The game of football can be a first class lesson or exercise in hard work, fair play and team work. But at the same time it can be threatening, rough, abusive, nasty and very unpleasant for referees.
Essentially, football is a game for enjoyment and so we should all play our parts well to make it an entertaining sport for everybody.
Everyone involved in the game should, therefore, develop policies aimed at improving standards, behaviour and general comportment. This means that teams, their mangers, spectators and particularly match officials, should play their expected roles well to ensure that the laws and regulations governing the game are adhered to.
About two weeks ago, our senior national team, the Black Stars, engaged the national team of Montenegro in an international friendly. That was part of the Black Stars’ preparation for the forthcoming 2014 Brazil World Cup. The match, to many Ghanaians, served its intended purpose. For the technical men and handlers, it perhaps helped them to sort out which players would be good for the various departments and positions in the team.
But to me, the most important lesson I learnt was the way and manner in which the referee - the man in the middle - handled the match. He was good. He rightly awarded a good penalty against the Black Stars in the very first minute of the match which resulted in the only goal of the match. But I think the referee allowed too many rough plays, meaning players using reckless tackles and, on a few occasions, excessive force on opponents. He appeared to have told himself that the match was a friendly international and, therefore, needed a friendly handling.
He appeared to have forgotten that there are no friendly laws among the 17 FIFA Laws. The match was a friendly one but it had only one friendly regulation agreed upon between the two nations. That was about the number of substitutes. And even that was done within the FIFA laid-down regulation.
The result of the referee’s lack of what I saw as effective management of the game resulted in a near loss of control of this all-important match. Towards the end of the match, there developed open hostility, abuse and very aggressive behaviour among the opposing players. The referee was lucky that this new mood developed only during the last minutes of the game. It is worthy of note that this did not just descend on the game from nowhere. It started building up gradually as the referee ignored incidents of rough play among the players.
Referees are well advised to use the advantage rule, but this should be wisely applied. A player who is roughly tackled but sees no action taken by the referee is always tempted to resort to retaliation that can lead to more rough play. The game of football provides referees with a number of opportunities to show players that they are in control of the game, as well as in control of themselves by exhibiting the knowledge and understanding of the laws of the game.
The first robust challenge, or minor trip is a golden opportunity for a match referee to demonstrate the way and manner he would be controlling the rest of the game. Even when the referee takes no action because he was applying the advantage rule, he should show it by body language that he had seen the offence and that he was not happy with it.
Another important aspect of this first management opportunity is the need to gain eye contact with the offending player - a glance or short stare indicating his displeasure. To me, the referee forgot his management and proactive skills, both of which are valuable assets for all referees at all levels. I am referring to our Montenegro referee.
Poor match management and control can create problems which may escalate. And that was exactly what happened when ace defender Jerry Akaminko violently pushed a Montenegran opponent in the dying minutes of the game. It was obvious at that stage that the referee had virtually lost control and thus could not take any punitive action against Jerry. This resulted in a mass confrontation during which players from both sides pushed and tugged each other. Each player appeared to be drawing the attention of the referee to one previously ignored infringement or the other.
I do hope that our referees saw what I saw in that referee. The point is that referees need to take precautions and tackle potential problem areas by giving early warnings to players. It is also very crucial that referees retain their authority, dignity and respect as arbiters. For, if and when they allow offences to go unpunished, their authority is eroded and their ability to manage and control the game is weakened, resulting in the weakening of the spirit of the game.
As referees, we should always remember that in some matches, we would have to caution or send off players. It appeared our Montenegro match referee did not take cognisance of this. His attitude, it appeared, was that the match was a friendly and should be handled differently. That is wrong!
Another vital lesson to be learnt, perhaps, by our players and their handlers is the way they comport and conduct themselves during matches. The match, as observed earlier, was a good and real lesson. Our players, I am sure, have seen another side of refereeing.
Our players should know and understand that the failure of a referee to punish an earlier offence should not give them the license to take the law into their own hands and try to retaliate.
The referee ignoring an earlier offence does not mean that he would not notice or punish the next one. ‘He kicked me or he hurt me and you ignored it’ cannot be an excuse for a player to repeat the same offence.
The World Cup tournament is definitely coming, and Ghana has already qualified to participate. There will be referees there. Referees of different temperaments and attitudes will be appointed to take charge of matches.
Our players need to respect their decisions, mannerisms and ways of handling matches. The interpretation and implementation of the 17 Laws may vary from referee to referee. Referees have been given varied powers and duties.
Indeed, in a way, referees are glorified dictators. What they decide is final. As players, members of our national team are to go by all decisions of the referees that they would be meeting during their matches. Luckily, almost all our players are very experienced and have met and dealt with all sorts of referees and their decisions.
We were only lucky that Jerry Akaminko was spared the red card. It could have affected his participation in the upcoming World Cup tournament. Players, referees and team handlers have a lot to learn from the Montenegro match. As referees we should have no room for players’ misbehaviour and misconducts, whether in friendly or competitive matches.
Graphic Sports
