at Grass routes level. A percentage of managers, Kids and parents think the ref is “Fair game” Whilst this maybe true to an extent at PL level, it certainly isn’t at Mid Warwickshire U12 Div 3 level. It’s a hateful job and unique in its nature that people feel qualified to comment, shout & abuse. The other problem is that you have a unique view of the game and can miss something that everyone else can see as they are watching it from one angle. You are then labelled as “Shit” as you couldn’t see a foul through half a dozen kids whilst giving up your time to get a game on. It’s mad.

 

[TugWilson]

There are too many levels of football to bundle all together to get an accurate picture of refereeing as a whole , so my comments will be purely aimed at the top 4 tiers .
You`ve worked hard all week , juggled your schedule to make time to fit the game in , taken care of any responsibilities you have made arrangements for travel and have budgeted the expense of the trip .
If you have travelled to an away game it might take all day , even overnight on some occasions , i know it takes me about 8 hours on trains for a home game return . For some who cant go every game a season ticket is a non starter , so you take pot luck getting a ticket more often than not . Then the game KOs and the best part (in our case ) of 32,000 people are there to watch a good and fair game , do we get that , do we **** , because Fabinho decides to try and ruin Fergusons career by dragging his studs down his achilles . But don`t worry this is a Professional ref and he will have seen it - NO he doesn`t , ok but VAR will have spotted it - NO they were eating their prawn sandwiches .

This in the Liverpool game ( not to mention the same with Robertson`s tackle ) i can hear Phil Collins` "Missed Again" playing in the background , then onto Palace , we all know that one , a Professional ref sat in Stockley Park with all the latest equipment and the "Professional" cant draw a f****** straight line from the correct player , even though he has assistance , so the 2,600 travelling supporters have their day ruined at no little expense .

Never mind always Fulham , see where this is going , another 32,000 turn out to watch a fair game and 2 penalty appeals not even checked by VAR because the Professional ref cant be arsed . Then when pulled on it by RDZ the Professional decides the non offensive truth spoken by RDZ deserves a Red card , you couldn`t make it up .

So in conclusion 3 games at least 9 instances where the Professional ref and VAR had a chance each to get it right and they failed on all 9 , as for the 66,600 supporters who have all gone to great expense and trouble to get to these games , well tough luck , IT WAS ALWAYS going to be about the the REFEREE and not the players or the supporters . If refs want respect do your bloody job or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco , this is OUR game and you are ruining it .

 

[JBizzle]

Now if you're a ref it's almost like the chance to be a minor celeb, to have a bit of the PL stardust fall upon you. Get your name on MOTD, maybe get a TV career after. For that reason the people attracted to the role now tend to be people who love themselves a bit too much to be a good ref.

There are ~28,000 registered referees in England according to the FA. 19 of which are Premier League level. If you're getting into refereeing on the chance that you're in the 0.06% that make it to the very top to get a little of that stardust, you' have a very long, hard slog ahead of you.

On your second point, I do agree. The PGMOL and Premier League need to back their referees more and players and managers need to look at themselves more too. Saturday was the prime example for me:

- Fulham had so many head injuries I'm surprised they don't have to wear helmets to play, but the rules are clear: play has to be stopped if there's a risk of a head injury. What was he supposed to do? Once play is stopped, it's stopped.
- Yes, we should have had 15 minutes of added time if the PL had enforced the same rules as the WC, but they haven't so we get 6
- Should we have taken our chances? Yes, at least one. Is that the refs fault? No.
- Should we have had a pen for the foul on Veltman? Veltman himself said no.
- Should we have had a pen for the foul on Mitoma? Well, Tete got his toe to the ball, so no too.

Yes, I do think that refs can do better, but it's everyone's responsibility, not the one man in the middle.

 

[jakarta]

This thread clearly needs this...

 

[Washie]

Honestly, I used to be a ref, which is why I try to defend refs. I also had many other friends who were refs. Only one of them now refs and that's because of the abuse. The parents and coaches at kids games are a disgrace. The FA need to toughen the f*** up on this shit, refs should be able to send parents away from the pitch, then the club the child plays for fined. Same with coaches, only if its the coach do the same, but if multiple misconduct reports come in for a coach, it should go on the DBS check as they obviously have issues. Should stomp a lot of it out.

