TO ALL REFEREES
This is an e mail that I have been meaning to put together for some time. It is certainly not to be seen as a moan but hopefully constructive.
I have witnessed several games during this season so far where poor challenges - late, from behind and some just nasty that in my eye are bookable offences that have gone unpunished, sometimes even without a talking to from the ref. Yet in many of these games a bit of back chat from a player and they are booked without a second thought.
I have endorsed the respect campaign at Uplowman now for a number of years, well before the campaign became prominent within our league. I have tried my best to encourage the players to keep off the backs of the men in charge as I know what a tough job they have.
However, I have felt that because challenges have gone unpunished it has given the green light to players in the game to get away with more reckless challenges. A booking, when deserved, although sets a precedent for the rest of the game if dealt early, can stop any further bad tackles if players know where they stand.
I am not saying that the back chat should not go unpunished, on the contrary, if a player has hurled uncalled for abuse and bad language at a referee he deserves it, unfortunately many young players are still influenced by the fact that our top flight players get away with it, in full view of the excellent TV coverage these days. But I would like to see "bad" challenges punished. If a player gets away with one bad one the next one could break a leg and cause a whole family financial hardship.
Please take this e mail constructively as it is meant. If my thoughts are ignored then fair enough I just wanted to get the view of not only me, but my club across.
Kind Regards
Paul Forman
Uplowman secretary |
