From the obvious to the ridiculous – Referees and Regulations

Whilst the beautiful game of football has, for the best part of 15 years now, captivated me in a way only football can, it is not without its obvious faults. It does seem to me that clearly FIFA does have a fairly tough job regulating all aspects of football. However, some of the problems I discuss below could be fixed really very easily. I would also point out that what is discussed below constitutes the tip of the iceberg in terms of things that infuriate me about football.

The first issue I would like to discuss is that of bookable offences during goal celebrations. Whilst I do not fully understand how the ecstasy of scoring a goal can cause one to remove one’s shirt I do acknowledge that sometimes, in the moment, it can happen. In certain cases I would also go along with FIFA’s regulations introduced in 2004 in as much that it can prove offensive to some viewers. My mind immediately jumps to Ryan Giggs’ bare-chested celebration in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final when he scored the winning, and from my point of view devastating, goal for Manchester United against Arsenal in extra time. However, in certain cases, I do find it truly ludicrous that a player can be booked for such on offence when they are either wearing a t-shirt or indeed a thermal layer underneath. Thierry Henry was famously booked in 2002 for revealing a T-Shirt with a message reading “For the new born Kyd” in support of his close friend and lead singer of Texas, Sharleen Spiteri who had recently given birth. Ridiculous.

Perhaps the most exasperating aspect of football is when these rules conspire to get a player sent off. The angriest I’ve ever gotten watching a football match was when Robin Van Persie was sent off in Barcelona in March of this year. He was given offside, rightly so, by the assistant referee but because there were more than 90,000 screaming fans in the stadium Van Persie didn’t hear the referee’s whistle and carried on and stuck the ball in the net. This resulted in him getting a red card in the 51st minute and the shape of the game being changed completely. It is fair to say that Massimo Busacca, the referee that night, was not well received by the players, manager or the press following this particular incident. I understand that referees have an unbelievably tough job to do and do get a hard time when they make the wrong decision however; in this case surely common sense should have prevailed. More recently Jordan Ibe, a fifteen year old playing for Wycombe, was booked for celebrating his first ever goal for the club by going and hugging his mum in the front row of the stand. I can understand the rule regarding going into the crowd, there is a danger to both fans and players, but in this particular case Mr Ibe has my sympathies, common sense is, for the most part, missing in the world of football.

Now from the ridiculous to the incontrovertibly stupid. Sammy Inkoom, who plays his football for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (good luck pronouncing that) in Ukraine, was sent off at the beginning of this month for removing his shirt and brandishing a particularly offensive blue thermal layer on his way off the pitch to be substituted! I might also add he was on the touchline when the referee brandished the player’s second yellow and subsequent red card. A video of this is available here and is well worth a watch. Perhaps the most recent issue which caused me to question FIFA’s sanity was the decision to ban England players from wearing poppies in the upcoming friendly with Spain at Wembley. The reasoning behind this was not because it would cause offence or upset fans. It was because according to FIFA regulations no changes can be made to official kits, the appeal was subsequently rebutted. The general secretary of the Normandy Veterans Association George Batt condemned the football chiefs. The 86-year-old World War Two veteran said he “didn't really understand it”. I think it prudent to point out that without such men FIFA would not exist. Frankly, if I was a member of the England squad, I’d wear one anyway.

To conclude, referees need the power of discretion. This is evidenced by the fact that Billy Sharp, a player we recently discussed on the Yorker Sports Show because his son sadly died, dedicated a goal to his son by brandishing a message under his shirt that read “That’s for you son.” He wasn’t carded. The referee was given the plaudits after the game because by rights he should’ve booked him. This we need more of. What has been discussed previously, the beautiful game could definitely do without.

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