It's time to blow the whistle on poor refereeing - Monday, 21 April 2008

As another weekend of Serie A action went by, more questions have been raised over the quality of the refereeing officials in Serie A. Love them or hate them (and lets be honest its mainly the latter) the men in the middle have never had an easy ride. However this year seems to have continued to further the argument that all is not right with the standards of officiating set in Italy. Whatever the history of the referee�s system and the questions it has raised, individually the Italian refs have been able to successfully enhance their reputation. Pierluigi Collina was a perfect example of that, making a name for himself on a global level, not just in the national league. It would seem that controversy has been forgotten/forgiven in a move to praise success.

However things have not worked out as one would have hoped when, perhaps the greatest referee to have ever taken to the game, was forced to retire and eventually became the new referees designator. Seen as an ideal mentor to the current and upcoming crop of referees, controversial decisions have littered and tarnished this seasons championship. Collina�s appointment was understandable; a natural promotion upon retirement, he may well have been the most qualified man for the job, but at the end of the day he is ultimately responsible for the officials that take charge of games week in week out.

It would be interesting to see what Mr Collina see�s his role to actually be and the responsibility this brings. Upon appointment he seemed to shy away from the responsibility saying �I know that there is a lot expected of me, but I don�t want to be seen as the nation�s saviour. I cannot take responsibilities for their errors.� I see responsibility or rather the failure to take responsibility, to be perhaps the main problem with the current refereeing system. Decisions shouldn�t just be made, they should be justified and explained, then we might give our respect to the referee.

What is the answer? Well we need to first identify the problem and that is not easy without knowing how Collina and the FIGC see the problem and what they believe to be the strategy they are currently following and the key issues that they have identified.

Now we have focused on the standards in Serie A with several managers feeling aggrieved with a number of costly decisions this season, you could say, well, you win some you lose some and it will probably equal out at the end of the season. With the recent scandals and controversy in the Italian you�ve got believe that the issues raised are more likely operational and down to the group of officials; an institutional problem, that goes further than just individual mistakes.

As mentioned at the start of the article very few referees are �liked�. Every decision they make is scrutinised and this not a unique issue within the Italian Football Association; its bigger than that. Every league has its controversial decisions and criticises its referees. That is what I believe is key; consistency amongst the major leagues.

We are all playing the same game, with the same rules, playing in European and world wide cup competitions and ultimately governed by FIFA and UEFA. Players move from club to club and league to league so why shouldn�t referees. Standards need to be consistent and that can only come through sharing best practices and ideas and experiencing the different styles and cultures of football in each league. This is for the good of the game. Consistent standards for players and clubs competing in cross continent competitions. Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes recently raised his support for this idea and I believe it would be beneficial for at least a handful of referees to rotate between, certainly the top 3 if not the top 6 leagues in Europe as trial period.

Puds

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