In March 2008, Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying “the haranguing of referees is ridiculous,” a comment that sat well with the FA’s Respect campaign. The Manchester Utd manager seemed to forget this sentiment when he accused Alan Wiley of being “unfit” to officiate on Saturday, and could now be kicked out of the beautiful game. Possibly. Alan Leighton, the national secretary of Professionals’ trade union Prospect, told BBC Radio 5 Live:
“I think there has to be some recognition that this is a serious allegation that needs to be properly dealt with and punished severely.
“There are issues around suspension from the job that would be new territory that hasn’t happened before, but I think the FA has to grab the nettle on this one.
Beckenbauer and Lehmann fail to see eye to eye over dissent issue
After seeing yellow for protesting over an opponent’s feigned injury in a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend, Stuttgart keeper and perennial complainer Jens Lehmann said the standard of refereeing is so bad he may retire from the Bundesliga:
“There was a situation in which a Frankfurt player feigned an injury so we could not launch a counter-attack.”
“The referee said he had to stop play for the injury and then the man stands up and doesn’t even leave the field to be treated. I told the referee, ‘Look! There he goes!’ and he shows me a yellow card - incredible.
“That was so bad that I may as well not bother playing in future. I did not even say anything nasty to the referee.
“Surely there are better ones. I am sorry, but things cannot go on like this. This is sad for the whole of the Bundesliga.”
Jens is clearly outraged for receiving his third yellow card of the season for dissent, but if Franz Beckenbauer had his way, those cards would have been a different colour. The German legend has toldBild that the Bundesliga
Three ways to make Kinnear less grumpy after a game
According to a poll held on The Spoiler yesterday, the overwhelming majority of football fans believe there is a problem with the standard of Premier League refereeing that must be addressed post haste. The likes of Joe Kinnear, Mark Hughes, and David Moyes are all outspoken on the subject, but none are keen to offer or endorse a positive, practical solution to the issue. With this in mind, The Spoiler has compiled a three point plan to improve the state of officiating in the top flight…
1. Introduce a video referee
It’s a sad fact that the game moves far too fast for an infallible human to keep up with - a referee can’t be everywhere at once, and a linesman cannot expected to be perfectly accurate when he must be looking at two places at once (technically a physical impossibility). The video ref system has been touted for years, and as Spoiler reader Sack the Juggler eloquently says, it has been successfully implemented in rugby, so why not in the beautiful game? It’s time to embrace technology and make proper use of the cameras that cover every angle of every stadium anyway.
2. Pay the referees more money
At present, Premier League referees receive a retainer of £33,000 and a further £1,000 for each match they officiate. This usually equates to about £60,000 per year. While this seems an ample amount for 90 minutes of work on a weekend, surely there is enough money in the game to pay them £100,000, or even £200,000 per year? Some clubs will pay that for one week of services from a player! There is a general
Bolton boss harbours no bad feelings towards Rob Styles
When Gary Megson’s described Rob Styles’ decision to point to the spot after Jlloyd Samuel’s impressive challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo as “hugely embarrassing”, there were few people who blamed him.
Yes, a big deal has been made of the FA’s Respect campaign but if you see your team’s chances of taking a priceless point at Old Trafford robbed by a ridiculously refereeing decision, nobody expects you to stay calm.
So it is somewhat surprising that the Bolton boss has today told his club’s website that after speaking to Rob Styles, he has forgiven him for his error, even going as far as to say that he would welcome the blundering official back to the Reebok:
“It’s gone now and we can’t do anything about it. It was an error and everybody knew it was an error, but
Red Devils naughty behaviour punished with minuscule penalty
Image: PA Photos
For receiving a mammoth seven yellow cards during their deadlocked visit to Stamford Bridge yesterday, Manchester Utd were treated to an automatic fine of £25k. Throughout the match, Rio Ferdinand was in a typically vocal mood, while the team in red could have learned nothing about respect from their manager, who spent most of the game indulging in his favourite pastime of haranguing the fourth official.
Manchester Utd certainly deserve reprimanding for their disrespectful demeanor, yet the impunity of a £25k is problematic; as Adrian Chiles pointed out on MOTD2, it works out as the equivalent of fining fellow pundit Lee Dixon five pence. The chaps at the Beeb show even suggested sending off a nominated player if six or more yellow cards are received by a single team.
So, should the fine be increased in order to genuinely reprimand the big boys? Would it be a better system if the fine money went straight to charity? Or should it be scrapped all together? Let us know with a vote and comment below…
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