The Man in the Middle

(Image: Getty Images - BBC Sport website)

Not a week goes by where a match official doesn’t come under some kind of scrutiny, whether good, bad or indifferent. The level of positivity shown towards referees in particular isn’t getting any higher, especially at the top level.

A lot more has been made of diving, or ‘simulation’, in the past four or five seasons. This is no doubt due to the continental culture being adopted by the Premier League, as well as the increase in speed of the game.

When Gareth Bale graced the Premier League with his pace and power, he received countless cautions for diving. He contested that this was not intentional, but a measure taken to avoid being badly injured when he would burn past defenders at will.

In a somewhat tongue-in-cheek way, former referee Howard Webb was forever being accused of offering a home advantage to Manchester United, with the widespread perception being that fixtures at Old Trafford that were officiated by him usually swung in favour of the Red Devils.

But what makes the English game so focused on the performance of referees and their assistants? Is it the gravity of decisions being made? An incorrect offside call can be the difference between promotion and relegation, or cup final glory and a runners-up medal.

Player pressure

On the back of repeated incidents of players rushing to referees after a decision has been made against them – either rightly or wrongly – the governing bodies of football decided to take some action.

Fines and bans were used to prevent the referee being given a tirade of abuse, which could often turn from purely verbal to bordering on the physical.

Most of us will be familiar with Paolo Di Canio’s infamous shove on referee Paul Alcock in 1998. Having just been sent off in the game, the fiery Italian’s disapproval quickly turned into assault, receiving an 11-match ban as a result.

Referees are now afforded a protection, both from physical attacks and verbal onslaught on the pitch. Angel Di Maria was given his marching orders (a second yellow) a couple of weeks ago having pulled at the shirt of referee Michael Oliver and allegedly aiming expletives at him as well.

The player escaped with a one-match ban, but no additional ban for grabbing Oliver’s shirt.  Di Maria’s manager, Louis van Gaal has also spoken out in criticism of his player’s actions, saying that he had ‘no excuses’ for doing what he did.

Heat of the moment or not, the referee should be untouchable.

Censoring managers

Punishment even reaches as far as talking about referees now, something that is very much known to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and West Ham boss Sam Allardyce. Heavy fines are dished out for as much as even mentioning a referee’s name in passing during pre and post-match interviews.

Bad decisions are an inevitable part of the game at any level, so when pundits, fans and clubs have the luxury of instant video replays at the top level, the referee is perhaps going to be leveled with far more scrutiny than if he is officiating a Ryman Premier Division game.

Statistically speaking, referees make around two wrong or questionable decisions per game. That would mean making in excess of one hundred correct decisions per game. When the percentages of bad calls are so low, it makes you wonder where the criticism is actually coming from.

But it is more to do with the gravity of a missed incident, dive or mistimed tackle in the box that really riles managers, players and fans. To not see a blatant handball like the one seen when France played the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in 2009, committed by Thierry Henry (and later admitted), being denied a place at a major tournament is almost unforgivable.

Even a place in the FA Cup, snatched away by a diving centre forward as experienced by Preston North End a few weeks ago, is a huge deal. Not just financially, but also for the sake of a club’s history. Wayne Rooney may protest that there was contact in the box, but that claim has been universally rejected. Even by the referee who made the decision, Phil Dowd.

With technology being a more important part of the game and the supposed standards of refereeing falling, the question remains as to how both can evolve together. Not only for the sake of quality control but also to protect the role of referee going forward.