 

[Springal]

I'm surprised they get paid that little, given the money sloshing around in football. Increase the pay greatly, increase the training, a proper career path, pension, performance reviews etc etc

How does that help though. Unless there’s excellent refs who don’t make any mistakes in the EFL or non league who are quitting because of the money etc then it’s not a factor

 

[El Presidente]

Difficult

There are too many levels of football to bundle all together to get an accurate picture of refereeing as a whole , so my comments will be purely aimed at the top 4 tiers .
You`ve worked hard all week , juggled your schedule to make time to fit the game in , taken care of any responsibilities you have made arrangements for travel and have budgeted the expense of the trip .
If you have travelled to an away game it might take all day , even overnight on some occasions , i know it takes me about 8 hours on trains for a home game return . For some who cant go every game a season ticket is a non starter , so you take pot luck getting a ticket more often than not . Then the game KOs and the best part (in our case ) of 32,000 people are there to watch a good and fair game , do we get that , do we **** , because Fabinho decides to try and ruin Fergusons career by dragging his studs down his achilles . But don`t worry this is a Professional ref and he will have seen it - NO he doesn`t , ok but VAR will have spotted it - NO they were eating their prawn sandwiches .

This in the Liverpool game ( not to mention the same with Robertson`s tackle ) i can hear Phil Collins` "Missed Again" playing in the background , then onto Palace , we all know that one , a Professional ref sat in Stockley Park with all the latest equipment and the "Professional" cant draw a f****** straight line from the correct player , even though he has assistance , so the 2,600 travelling supporters have their day ruined at no little expense .

Never mind always Fulham , see where this is going , another 32,000 turn out to watch a fair game and 2 penalty appeals not even checked by VAR because the Professional ref cant be arsed . Then when pulled on it by RDZ the Professional decides the non offensive truth spoken by RDZ deserves a Red card , you couldn`t make it up .

So in conclusion 3 games at least 9 instances where the Professional ref and VAR had a chance each to get it right and they failed on all 9 , as for the 66,600 supporters who have all gone to great expense and trouble to get to these games , well tough luck , IT WAS ALWAYS going to be about the the REFEREE and not the players or the supporters . If refs want respect do your bloody job or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco , this is OUR game and you are ruining it .

Difficult to know where to start and end with this assessment, but I’ll condense it down to Utter Bollocks.

 

[Washie]

There are too many levels of football to bundle all together to get an accurate picture of refereeing as a whole , so my comments will be purely aimed at the top 4 tiers .
You`ve worked hard all week , juggled your schedule to make time to fit the game in , taken care of any responsibilities you have made arrangements for travel and have budgeted the expense of the trip .
If you have travelled to an away game it might take all day , even overnight on some occasions , i know it takes me about 8 hours on trains for a home game return . For some who cant go every game a season ticket is a non starter , so you take pot luck getting a ticket more often than not . Then the game KOs and the best part (in our case ) of 32,000 people are there to watch a good and fair game , do we get that , do we **** , because Fabinho decides to try and ruin Fergusons career by dragging his studs down his achilles . But don`t worry this is a Professional ref and he will have seen it - NO he doesn`t , ok but VAR will have spotted it - NO they were eating their prawn sandwiches .

This in the Liverpool game ( not to mention the same with Robertson`s tackle ) i can hear Phil Collins` "Missed Again" playing in the background , then onto Palace , we all know that one , a Professional ref sat in Stockley Park with all the latest equipment and the "Professional" cant draw a f****** straight line from the correct player , even though he has assistance , so the 2,600 travelling supporters have their day ruined at no little expense .

Never mind always Fulham , see where this is going , another 32,000 turn out to watch a fair game and 2 penalty appeals not even checked by VAR because the Professional ref cant be arsed . Then when pulled on it by RDZ the Professional decides the non offensive truth spoken by RDZ deserves a Red card , you couldn`t make it up .

So in conclusion 3 games at least 9 instances where the Professional ref and VAR had a chance each to get it right and they failed on all 9 , as for the 66,600 supporters who have all gone to great expense and trouble to get to these games , well tough luck , IT WAS ALWAYS going to be about the the REFEREE and not the players or the supporters . If refs want respect do your bloody job or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco , this is OUR game and you are ruining it .

This attitude goes all the way down to youth levels, so they do end up going to stock the shelves at Tesco, which then makes you lose the good referees.

 

[TugWilson]

Difficult


Difficult to know where to start and end with this assessment, but I’ll condense it down to Utter Bollocks

Yours or a clean pair ?

 

[LamieRobertson]

You think being emotionless is the only option to abusing the ref? It isn't. Have a look at foreign leagues, people sing and get behind their team etc. Might not believe it when you watch the PL, but people attending games actually have more options than choosing between being emotionless and calling the ref a ****.

….I mentioned criticising them …abuse? Hmm depends on your definition…beyond reproach? …so chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” is abuse? The ref on Saturday achieved the no mean feat of getting that from both sets of fans ….if the ref is bothered by what he gets from the stands at a top level then he shouldn’t be in the job imho
Oh and I do watch on the tv ‘foreign leagues’….some of it is getting behind the team ..sone of it just orchestrated claptrap…like using canned laughter on a comedy program. …and they never criticise the ref? Yeah right.

