Honesty on the local parks

I am fortunate to have refereed at quite high levels but could not have got there without cutting my teeth on local park games. Now that age has caught up with me, I am once again refereeing solely on the local parks, so I can justify my words with very recent experience.

Today, I started my Sunday by taking charge of a game at Prospect Park. Reading Sunday League and not quite Arsenal v. Manchester United, as I am sure the two teams would agree. Quality football was frankly, at times, difficult to spot and the match ended with a resounding 5-0 victory to the away side. 

Can't we expect honesty?

However, what there was in abundance was honesty. You see, that is where the big difference is when it comes to comparing refereeing at senior and local levels. Some would disagree with me and of course they are entitled to their opinion. There are certainly different levels of skill, the playing surfaces differ immensely and, very importantly, there is a totally different pressure on the officials when they are under the eye of countless spectators and media. However, having said all that, players at whatever level demand correct decisions from their referee - and they take the officials' honesty for granted. So, isn't the match official entitled to expect honesty from the players?.

Conning the ref is cheating

I watched some Premiership football on television this afternoon and one particular incident summed it all up. A player was incorrectly awarded a penalty after cheating the match referee. Now 'cheat' is a word more hated in sport than any other, but cheat is what the player did. The referee might have been wrong in giving the penalty, but he was basing his decision honestly on what he saw,. Of course the player's manager saw it as a clear penalty and insisted after the game that the player himself had said his trailing leg was taken from him. Even when the manager was shown a television replay showing no such contact, he was adamant that it had happened. This is where local parks are thankfully different.

Still some honesty around

My match this morning contained many footballing mistakes and the beaten team had been let down by the non-appearance of some of their members. What it did contain, though, was honesty and grit. Injured players carried on as long as they could, heads went down but spirits were lifted by colleagues' encouragement; there were no derisory comments or gloating by the winning side. The truth was that those who played wanted to be there and played as honestly as they could. 

I am so not naïve as to believe this is always the case in local football, but in many years of refereeing in the Reading area, I am sure it is the norm. The players on my pitch today can at least hold their heads up. Although the Leeds player will probably do the same, he has lost a lot of credibility in my eyes and probably in quite a few more. That referee must feel he was conned and the press tomorrow will have a field day. Everything will be justified in the belief that the end justifies the means - and the end, unfortunately, is money, not fair play.

This is when I am just glad to be back on the local parks.

John Moore

© John Moore 1999

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