Football fans and players abusing referees is becoming a massive problem all over the world but especially in the Football League and Premier League. The abuse given out is slowly but surely killing what is supposed to be known as ‘the beautiful game’.
What people don’t realise is that at grassroots level there’s an enormous shortage of referees because of the abuse referees get. Current referees are dropping like flies because they’ve just had enough of it all. Eventually, this will massively affect the higher leagues, especially the EFL because that’s where it’s worst by a country mile. It could affect the EFL to the point where games may have to be postponed because there’s simply just not enough referee’s sticking with it and going all the way to the professional leagues.
The worst part of all this is that the abuse they receive isn’t even deserved. Referees make very few mistakes in the grand scheme of things. It’s a fact that players make a lot more mistakes than referees do. But, unfortunately, within the few mistakes a game a referee does make one can be a massive one which is easily noticed because they usually have a massive effect on the game. Criticism I have little issue with. If you merely state that a referee made a mistake and could have had a better game, fair enough. But it’s when that criticism turns into undeserved abuse that is the problem. There’s no need for it. It does nothing but causes referees to quit doing what they used to love which, in turn, is killing football as we know it now.
Criticism I have little issue with. If you merely state that a referee made a mistake and could have had a better game, fair enough. But it’s when that criticism turns into undeserved abuse that is the problem. There’s no need for it. It does nothing but causes referees to quit doing what they used to love which, in turn, is killing football as we know it now.
At the end of the day, they’re human beings just trying to do their job. Imagine if you made a mistake at work and some absolute strangers came up to you and hurled constant abuse at you and then started again as soon as you make the slightest of errors. You’d more than likely just quit your job because it’s just not worth it and that’s exactly what’s happening to the referees.
Every single referee gets to the top levels of the game on merit, not luck. Without referee’s football wouldn’t be a successful sport. So before you go out there hurling sheer abuse at them just think about how hard their job is, the pressure of their job and just how important their jobs are to what is meant to be called ‘the beautiful game’.
