01-05-2019, 13:11
If a GAME is played in the proper spirit you should hardly need or see a referee. What football has created is an essentially REFEREED game, in which the referee is in permanent capital letters, at the centre of everything, responsible for everything, blamed for the shortcomings and cheating of everyone on and off the field of PLAY (that's play remember, not war, not politics, not natural disaster - PLAY). And in the background the ref and his/her assistants are "encouraged" by a partisan crowd of thousands ever-willing loudly to signal its disapproval.
If the Leeds defender had not feinted to put the ball out before playing a pass ...... if the forward had not seized the chance to score rather than stop play ...... if Patrick Bamford had stepped back and smiled at his furious opponent ........ if his opponent had not been so keen to demonstrate to the world how angry he could become ........ if the ground hadn't been packed with spectators .......... if it hadn't been an important game ............ and if it had all been happening in slow-motion with action replays ......... But the world is not like that.
All we've a right to ask of officials is neutrality, honesty and that they are familiar with the rules of the game. We can't demand perfection or we'll need officials scattered around the pitch like American Football throwing down flags so that endless replays can adjudicate what actually happened. YET in the real world we'll happily rely on the testimony of an untrained eye-witness to put someone in prison for the rest of their lives ..... so what's so bad about sucking it up like grown-ups, PLAYING the GAME and thanking the officials for allowing the match to take place and doing their imperfect best?
If the Leeds defender had not feinted to put the ball out before playing a pass ...... if the forward had not seized the chance to score rather than stop play ...... if Patrick Bamford had stepped back and smiled at his furious opponent ........ if his opponent had not been so keen to demonstrate to the world how angry he could become ........ if the ground hadn't been packed with spectators .......... if it hadn't been an important game ............ and if it had all been happening in slow-motion with action replays ......... But the world is not like that.
All we've a right to ask of officials is neutrality, honesty and that they are familiar with the rules of the game. We can't demand perfection or we'll need officials scattered around the pitch like American Football throwing down flags so that endless replays can adjudicate what actually happened. YET in the real world we'll happily rely on the testimony of an untrained eye-witness to put someone in prison for the rest of their lives ..... so what's so bad about sucking it up like grown-ups, PLAYING the GAME and thanking the officials for allowing the match to take place and doing their imperfect best?