From the top of the game to the grassroots, dissent has become an increasingly nasty and dangerous part of football. The beautiful game has turned ugly for many of us, particularly match officials. At amateur level – including schools – referees and those running the line frequently suffer verbal and even physical abuse, leading many to give up their involvement in the game for good. And who can blame them, when top professionals, coaches and managers are routinely captured on our TV screens screaming into the faces of match officials, or displaying petulant and aggressive actions when decisions go against them? VAR was meant to help at the top level of the sport, but it often appears to make things worse, as players and coaches brood and bicker while waiting for a ruling that looked clear-cut when first made by the ref.
Referees do make mistakes because they’re human, but they should never have to take to the pitch fearing for their safety. In Turkey, at the end of a recent Super Lig game, a referee was punched in the face and then kicked in the head as he lay on the ground. And the assailant? No less than the president of one of the clubs contesting the match. He has subsequently been permanently banned from the game.
Fortunately, it’s not yet reached that level in the English professional game, but far too often referees and assistants report being intimidated when simply doing their job. And what’s clearly on view at the top is filtering down to every level of the game, with worrying and increasing impact. In October, Merseyside Youth Football League went on strike in protest against abuse of officials. Incredibly, a local spectator convicted of assault after punching a referee in a car park following a children’s game, had had his touchline ban overturned.
Last year’s figures are not yet available, but in 2022 more than 50 people were convicted of assaulting a football official in England alone. The problem doesn’t reach anywhere near this level in other sports, so what’s to be done to save the game and give dissent the boot?
