One appointment that I have
never had in all my years of refereeing is that of fourth
official. This is mainly because in the days when I officiated
in senior football, the position didn't exist.
The fourth official first
appeared in the Laws of the Game in 1995. It's still possible of
course that such an appointment could come my way, but I can't
say it is something I particularly look forward to. To me it's a
little like being a substitute in a team. I would have hated
when I was playing having to wait on the touchline hoping that
one of my team mates has a bad day or gets injured so I could
get a game. Surely all footballers want to do, is to play
football.
It's the same thing with
refereeing, you want to be involved. Since 1995 the role for
fourth officials has been expanded, at least giving him or her
something to do but for some managers they have been getting too
involved.
This year when the
International Football Association Board met to consider any
changes to the laws, they merely switched around some wording
regarding fourth officials. No new duties were added. However it
seems that the FA has highlighted one of the existing duties
which says, 'The fourth official has the authority to inform the
referee of irresponsible behaviour by any occupant of the
technical area'.
Last year referees in the
professional game were told to be stricter with bad language
from players, this year it seems that it is the turn of managers
and coaches. Already this season two high profile Premiership
managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Radnapp have been sent to
the stands by the referee after being called over by the fourth
official. Alex Ferguson has said that he will appeal. Instead of
apologising for his outburst; he says it is the referee who
should apologise to him for getting the decision wrong which
incurred his spate of bad language.
With the benefit of
television cameras from different angles, it would appear that
referee Uriah Rennie did make a mistake. So it might be thought
that if this was the case, the Manchester United manager had
every justification for calling the referee names. The trouble
is that most decisions are debatable and managers only see
things from their own point of view.
Another Premiership manager
who constantly criticises referees is Bolton's Sam Allardyce. In
Bolton's recent game against Charlton he bitterly claimed that
the referee should have given a penalty which if converted would
have given his side a valuable three points.
Alan Curbishley, the Charlton
Manager, on the other hand thought that the referee's decision
to allow play to continue was correct and that it was not a
penalty. So if we go on the basis that it is OK for managers to
abuse the referee for a decision they don't like, then the
referee stands to be insulted what ever decision he makes.
There are some who feel that
referees and fourth officials are being too sensitive. Ron
Atkinson, former player and manager and now TV pundit, gave his
views on the Premiership programme. 'What's wrong with a little
bit of Anglo-Saxon', which is his euphemism for offensive,
insulting and abusive language. That sounds feasible, except of
course if you are the one the Anglo-Saxon is being aimed at. No
doubt if I met Ron Atkinson and told him in abusive terms what I
thought of him as a commentator, he would feel insulted and want
to do something about it.
We all know that football is
a passionate game but quite clearly swearing at the referee from
the touchline is not behaving in a responsible manner. It's sad
if using the fourth official to bring this behaviour to the
notice of the referee is the only thing that will stop it.
Dick Sawdon Smith