Football’s about to get really important. The Champions League final looms, and the European Championships are not so far away either. Millions will be euphoric; millions will be heartbroken, and the way one’s emotions swing depends as much on the 22 players out on the field as the man in the middle. If you find yourself with a spare half-hour, make sure to watch the Swedish documentary The Referee – you might think twice before launching another volley of abuse at the television over the coming weeks. [Posted by MG]
The Sunday Ref
Telling the story of 69-year-old referee Francisco López, a man who continues to referee Sunday league games after a life dedicated to football, The Sunday Ref is a short film focusing on López’s thoughts with regards to the world he lives in. This world, of course, is influenced by the beautiful game, and he prefers to see it in its purest, most genuine form. Once a player in the reserves at Real Zaragoza, López reflects on the varying, yet constant role football has had in his life. The style of the short film mixes photography and video, placing emphasis on moments in time captured in the past and the Francisco’s Sunday refereeing routine.
Francisco’s goal is simple. As he states, “at my age, all I’m looking for is the satisfaction of refereeing, to do it as well as I can and for everyone to shake my hand at the end. This is my aim.”
Respect the Officials or Respect the Game?
By Azeem Banatwalla
Football is a beautiful game, but I’m starting to get a bit disillusioned by this whole Respect for Referees campaign that seems to be getting eerily similar to those groups who protest outside abortion clinics. You know the ones I’m talking about.
The last few days have seen Sir Alex Ferguson handed a generous 5-game touchline ban, and a massive fine of around a third of his weekly wages. Forgive my thinly-veiled sarcasm, but I think that’s as logical as repeatedly throwing a drunk out of a bar and telling him he can come back after a week when he’s learnt his lesson. What do they hope to achieve with touchline bans?
We live, for the most part, in a democratic world, where that “freedom of speech” jazz that our forefathers rambled on about is supposed to be a big deal. So why can’t that apply to football as well? The FA, at this moment of time is analogous to a municipal corporation that’s protecting its servants when they’ve clearly messed up and angered the people they’re supposed to be serving. Why shouldn’t Sir Alex Ferguson, or for that matter, any manager at the top level have a go at a referee when he’s clearly made a wrong decision? Why should he be punished for stating plain fact?
“Stuart Atwell: Referee” a comic by AFR’s Jon Horner
Sometimes you have to bend the law to enforce the law, and Stuart Atwell doesn’t conform to FIFA’s rules. He’s a maverick, a free spirit. So who are you to tell a rebel what’s right and wrong?
(Source: cheekychip)
“Rättskiparen (The Referee) is short documentary about Martin Hansson, the referee who missed Thierry Henry’s handball. A Swedish television program had already committed to this project before the infamous incident which kept Ireland from going to South Africa. The station’s plan had been to track the country’s top ranked referee in the months leading up to the 2010 World Cup - as fate would have it, the story of course got more complex with that one game. It’s an incredible portrait - part of a wave of films looking at referees. This one has an unusually personal quality to it. “
A life of enforcement unappreciated by the world. The most selfless of professions, but virtuous as well? I’m not so sure. Communication is the key to any sort of leadership, and we all know that if you confront someone personally, then usually the truth will arise. An impersonal approach to refereeing takes away all reasoning for their not to be technology in football. Interaction allows for the truth to arise, and if Henry was asked whether or not he had handled the ball, then we could very well have seen Ireland in South Africa this past summer. Anyway, this documentary is spectacularly intricate and even dark. Definitely worth a watch if you have time on your hands. What do you make of the life of a referee?
(Source: cheekychip)
Two Kits, Two Teams, One Country
By E. M. Taylor, a law student & senior semi-professional FA referee writing from England
Whilst speculation is rife as to Capello’s final 23, three Englishmen can be safe in the knowledge that they will be stepping onto a pitch in sunny South Africa this summer. Howard Webb, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey are the three chosen referees to represent England in South Africa.
South Yorkshire policeman Webb, 38, is oft considered England’s top referee and indeed one of the top referees in the world. Tall, bald and strong Webb knows how to deal with confrontation which will most definitely place him in good stead for the summer action which is set to be feisty. Throughout his career Webb has not been afraid of taking decisive action when required as in 2006 when he restrained Newcastle’s Emre.
How on earth was Martin Hansson chosen by FIFA to be a World Cup referee?
While infamously known for letting Thierry Henry get away with the “hand of fraud” that led to France clinching a spot in the World Cup, Swedish referee Martin Hansson has consistently shown just how unsuited he is for refereeing at the highest level.
The latest team to suffer (though not even nearly as badly as Ireland) from Hansson’s ineptitude was Arsenal as they took on Porto in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Hansson rightfully awarded Porto an indirect freekick after Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski had a moment of total incompetence by picking up a Sol Campbell backpass. However, the Swede allowed Porto to take the ensuing quickly and score the second goal despite taking the ball from Fabianski’s hands just a moment before, leaving the keeper out of position, and blocking Sol Campbell from getting to Falcao, who scored the match-winner. (Full highlights of the match are embedded after the jump)
While I am usually the first one to recognize just how difficult the task of being a top-flight referee, the fact that Hansson seems to just lose control of games makes me wonder how exactly FIFA thought that this guy is suitable to perform all of the duties expected of a referee at the highest stage. With so much riding on every decision Hansson will make in South Africa, can we really expect him to command respect from the best players in the world?
