Our referees need our sympathy
The conspicuous absence of any of our FIFA referees from the ongoing AFCON in Gabon has become part of discussions in many football circles and on platforms. Even among the referees themselves, the matter is being discussed.
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This is not surprising, since the game of football is a Ghanaian passion, just as there would be discussions, comments and even queries if and when our national team fail to be part of other African teams in continental and world football tournaments.
Perhaps, no other group of people should be better worried and concerned than us, members of the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG), and clearly we are. Yes, we are worried and not just worried, we are thoroughly disgusted and disturbed.
For sometime now, we have thought that we have put in place a system that can see at least one middle referee and one assistant among selected referees for AFCON. It started well and for sometime, including the 2015 AFCON, two years ago, two referees, one middle and one assistant who had been in the FIFA elite ‘A’ group for sometime were offered roles in the tournaments.
And this year, it was going to be a matter of course, but mother ill luck struck and that was during the South Africa and Senegalese FIFA World Cup qualifier in South Africa. The ball hit a Senegalese defender on the thigh with one of his hands hanging loosely near his thigh.
He had his back towards our middle referee who naturally had it difficult to clearly see what actually happened. His assistant advised him through his communication gadget that there was a handling of the ball. And so, fatefully and just how anybody in his situation would do, the whistle went.
And indeed, there were wild shouts from the partisan South African fans calling for a penalty-kick award. But the match cameras which recorded from all possible angles recorded otherwise.
And that was it, a temporary brake was applied to our forward match to the current AFCON. This was a matter of pure fate and ill luck.
We should and indeed, we have no other choice than to accept it as part of refereeing life. The referees involved were our best and still our best. Indeed, they can be favourably compared to any other on the African continent but they were suspended. They have to accept it and gather themselves, pick the pieces and match on.
We should all stand solidly behind them and encourage them. It is natural for a runner to fall but once he picks himself up, he should try and continue. There have been many occasions when several achievers have tried and failed, once, twice and even thrice.
Football does not mix with politics but our local politics have a lot of clear lessons for us to learn from. Our late President John Evans Atta Mills stood for and lost two political elections before becoming our fourth Republican President. Our current President, Nana Akufo Addo, also tried and lost two times but today he is our sixth Republican President.
Life is guarded by steadfastness, self-belief and courage. The good news is that the case of our elite referees is not that of bad performance or character. The two are among our best referees. Some of us can stand up for them, even at the gate of heaven. Their problem is that they are human beings, and human beings do make mistakes.
There is one important dimension in refereeing, that is prayers. Referees should study and know the laws of the game of football. They should train and keep fit to store enough stamina to enable them to keep close to incidents. But they must always pray.
Football is always a contest between two contestants. They too pray and sometimes indulge in all sorts of spiritual antics but God is one and he is a listening God.
Our referee managers appear to be on the right course, this time, although the sidelining and non-picking of a competent Accra referee for the FIFA list for this year cannot be suddenly forgotten but we are lucky that we still have young and experienced referees like Daniel Laryea, Prosper Adi and their accompanying assistants around.
Both the GFA and the Referees Committee should continue to guard and guide them. If and when they succeed, Ghana refereeing will succeed and advertise us.
Above all, they should help themselves by taking their matches one after the other in a professional manner. They should also remind themselves that the glory and perhaps the financial dividends are ahead and waiting.
There are reports of some international referees who have strong and influential football gurus working for them. In Ghana, we used to complain as orphans. Now we cannot and should not complain. The referees themselves, should work hard and register their good performances in the good books of the authorities at both CAF and FIFA levels.
They know how to do this at the local level, here in Ghana. In any competitive enterprise, the ability to position oneself in the minds and hearts of those who matter is part of the game of lobbying. Bribery is bad and unacceptable but lobbying and marketing yourself is not a vice. The world is now a very small place. Just a simple courtesy call, once in a while can do a lot of good.
Meanwhile, we should not forget our two elite referees who have suffered a temporary setback. The GFA and other referee managers should invite them and reassure them of our continued support and assistance. We even need media support for them.
The saying that: “While there is life, there is hope,” should be relevant in this situation. May the Almighty God be with them. They may be down, but they are not out and so is Ghana refereeing. Many more AFCONS will surely come and Ghanaian referees will be there.