Why I back Respect the Ref
THE Birmingham Mail’s Respect The Ref campaign is fantastic and the FA’s respect campaign is also a good initiative.
It is great, especially at lower levels where they are asking clubs and parents to sign up to it.
Children will imitate what players do. If they see Wayne Rooney mouthing off to a referee or a linesman they will copy it.
Wayne, to be fair to him, has got much more mature. He still does it a little bit but I think that is youthful enthusiasm. Now he does not bicker with every decision and that is good to see.
When a referee makes a decision he is not going to change his mind. He might consult with a linesman but the only thing that happens if you start screeching and shouting at a referee is that in his own mind he might turn against your team even more.
Everton boss David Moyes probably felt that way on Sunday when he felt his side were denied a penalty. He was so irate with the fourth official that the referee eventually banished him to the stands where he was forced to sit among the Stoke supporters.
Referees have a hard enough time with people slagging them from one side or the other and players having a go at them. They should be respected and the players should respect each other, even the opposition, as sports people. I know there is much more tension involved these days but it is a game after all.
I genuinely saw football as a hobby that I was getting handsomely paid for. I always loved life and the moment I stepped on the football pitch was when I relaxed the most.
I enjoyed the actual physical side of playing football. It was not the money, I would have played for nothing, the fact I was getting a lot of money was unbelievable to me.
At the end of the game – whether we’d got beaten 5-0 or won 5-0 – it was still a mark of respect that you went up to your opponent and shook hands, no matter what way the game went.
It is not about shouting at linesmen because they have made a decision – although the offside thing is confusing to everyone – but if they make a decision, roll with it and accept it.
It would be lovely to see players respecting every decision and getting on with the game but I still do not think that is going to come easily because there are such high stakes in football now.
But it is still the same game as in my day and I am sure the players are still playing for the same reasons in that they love playing football. They are getting millions of pounds now instead of what we used to get but the only thing that changes in my mind is that you really don’t want to get yourself injured and some of the art of football has been taken out of football because of that.
One thing I don’t understand, by the way, is players whipping off their shirts when they score a goal. They know they are going to get booked and they still do it and it makes them look a bit daft.
They know the next mistimed tackle and they are off the pitch, so why would you do it? What is the point?
I remember some years ago the referee dropping a yellow card and Paul Gasgoigne retrieving it and holding it up to him in a mock booking.
The referee was not too impressed and booked him! In our day you were allowed to have a bit of banter with referees but these days FIFA have handed down such restrictions and rules.
You have the one where if a player is injured he has to walk off the pitch before he can continue playing – that is ridiculous – and all these things seem to frustrate players and supporters.
Mixed in with the respect you need some common sense. I understand, from a referee’s point of view, if they want to get to grade A in the Premiership then they have to adhere to every single little rule and there are also the assessors judging them harshly.
I would like to see them recognised as human beings and smart enough to be able to have a little joke with players – as well as make the harsh decisions when needed – and that would gain a lot of respect from players and supporters and bring a little bit of sense to the game.
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