OFFSET YOUR WORLD CUP TRAVEL WITH GREENERTRAVEL
Date: 19th February 2024
“Tonight, myself and a colleague whilst refereeing leisure leagues were violently assaulted, I issued a yellow card. Turned towards the player and another player had hit me from behind.
Knocking me to the floor, I was kicked in the head twice more and back, then seeing a player full pelt towards me eying to kick me in the face. I saw my life before me, and feared the worst and thankfully he was stopped and I was able to get up and away.
My colleague came to help but also got hit in the face.
Police have been informed and I’ve submitted my report.
It’s fair to say I won’t be going back, and in the time I’ve been a referee. I’ve never feared for my safety like this.”
This appeared on the Facebook page of Ref Support UK, the most influential organisation that campaigns for officials across the length and breadth of the country. It is rare for a non-refereeing organisation to be a member of their (private) Facebook group, but Martin Cassidy, their CEO, is very supportive of our campaign to encourage our 80,000 members to become a referee and has allowed us ‘in.’
Sadly, such abuse and physical attacks are not unusual. At a lower level, many young referees receive verbal abuse on a regular basis. I was told of a match in Fife this year in which a player tried to find a referee’s private address. WE MUST ALL WORK TO STOP THIS!
The referees we see at the top level are those who have reached the pinnacle of their profession. They have graduated through the school of hard knocks and, as a result, get to play a key part alongside our best teams, with an on-pitch view of the great players that we, the rest of the fans, can never experience. Their camaraderie is such that they stick together for each other in the face of a weekly onslaught of abuse from fans at every level of the game. Once you get to see their dedication at close hand, you have nothing but admiration for what they do.
That’s why I personally endorse our SFSA campaign. As my colleague, Alastair Blair, has noted, there is a shortage of referees in Scotland and with the growth of women’s football this is likely to get worse, especially if abuse and physical violence are not tackled and eradicated. I’m well aware that on match days we all like to tell the referee he or she doesn’t know what they are doing, but the irony is that, in all likelihood, the officials are the only people in the ground who do actually know the laws. As fans, we’ll always love to shout at them, but without them we have no game. But do not indulge in over-the-top and aggressive abuse at them, whether you’re a player or a fan. Please, do support us as we campaign throughout 2024 for more people to become referees. Tell us if you do get involved what it’s like and how much you enjoy (or otherwise) the training and experience. #norefnogame
Stuart Murphy, CEO, SFSA
Posted in: Latest News, Refereeing
Tags: Refereeing