Referees can't worry about cost of decisions

Eamon Dunphy is perhaps best known now as the ghost writer of Roy Keane's best selling, highly controversial autobiography. There are even some who believe the notorious passage about Keane going out to injure Manchester City midfielder Alf lnge Haaland, was written by Dunphy without Keane's knowledge. Keane has been punished and rightly so, but the success of the book means he has eamt far more, said to be in excess of£3m, than he has had to pay
in fines for his comments. 

But what of Dunphy? In the Republic of Ireland he is also well known as the question master in Ann Robinson mode, of the Irish television version of 'The Weakest Link'. Older Royals supporters however will remember Eamon Dunphy as a Reading player in the late 1970s. Even then his literary aspirations were evident. As well as writing a weekly column in the Evening Post, his own book as a footballer had
been published. Only a Game was a diary of his days with Millwall, It was praised as  'The most brilliantly perceptive insight into the life and mind of the professional footballer'.

I met Eamon at that time and invited him to be guest speaker at a referees' meeting. Ever contentious, he told us all why he thought referees were losing credibility with players, notes of which I made at the time. One reason was he felt they lacked the moral courage to send off players for over the top tackles. It seems ironic that he has now made huge amounts of money writing about one such horrific tackle, for which of course the player was sent off. He also said
that referees didn't know the game or understand the cost to players of their decisions. From the referee's point of view, I don't think that it is a question of not understanding, it is simply not taking cost into consideration. 

I heard a comment about the Reading/Leicester match, that the penalty was the defining point of the game. Nick Ives called it dubious in Monday's Post and the replay on Meridian Television wasn't conclusive. The referee who was nearer than either, couldn't
take time out to consider what another goal would cost Reading. He didn't think 'shall I give a penalty or not because it will make it very hard for Reading to get back in the game, or because this may be the moment when Reading's hopes of making the play-offs disappear, or this could rob the Reading players of any chance of a win bonus'. His concern was that he saw a Reading player bring
down an opponent unfairly in his opinion, in the penalty area.

The following evening there was a decision which could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the Premiership Championship. With time running out, the referee awarded a comer to Liverpool in their game against Arsenal. Arsenal were 2-1 up and looked like taking another three points to extend their lead at the top of the table. The ball went over the goal line with two opposing
players vying for it. Who touched it last? The referee close at hand thought it was the Arsenal player. At no time, not even at the back of his mind was the thought that if Liverpool get this comer over and Arsenal mark badly, it could result in a goal. Two points lost that come the end of the season, could deprive Arsenal of the Championship and the millions that go with it. He just thought it
was a corner.

Eamon Dunphy may have a brilliantly perceptive mind as quoted by the reviewer of his earlier book, but if referees had to consider the cost to players and clubs of their decisions, they would be too frightened to make any decisions at all.

Dick Sawdon Smith

© R Sawdon Smith 2003

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