The unnecessary saga of referee arithmetics at the GFA
Since the end of the 2014/2015 Premier League season, there have been unnecessary wranglings over the number of referees, both middle and lines, who should be enlisted to handle matches of the top leagues this 2015/2016 football season.
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The wranglings were so intense that it took the intervention of the GFA President Kwasi Nyantakyi to solve. This was quite unnecessary if the system had been allowed to work.
Fact is, Ghana’s football had benefited from a perfect long-standing tradition of refereeing recruitment, training and administration in the country. The Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) has always been responsible for referee recruitment, training and development.
The RAG has almost 1,400 members out of which about 1,000 are active referees at difference levels of match officiating, like colts, district and regional levels and national and international levels.
Almost on seasonal basis, there have been seven FIFA International middle referees and seven FIFA assistants. Next in line are referees and assistant referees generally for the Premier League.
And this is where there are wranglings when it comes to the number and the personnel.
The list for all categories of referees are initiated by the Referees Association. Recommendations for the list of FIFA Referees and the Premier League are sent by the RAG to the general secretary of the GFA who in turn sends it to the Referees Committee for advice.
Indeed, the GFA Refereeing Regulations in Article 3 defined the duties of the Referees Committee as follows:
1. To classify the referees in each category on the basis of their performance in matches in competitions organised by the association and propose promotions and demotions.
2. To nominate candidates for the International List who are eligible to officiate at international matches according to the FIFA Regulations governing the registration of international referees etc.
3. Article 7 on the Ranking of Referees states categorically that the criteria for the promotion and demotion of Referees shall be APPROVED by the Referees Committee.
4. Article 7(3) also states that the Referees Committee shall decide how many referees are to be demoted to the lower category or subcategory and how many referees are to be promoted to the upper category every season.
The problem about how many referees should be listed for the current season started when a text message was sent to the RAG in the name of the GFA instructing the association to submit a list of 40 referees and 40 assistants for the 2015/2016 season. By then, the executives of the RAG were all in Tamale conducting FIFA physical fitness tests to select referees from the Northern Zone of the country.
And that was also when the membership of the present Executive Committee of the GFA had not been fully constituted with the President of the GFA himself out of the country on official assignments. It was curious and one suspicious. The RAG Executives made quick contacts with a few of the GFA Executive members including one who was with them in Tamale. They all denied any knowledge of the new and strange directives.
After the national RAG exercise to select the referees was completed, a list of 50 referees and 50 assistants was approved by the RAG’s Working Committee, which is only below the RAG’s highest body, the RAG Congress. That list was sent to the GFA and approved by the Referees Committee.
However, after the start of the current season after two weeks matches had been played and officiated, using the new referee’s list, the number of referees was reduced from 50 to 40.
Indeed, on Match Day 3, while some referees were in their dressing rooms at their match venues, they had calls from a no number mobile phone to desist from handling their matches, even though there were no other referees to take over from them.
They decided to ignore the telephone directive and went ahead and handled their matches.
Some of the referees who had been dropped from the list threatened to go on air while some made contacts at very high levels at the GFA with their complaints. And that was where the GFA President who was then in town had to intervene and directed that the 50/50 list should be maintained and used.
That was astute and commendable. Otherwise some few matches would have been declared as null and void, having been handled by officials who had not been listed for the season.
But fact is that the whole wrangling could be described as unnecessary and childish having regard to the fact that the new list of 50 is only a mere three more than last season’s 47. The GFA does not pay referees per the number of them on the list. They are paid according to the number that goes out to officiate on every Match Day. The question, therefore, is what does the GFA lose by the addition of three to last season’s list of referees.
Having served on the Referees Committee for more than five years, I can say with some experience that making appointments with 40 referees is a very, very difficult exercise.
Fact is, it is not, every referee on the list that can handle all matches on a Match Day. Also, none of our referees handles matches as a form of profession and some are not therefore, available on every Match Day, some of them being teachers or students in our universities.
Again many of the referees are debarred from handling matches involving teams from the regions where they reside.
Indeed, over the years, it has been difficult and time consuming to select referees for Hearts/Kotoko matches. While we need the tried and experienced referees to do the job, the practice is that such referees cannot be picked from the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions which readily have such referees.
There are so many young promising and talented referees waiting to join the list. They should be given the chance, since they would only be paid as and when their services would be utilised.
We should do away with unnecessary wranglings over arithmetic numbers of 47 or 50 and engage ourselves in the real work of nurturing and growing young and talented referees while we at the same time retain and use the experienced and old ones.
After all, the FIFA Physical Fitness Tests are there. It is very frustrating to allow referees to go through and pass the fitness tests only to sit in the boardroom and cut them off. And may we learn to give our Referees Committee a free hand to carry out its functions and duties.
It is unfortunate that when it comes to matters of refereeing everybody is an expert.