Give soccer referees a break
More and more, when I watch college football, it seems like the refs just can’t win. Don’t get me wrong, I see you lose calls. But it seems like a lot of emphasis is being placed on showing missed calls on TV and having the referees abused by fans.
Look at the recent suspension of a SEC team of umpires after calls during the UGA-LSU game and the Florida-Arkansas game. Fans in Georgia and Arkansas not only sent hate mail, but also called the officials’ home phones with unbelievable messages accusing the refs of all sorts of things. From being in the shot, having issues with the game, even deliberately trying to affect the score.
And it’s the first time I can remember having a team get suspended, although I’ve seen equally bad or missed calls each and every week from the refs. Why this particular crew in this particular situation?
I recently heard that ESPN had something like 25 cameras at a game for a recent Monday night NFL football game. I mean, with that kind of scrutiny, the officials really don’t stand a chance. They are not perfect and there will always be missed calls. But now it’s like the media and fans are trying to highlight any missed calls and screaming bloody murder.
If you have never officiated at a sporting event at least at the high school level, you should think twice before charging an official with willful misconduct. It is an extremely demanding job. Now, I do not condone accepting bad refereeing. I think college football conferences need to monitor, criticize and hold refs accountable. But what I’ve seen recently is inconsistency and reaction to the media and fans from the conferences. It is not a logical and consistent policy to improve officiating.
And I’ve also seen an increase in the ugliness of football fans. Now, if he paid his money for a ticket and wants to yell or boo the refs, I think that’s his right. But hunting them down after the game and sending hate mail and voicemails is going above and beyond IMHO. In what scenario is this behavior that we should condone?
I trained a bit myself and had many conversations with the refs on the sidelines where they admitted they missed one or didn’t see the call like they should have. And I’ve seen some really bad refs at times. But in high school and lower levels, I always wondered what we adults thought we were teaching kids with some of the bad behavior towards refs I saw.
Now let me close by saying again that I don’t think bad refereeing should be tolerated without trying to fix the problem. I believe that officials should be constantly and fairly monitored and regulated by officials. And, rather than simply implement a suspension in reaction to media attention, implement policies for punishment consistent with published criteria.
And I think the fans should give the refs a break and consider all the correct calls they make into split-second decisions over the many, many games they call. And let’s remember, it’s just a game.
