People seemed to be genuinely confused when the referees decided to cover up the #RESPECT badges on their uniforms, although as to why they were confused, you cannot be too sure.
#RESPECT campaign is based around the concept of providing people respect and doing away with the notion respect has to be earned via actions or deeds. It is an all-encompassing social action campaign which should include referees, yet, strangely does not.
Take Mark Rudan for example, after Wellington’s loss in round 6 against Perth Glory, said that referee Adam Kersey had “completely killed” Wellington’s chances of winning after dishing out a red-card to Ryan Lowry, following intervention from VAR.
The decision maybe contentious, however, to blame the referee for the loss, instead of Wellington’s failure to mark Diego Castro’s run into the box for the winner, seems a a bit over the top.
Rudan later went further in what can only be described as an extraordinary tirade which seemed to imply the referee’s decision was biased in some way, which to be honest, only he can probably understand.
“It couldn’t have been more one-sided,” he said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It got to the point where I had to laugh. I turned around to my coaching staff. It was hilarious, a joke, an absolute joke. If he can sleep well at night, good on him.”
After attacking a referee’s integrity and professionalism, there should have been some consequence for Rudan, those remarks on Kersey are entirely defamatory and ill-deserved.
Labelling the decision as a mistake is one thing, accusing someone of being biased without proof is another.
Instead, with the Professional Football Referees Association rightfully upset and planning the #RESPECT protest, the only statement we heard was from the Football Coaches Association playing down the issue, even mocking the need for a protest.
“FCA believes that such action is overtly provocative and serves to undermine respect, rather than foster it. It is also an unnecessarily immature act, expressly directed towards one of our members,” the statement read.
“We urge the PFRA reconsider their stance and opt for a more proactive and considered position should they seek to build more productive relationships with the rest of the football community going forward.
“We are firm believers that all stakeholders in the football community should increase their levels of respect towards referees. It is not only the responsibility of coaches, but players, administrators and fans alike.
“But we also request that referees act with the same level of respect towards the rest of the game’s stakeholders.”
If anything in this whole situation is immature, then it would be the FCA’s handling of this statement, which almost entirely misses the mark.
The protest is not directed squarely at Mark Rudan, if it was you might see referees storming FFA headquarters burning effigies of Rudan but alas they are not. Rudan’s comments are simply the latest in a long line of comments which have undermined, hurt and frustrated referees who seemingly feel neglected by the stakeholders of football in Australia and are without a voice in the current landscape.
The referees are not undermining respect for they are the ones bereft of it, the ones who get battered from pillar to post regardless of the result simply because a football stakeholder may not agree/like the decision made.
That doesn’t mean the decision is wrong and that is an important distinction we as a football public need to understand.
For example, after Brisbane Roar’s loss to Melbourne Victory last round, John Aloisi called for more protection for star winger Eric Bautheac.
“It’s been happening all season to Eric,” he said.
“I don’t want him to go and bring it into his own hands. I just want the referees to help him earlier and protect him earlier and then have a bit of common sense as well.”
“Know that he’s the one that’s being kicked from pillar to post in every single game and then when he does one thing, calm the situation down.”
Remember, the referees aren’t the mafia, they don’t exist to offer a protection-racket like a small-town gang, they are there to make decisions and adjudicate the game fairly.
Just because Bautheac is on good money as a marquee player doesn’t mean he is entitled to any greater protections than a player like Jason Hoffman, nor does it mean when he goes off-the-rails and loses control he should be excused from doing so because he may have been fouled earlier.
It’s sport, sometimes you get fouled but if you launch a volatile, uncontrolled tackle on another player as revenge, you will be punished with a card. If you then follow that up with angrily pushing and shoving two opposition players (collecting one in the face), that is entirely on you and deserves a second card.
That is not the referee’s fault, that is your fault for being petulant, yet somehow, the blame is shifted onto the referee (Adam Fielding in this case) and away from Bautheac’s actions (which are very dangerous).
No one is out there offering referees extra protection from misguided comments in the media or unfounded accusations, why should players be afforded the luxury?
If we as a football community do not clean up our act in regards to how we treat referees, we may find a dwindling pool of referees to pick from in the future.
After all, who wants to go to work, in some cases part-time work, just to be abused for 90 minutes?
The #RESPECT protest isn’t trying to be petty or needlessly stir the pot, the referees have something to say and no other way to get us to listen.
It’s about time we did.
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