14-09-2022, 16:50
They've all had to come through a school of hard knocks to reach even the National League. They'll all have been slagged off on parks pitches in Sunday League games for a season or two, before moving up to more senior football. It isn't the most rewarding thing to do either, but still they do it.
For sure they get stuff wrong. The 4th official for instance only runs a game if the ref' lets him, so that's a big mistake cos the ref' will carry most of that can.
Alan Shearer the other week complained about "an inexperienced official" taking a wrong steer from VAR. There is no such thing as an inexperienced official in the Premier League. He may not have had many run-ins with VAR, but he'll have refereed enough games to have seen most challenging situations before loads and loads of times. What he won't have had is everybody and his uncle publicly testifying to his idiocy after watching 27 replays in slo' mo'. And he won't have had a man who he knows and probably respects (cos they do) questioning his decision in the light of what is supposedly a clear and obvious error on his part!
You get a bloke like Martin Atkinson who retired before this season. He started refereeing when he was about 17. He retired I think at 51. All those years he did his best to be honest and fair. He should be a hero. We should be interviewing him. People in the street should be telling him he'd done well. Instead, he disappears into a football backroom job. No doubt it's a nice little earner, but we'll forget him and his contribution, just as we did every Saturday when he failed to make a controversial decision and didn't get his knowledge of the laws of the game questioned by an ex-player reading from a cue card. And there are others who never referee beyond the local football level, because that is where their heart lies. They are unambitious, but they love the game. They turn out in all weathers and endure the never-ending insults. I couldn't begin to do it.
That's why I say, just get on with playing the game. When the final whistle comes, give the man a pat on the back and thank him. You'll see a smile all the way across his face and like you he'll hardly be able to wait for the next game. And he'll be better, the game will be better, and you'll feel good about yourself for once too!
For sure they get stuff wrong. The 4th official for instance only runs a game if the ref' lets him, so that's a big mistake cos the ref' will carry most of that can.
Alan Shearer the other week complained about "an inexperienced official" taking a wrong steer from VAR. There is no such thing as an inexperienced official in the Premier League. He may not have had many run-ins with VAR, but he'll have refereed enough games to have seen most challenging situations before loads and loads of times. What he won't have had is everybody and his uncle publicly testifying to his idiocy after watching 27 replays in slo' mo'. And he won't have had a man who he knows and probably respects (cos they do) questioning his decision in the light of what is supposedly a clear and obvious error on his part!
You get a bloke like Martin Atkinson who retired before this season. He started refereeing when he was about 17. He retired I think at 51. All those years he did his best to be honest and fair. He should be a hero. We should be interviewing him. People in the street should be telling him he'd done well. Instead, he disappears into a football backroom job. No doubt it's a nice little earner, but we'll forget him and his contribution, just as we did every Saturday when he failed to make a controversial decision and didn't get his knowledge of the laws of the game questioned by an ex-player reading from a cue card. And there are others who never referee beyond the local football level, because that is where their heart lies. They are unambitious, but they love the game. They turn out in all weathers and endure the never-ending insults. I couldn't begin to do it.
That's why I say, just get on with playing the game. When the final whistle comes, give the man a pat on the back and thank him. You'll see a smile all the way across his face and like you he'll hardly be able to wait for the next game. And he'll be better, the game will be better, and you'll feel good about yourself for once too!