FOOTBALL REFEREEING: THE LONELIEST JOB IN THE WORLD?

Imagine having a job where no one likes you.

Every week you go to work and before you even start you have people hurling abuse at you.

You are in charge of people who question every decision you make and are critiqued by spectators who aren’t even qualified to do the same job.

Welcome to the life of a football referee!

Of course, it doesn’t quite compare to teaching, nursing and policing - which all come with their own immense challenges. The pressure and scrutiny that comes with refereeing a ‘simple game of football’, especially in the modern era, is huge and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Refereeing Sunday League should be something that people do for fun at the weekend for a bit of extra cash on the side and a way to keep fit. These people voluntarily take time out of their weekend to allow others the chance to play football with a balanced official, and it’s being slapped right back in their faces.

Elite level refereeing comes with the additional pressures of fans and media scrutiny, but in no way do these people deserve death threats and violence because of a blow of a whistle on a field of grass.

Lee Ryder is a grassroots football referee in the Midlands and officiates games for children between the ages of 10 and 18. Only 20 himself, he thinks that elite footballers impact children a lot more than some people realise...

“Players need to understand the way in which they communicate with officials and the way in which they behave should represent themselves as well as the club they play for.

“It’s obvious that some children react to decisions in the same way their heroes do simply because it’s what they see on TV.”

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  Lee Ryder in action

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  Lee awarding a free kick

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  Lee getting in position

Photo credits: The Ryder family

It’s not the most rewarding job but a world without officials is a world without football. Unfortunately, due to a huge rise in referee abuse at grassroots level, there is an officiating crisis in the UK and this is something both Lee Ryder and former Premier League referee Keith Hackett are concerned about.

Ryder said:

“If things don’t get better then eventually there will be even less referees than there already are.

“With the current level of abuse that officials receive in adult football, people simply don’t want to referee anymore. There’s a huge lack of referees all over the country and unless anything else changes I believe it’ll only

get worse.”

Hackett added:

“I think we already have a big problem and I don't think it's being fully recognised.

“I'm president of the North Counties East League and at times we struggle to get assistant referees appointed to our games. And that shows that at the level that we're at - I think it's step six, we're struggling.

“There is a shortage of referees.”

AFC Wimbledon fans disagree with a decision given by referee Scott Simpson in their 1-5 defeat against Swindon Town

Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton recently refereed a grassroots game and described feeling ‘petrified’ beforehand. This is the reality every week for most referees up and down the country – with the fear that one wrong decision, no matter how small, may lead to actual physical abuse. Sutton wore a body camera that day, and trials are now being held at youth level in an attempt to protect referees. Ryder hoped this would be the start of a successful trial:

“Hopefully cameras being introduced will be an important addition to officiating grassroots football. I hope players will think more before being involved in a confrontation with the knowledge they are being recorded - players will begin to be less confrontational as a result.

“Hopefully this can lead to there being more respect shown towards officials. Simply without us the sport cannot take place and I firmly believe people need to understand that more.”

Football is forever evolving. The technology, the speed of the game as well as the laws of the game. Keith Hackett, who was also the general manager of the PGMOL for a short period, described how refereeing has changed since he was a referee:

“I think it's easier in relation to work commitment.

“I was an amateur referee in a professional game. I was a sales and marketing director and getting time off work was always a problem. There were times when I would leave my office having started at seven in the morning, and leave at four to drive to a ground.

“I introduced sports and sport psychology along with Phillip Don, I introduced vision science and, and of course nutritionists. So, the preparation of referees at the elite level is much, much better than it used to be.”

Training has improved, and there’s new technology to help the referees, but are we seeing an actual improvement in the officials themselves? Recently in other sports we’ve seen former players take on the responsibility of officiating, but this isn’t happening in English football – Keith Hackett attempts to prove why:

“If you're earning £200,000 a week, and a referee is earning less than £1000, there’s no incentive.

“I think that the FA hold a key because any ex-player that wants to become a referee has to go through the process of grassroots football and the pyramid to get to the top. I am convinced that if you can actually get players to believe that there is an opportunity, then that would be a route.

“But what I'm very concerned about in the modern game is, as a player, you can know the laws of the game but it's the application of the laws. That is the important aspect.”

With a ‘modern game’ comes modern laws and modern technologies. One thing that hasn’t changed since Keith Hackett gave up the whistle? The Media.

“I think referees should not get involved at all [with the media].

“I can remember a bit of advice that Jack Taylor, as a World Cup final referee in 1970, gave me:

"Don't read the papers. Don't listen to the radio. Plough your own furrow because all of them are debilitating.”

Being a referee is obviously not the hardest job in the world - but it's definitely one of the most lonely; you're not liked, and it's only getting harder. They need help before it's too late!

Do you sympathise with referees?

• Not at all!
• A little bit!
• Yes, it's a hard job!