Refereeing Questions: Our media and our referees
The media which literally provides us with news, information and entertainment is very key to our everyday living and existence. Without the media, our daily living becomes tasteless, empty and sometimes void.
To this end, it has become routine for most people, especially those in the literate world to become ‘slaves’ to either reading and or listening to the various forms of the media.
Reduced into practical everyday life, we have made it as part of our living to always read the Graphic and or listen to Radio Ghana, where Graphic and Radio Ghana mean newspapers and radio news.
Currently, followers of football depend on the media and the information and news that they provide to follow, enjoy and be informed on the ongoing Brazil 2014 FIFA tournament. Without the media, we will all be in the dark.
Already, the managers and players of the Black Stars have serious issues with some news items coming from Brazil after our 2-1 defeat by the USA.
With this, the role of the media has become not only useful but very important and crucial. On our local scene, followers of local football matches and indeed any sporting event depend on our football commentators and writers, otherwise known as sports journalists.
Our media personnel have carried out this role throughout the 2013/2014 Premier League matches with near distinction. Our national or state broadcasting, GBC, is part of this vital service.
Every Sunday or match day, some of us follow with joy, commentaries provided by our sports journalists and commentators. It would, therefore, be vital for our commentators to appreciate their role and ensure that their job assists positively in developing our football. In the course of the 2013/2014 Premier League, I have followed many matches through our Uniiq FM. To my mind, this FM Station stands out among all the FM stations.
However, the commentary listened to on the 30th week encounter between Accra Hearts of Oak and New Edubiase United at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, June 4 left much to be desired.
At the end of a very good commentary on the match, the commentator appeared to me to have gone to the woods in his description of the performance of the middle referee who awarded a penalty against Hearts of Oak in about the 88th minute of the game.
Indeed, the penalty was awarded during what is known as Injury Time or Time Added-on.
The commentator apparently saw things differently and condemned the referee on his award of the penalty in such unsavory language that, all his listeners would conclude that the referee was there with a pre-determined mind to cheat Hearts and prevent the club from advancing to the second spot on the league and thereby qualifying alongside Kotoko to participate in next season’s African Champions League.
And as if his condemnations were not enough, there was a lady in the commentary box who added even more attacks and insults on the referee.
It was, therefore, not surprising when ‘Hell’ nearly broke loose with some of the supporters after the blood of the referee. But for the vigilance and protection of security men and an executive member of Hearts management, the match officials could have been lynched.
It is difficult for anyone who watched the incident leading to the award of the penalty against Hearts to draw the same conclusions that our Uniiq FM commentators arrived at. Football players can play tricks and be insincere when they want to gain possession of the ball or prevent their opponents from gaining possession.
It would be useful to watch carefully players and their tricks during the ongoing Brazil 2014. There would be many incidents such as off-side positioning and fouls and misconducts which at first sight we, as viewers, may not notice.
But the referee has to. It would only be through the advantage of re-plays that many of us would agree with certain decisions of the referees. As television viewers, we often disagree with certain decisions of match officials but we would always agree with them when we get the chance to watch the incidents in slow-motion replays.
Our commentators should, therefore, exercise restraint and candour when they comment on certain decisions by referees. The tape of the Hearts-New Edubiase match should be available.
It would, therefore, be useful if those of us who are interested would examine it critically without any bias and establish whether the Hearts player (in jersey number 42) pulled the New Edubiase attacker (in jersey number 4) by his jersey pants.
The video tape should be available at the GFA. It would be useful if GTV could use it for our education and information.
Referees are responsible people like many other Ghanaian public service providers. They have families and most of them work in very important positions.
The referee who handled this particular match happens to work with the Ghana Navy and, therefore, is a national security personnel. But he was run down in the commentary as if he were a criminal. Not only that.
As usual, all Ghanaian referees were described as never-do-wells. Why? As a state broadcaster, GBC has established itself as a credible and important broadcaster.
Indeed, Uniiq FM commentaries are the first choice of most Ghanaians, especially we the non-Akan speakers. They almost always do well. And nobody should use the commentary under discussion to judge them, just as the performance of one individual referee should not be used to condemn all referees.
It is a joy to many Ghanaians to hear the voice of our own Kwabena Yeboah providing commentary for English listeners during the current Brazil 2014.
In his commentaries, he does not always agree with some decisions of some of the match officials, but we should all pay attention to the way and manner he comments on such disagreements.
His commentaries should provide a free refresher course for all of us, especially our television and radio commentators. Our football commentators are providing very vital and ready information and entertainment to us all, but this should not be done with pain and anguish to those who provide us with their services.
