A common phrase is used in England when talking about the Premier League; ‘Best league in the world, with the worst officials.’
Week after week across the Football League, fans preach in frustration at the calamity of refereeing decisions, especially the inconsistency of the Video Assistant Referee in the Premier League.
English refereeing has become something of a laughingstock for fans across the world, from Graham Poll showing three yellow cards at the 2006 World Cup, to Andre Marriner mistaking Kieran Gibbs for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Without doubt, England has produced and nurtured some fine referees. Howard Webb took charge of the 2010 World Cup Final, Mark Clattenburg officiated the Euro 2016 Final. Last weekend, Rebecca Welch became the first female referee to oversee a third round FA Cup game, representing the current inclusivity in the game.
But why is English refereeing in crisis right now?
Its tough to explain where the problem stems from. EFL referees are ultimately verbal punchbags to managers and players, something which grassroots football emulates.
93.7% of referees at grassroots level claimed that they had been abused, significantly higher than other sports such as cricket (56%) and Rugby Union (53.7%) and significantly higher than other European countries.
According to the FA’s official statistics, there were 77 reports of assault on referees in the 2019/20 season, leading to postponement of games in counties in protest to the sickening abuse that boys and girls as young as 13 have had to receive.
As a former Level 7 grassroots referee myself, I did experience abuse frequently from parents, players, and managers alike. Despite an increase in support campaigns and charities for referees, only 28% of referees continue to officiate past two years of receiving their badge. For many, a job such as refereeing isn’t worth the stress of abuse almost every Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.
Let’s look at Liverpool vs Manchester United at Anfield in the 2019/20 season. After a contentious decision involving Virgil van Dijk and David de Gea, Man United players crowded referee Craig Pawson, and United were later charged for failure to control their players.
The issue is that when the 12-year-olds watching the game see their role models react that way towards an official, they then deem it acceptable to do that in their own games.
It’s a grey area.
Football is a ‘working class’ game, unlike the ‘gentleman’s game’ of rugby where even just swearing at the ref can have you in the sinbin. But in truth, after seeing referees abused every week, who would want to put themselves in that situation?
Too many talented referees have slipped through the net, but the English refereeing problem could lie elsewhere, such as the men in the middle not having played at an elite level, limiting their understanding of the game. Currently, no referee in the EFL has played at a professional level.
Even certified bad boy and current Bristol Rovers manager stated his desire for ex-professionals to put the whistle to their lips and progress up the pyramid.
Talking to Sky Sports News, the ex-Manchester City and QPR midfielder said, ‘”If we want better referees, who are best to referee a contest? Somebody who’s been in the contest loads of times and experienced all the dark arts and all the stuff that goes on, or somebody who’s never had a game of football in their lives?”
While England currently has two UEFA select officials in Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, the fact is that the overall standard of officiating has been poor for some time.
Hopefully with the words of ex-pros such as Barton, and further investment and ideas from the FA into protecting referees, we can see the next Pierluigi Collina refereeing the Champions League Final in years to come.
