With the exception of perhaps Howard Webb, I have never been one for ref bashing and believe they do their best in arguably one of sports’ toughest professions. It is a thankless task, although I don’t think the authorities help them.
Before you switch off and think I am going to join the masses who scream out for the need of video technology, I want to reassure you I am not and instead will be aiming my fury at the initiatives and guidelines that the referees are under instruction to follow. Only football could punish players for celebrating goals with a yellow card, while seeing scything challenges as just part of the game. The reason my frustrations have surfaced is having witnessed two red cards being branded against Tottenham in the past few days.
I’m not going to string up either referee on this occasion, because by the letter of the law they were both red card offences, but who writes these ridiculous laws in the first place?
I understand the need to clamp down on flying elbows, as the likes of John Fashanu and Ben Thatcher have both used theirs with violent intent, but can Jermain Defoe’s really have been deemed in the same league? I ask the question as to how Defoe was going to be able to challenge for that header with his arms by his side and equally where was the intent when his eyes were clearly on the ball the whole time? Surely the rule doesn’t state that players are able to raise their arms, just as long as it doesn’t catch anyone in the face; how is that workable in what is ultimately a contact sport? What did Defoe do differently to say what Kevin Davies does week in week out for Bolton?
It is the same with Kaboul’s sending off. We all called the red card the minute he moved in with his head, but who was the real perpetrator of this incident? It was Tiote who was the aggressor and while Kaboul was stupid to react to the provocation, what harm was actually done? Had he made contact then fair enough, but common sense would ensure that this incident wouldn’t really warrant anything other than a stern talking to. Unfortunately therein lays the problem as referees aren’t allowed to officiate with that and failure to send off Kaboul would have seen the ref reprimanded and maybe taken off the roster for a week. Is it any wonder that referees are so card happy these days?
That is what really boils my blood is that managers and fans continually berate referees but what chance have they got, given the rules in place? You get yellow cards for taking your shirt off, dissent; while getting red cards for raising your arms, or in Kaboul’s case touching eyebrows with an opponent. It kind of makes you sick when you see incidents like leg breaking tackles, cynical stamps, or kicks from behind often going unpunished, and yet this is what would actually do the most damage to the game. The rules need to be rewritten and quick, in order to bring a semblance of common sense back to the game.
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