NEW COLUMN: Gary Williamson - Refs

This article was published in 2001....has anything really changed?!!

Cont...here were the new generation of super refs, fitter, stronger, faster, to be launched against the unsuspecting footballer, no dive would go unseen, no foul would go unpunished, no offside would be given incorrectly, you get the drift.

The average football fan of course saw straight through this charade and the topic of conversation in pubs up and down the country on the first day of season was that referees would still, in general, be the same tossers, just a fitter version.

Low and behold a quarter of the way into the season and the fans view, as always, has proved to be correct. Just how do these incompetent little men in the middle, and their less than able assistants, get away with decisions that just defy belief in some instances.

You can guarantee at least once during any match you will get a contentious decision where thirty odd thousand people will scream indignation at the referee or one of his assistants and the television replays will prove the crowd were correct. I know the home crowd will only see what they want to see, but time after time we scream at the referee about a penalty, for or against, or at the assistant for flagging offside when your strikers clean through and we are proved right by the replays, the sad thing being that at no point does the referee, or assistant, ever have to explain how he got it wrong. If they had an obligation to give a post match conference in front of the hounds of the press it might just jolt them out of their untouchable world.

That brings me on to my main point, why aren't the officials of the game held accountable to anyone? If a player under performs he is dropped, if a manager does not produce results he is sacked, if a referee proves himself consistently incompetent he is given the F.A. Cup final!

The F.A. holds David Elleray and Paul Durkin high as examples of top class English referees. Both these idiots have been responsible for two of the most disgraceful decisions I have seen in many a season. Paul Durkin's decision, or non-decision, last week in the Leeds vs. Chelsea game was bad enough but at least he had the balls to acknowledge his mistake. The fact that the F.A. are now powerless to review Le Saux's punishment because it he had already been cautioned is just another acknowledgment to the fans that the F.A. have no grasp on reality. Fortunately Danny Mills was not seriously injured but if he had been then it's tough because Le Saux had had his booking and that would be the end of the matter as far as the F.A. are concerned, broken leg or not.

That brings me onto the fans favourite, David Elleray, this duffer was the

referee a couple of months ago for the Everton vs. Tottenham league game at Goodison, during the course of the game Mauricio Tarricco decided he didn't like the look of Thomas Gravesen's leg and decided to re arrange it, I remember being sat at home as a completely disinterested neutral screaming at the telly "you dirty Tottenham b*stard" the tackle was that bad. David Elleray waved play on, I simply couldn't believe it. The television replays were practically X rated and the referee missed it! Gravesen ended up with over thirty odd stitches in a wound on and around his knee and was out injured for a month. The post match review with Andy Gray was worth the annual subscription fee alone, I don't think I have ever heard a TV pundit so scathing of a referee, it was a joy to hear.

It turns out those bods at the F.A. must have seen the same incident as me and Andy and the Video Panel recommended disciplinary action against Tarricco. Simple procedure you would think, err no unfortunately not. Before a player can be punished for a partial amputation the match referee has to review the incident as well, yes you guessed it, Mr. Elleray decided his original fantasy interpretation of the assault was correct and rejected the recommendation of the Disciplinary Panel, television replays, Gravesen and his plastic surgeon that Tarricco had committed an offence. How does Elleray, or for that matter any referee, have the power to completely disregard common sense and not have to justify it to anyone. This power is the reason why the referees of today are perceived as arrogant and untouchable and are the subject of constant terrace abuse; they have nothing in common with any facet of the game. Every other individual in the game from your £25 million star player to the grounds man is accountable to someone, referees it would seem are not and love every minute of it.

This has got to stop. Referees must be criticised and punished in public for their incompetence, the days of the old boys club where a quiet word of admonishment over a G&T should be banished. Today football is a highly polished, highly lucrative, highly professional product where managers, players and clubs seasons can be made or broken by one blow of the magic whistle. The fact that the F.A. and the referees are still decades behind the rest of the profession is nothing short of a disgrace. UEFA are not exactly up to speed in the real life world but it is no coincidence that they have not given an English referee one of their flag ship games in as long as I can remember. This fact alone should make the F.A realise that their appointed officials are simply not good enough.