Attending games hmm…ye done that for quite a while now ..one club….you become quite ‘invested’ in what’s happening on the pitch and the rights and wrongs …you should try it…I’ll reserve the right to criticise…I’m not a threat to them from the stand…I don’t swear…..yep I have booed the ref off …that’s never going to change ….as mentioned by another poster players surrounding the ref etc ..yep against that and i’m pleased to see that generally Dunk is the player’s representative which is as it should be

 

[Iggle Piggle]

If refs want respect do your bloody job or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco , this is OUR game and you are ruining it .

Without a ref, there is no game. To put this another way, would it be OK to say

"Sanchez should learn to catch a bloody ball or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
"Undav should be able to see a line of defenders and not wander offside. He may as well piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
What's Lamptey doing getting sucked in on the half way line for their goal? He'd be as much use if he pissed off to Stock shelves in Tesco's"

The last 2 Saturday's have been very frustrating with some questionable decisions thrown in (The Liverpool game even more so) but I don't like this "hang the bastard" mentality that seems to come to pass when we don't get the results we want.

Remember Anders Frisk?

Referee quits over 'Chelsea death threats'

The Swedish referee at the centre of the feud between the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has quit the game after a series of threats from football hooligans, most of which are understood to have come from England.

www.independent.co.uk

 

[LamieRobertson]

Without a ref, there is no game. To put this another way, would it be OK to say

"Sanchez should learn to catch a bloody ball or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
"Undav should be able to see a line of defenders and not wander offside. He may as well piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
What's Lamptey doing getting sucked in on the half way line for their goal? He'd be as much use if he pissed off to Stock shelves in Tesco's"

The last 2 Saturday's have been very frustrating with some questionable decisions thrown in (The Liverpool game even more so) but I don't like this "hang the bastard" mentality that seems to come to pass when we don't get the results we want.

Remember Anders Frisk?

Referee quits over 'Chelsea death threats'

The Swedish referee at the centre of the feud between the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has quit the game after a series of threats from football hooligans, most of which are understood to have come from England.

www.independent.co.uk

I don’t recall that …bit dramatic?

 

[TugWilson]

This attitude goes all the way down to youth levels, so they do end up going to stock the shelves at Tesco, which then makes you lose the good referees.

We know it is possible to have good refs - PIERLUIGI COLLINA , genuinely a hero of mine . Whenever he was reffing a game you knew it would end in a true result .

 

[Farehamseagull]

Without a ref, there is no game. To put this another way, would it be OK to say

"Sanchez should learn to catch a bloody ball or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
"Undav should be able to see a line of defenders and not wander offside. He may as well piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
What's Lamptey doing getting sucked in on the half way line for their goal? He'd be as much use if he pissed off to Stock shelves in Tesco's"

The last 2 Saturday's have been very frustrating with some questionable decisions thrown in (The Liverpool game even more so) but I don't like this "hang the bastard" mentality that seems to come to pass when we don't get the results we want.

Remember Anders Frisk?

Referee quits over 'Chelsea death threats'

The Swedish referee at the centre of the feud between the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has quit the game after a series of threats from football hooligans, most of which are understood to have come from England.

www.independent.co.uk

Great post.

 

[Washie]

We know it is possible to have good refs - PIERLUIGI COLLINA , genuinely a hero of mine . Whenever he was reffing a game you knew it would end in a true result .

Yes, as Italy has a very different approach to refs at a grassroots level.

 

[Silverhatch]

much rather have a shit ref than the ABOMINATION that is VAR.

 

[TugWilson]

Without a ref, there is no game. To put this another way, would it be OK to say

"Sanchez should learn to catch a bloody ball or piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
"Undav should be able to see a line of defenders and not wander offside. He may as well piss off and stock shelves at Tesco"
What's Lamptey doing getting sucked in on the half way line for their goal? He'd be as much use if he pissed off to Stock shelves in Tesco's"

The last 2 Saturday's have been very frustrating with some questionable decisions thrown in (The Liverpool game even more so) but I don't like this "hang the bastard" mentality that seems to come to pass when we don't get the results we want.

Remember Anders Frisk?

Referee quits over 'Chelsea death threats'

The Swedish referee at the centre of the feud between the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has quit the game after a series of threats from football hooligans, most of which are understood to have come from England.

www.independent.co.uk

Sanchez doesn`t drop the ball every game , there IS a poor decision made by the ref EVERY game , this is acceptable as he is just a human , BUT unacceptable when he doesn`t use VAR . And that is unacceptable when they cant draw a correct line .

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I don’t recall that …bit dramatic?

Death threats are definitely dramatic. I wouldn’t want them in my job.