Staying up all night for ‘Super Sunday’ in the English Premier League was worth every second of it over Easter when Premier League referee Steve Bennett sent Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano off for dissent.
Forget the goals from Man U, forget the great sight of Steve Gerrard’s impeccable vision for Liverpool, forget even the flying feet of Ronaldo – the highlight of the weekend for me was the clear signal that the referees have had enough.
Of course today the English papers are full of Mascherano’s unhappiness with the sending off, and more than one reference has been made to the ‘dubious’ nature of the cards, and the Argentine international is adamant he was just asking a simple question.
He wasn’t. To me, he was deliberately testing the referee and the second card he got was the result of half an hour of whining, moaning and trying, through word and gesture, to suggest the referee was an idiot. The only idiot was the player himself.
Now the sanctimonious git reckons he can’t understand the card. Get a life Javier.
While there are those of us who think the EPL plays under a different set of laws than we do sometimes (throw-ins spring to mind), FIFA is quite clear on cards. In summary, there are seven occasions under the laws when a player is to be shown a yellow. The second of these is showing dissent by word or action. If you receive two yellows in the same match, you are off. Pretty simple really.
One of the pleasures of being involved with Waiuku’s Premiers over the last few years has been their interaction with the officials. Under the guidance of Jim Evans, the players show maturity not only in their play, but in their behaviour.
As a club, we enjoy the respect of the officials, and I’m sure it’s helped us with the odd 50/50 call. It stands to reason, if your team has been giving the ref grief all day he’s less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if you mis-time a tackle.
As a player, I’ve been guilty of going off at a ref, but I like to think I’ve stayed on the right side of the line most of the time. As a ref I’ve been happy to explain a call briefly to a player during a break in the play, or with just a quick word if we end up near each other. I’ve got no interest in debating decisions however – at least not during the game.
The new Northern Federations league doesn’t just mean we are up against new teams, this year we are under the control of new referees. We generally only see the top referees in Chatham Cup or other cup matches. Three point control was almost unheard of in Super Division. This year will be different, and a lot of the matches will feature a ref’s inspector as well – these referees are looking for a spot in the Northern Premier competition, so they’ll be refereeing by the book. Expect more cards, particularly early in matches if it’s getting frisky.
An early yellow puts pressure on a player, and on to the coach, who has to gamble whether he wants to risk that player getting another or whether he should sub him to ensure he finishes with 11 men. As a manager, I have zero sympathy for a player who talks his way into the ref’s book.
Most players watch the EPL, which means they see players telling the referee to f…. off at every decision. Then they wonder why they get carded on Saturday.
Now the referees appear to be making a stand. It’s about time.
Hopefully our players learn a thing or two from watching the glamour boys of the EPL. I’m hoping they learn something from watching the referees too.