SJP - one of the world's top 10

A good read from ex referee Keith Hackett.

A mat of mine said that the Stadium Of Light (real one in Portugal) is meant to be something special as well.



http://you-are-the-ref.com/the-worlds-top-10-greatest-football-stadiums/

The world’s top 10 greatest football stadiums

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Liverpool fans create the world’s best match atmosphere – with Real Madrid and Manchester United close behind, according to former referee Keith Hackett.
The three clubs are high on a list of top 10 football stadiums that was compiled for You-Are-The-Ref.com by the former FIFA and Premier League official Hackett, who spent three decades as a top-flight referee.
He also singles out Newcastle United, Arsenal and Chelsea – plus there are mentions in passing for Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United and Norwich City, albeit for very different reasons.
Hackett reveals: “If you’re in front of a huge audience then the adrenaline flows, but as a referee you need to maintain focus and not be distracted by the crowd.”
Here are his 10 most memorable grounds – along with a few extra that he’s included for good measure…
1 – Wembley Stadium (England)
It’s the ambition of every referee to officiate at the national stadium. Everybody wants to make it a special day and you can smell the nerves. You only ever get given the FA Cup final once as a referee, although I was fortunate enough to officiate there 13 times in total. I got the Tottenham v Manchester City final in 1981 that ended in a 1-1 draw. There were 90,000 people at the replay but I had the best view in the house when Ricky Villa made his weaving run to score the winner. It brought the house down. They say the new rebuilt Wembley is very different but there is no doubt it is still a five-star stadium – and it retains its majesty to this day.
2 – Anfield (Liverpool)
The atmosphere at Anfield is electric. When you walk through the tunnel and hear ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The Kop seems massive when you see it on television but it looks smaller when you are in front of it. The pitch is quite small and the crowd are very close. The Liverpool fans are very intelligent and they respect a referee who likes to let the game flow. I used to walk through the car park before a game and the fans would come up and wish me well. During my first game there I booked Emlyn Hughes for dissent. I knew who he was but as per the rules I asked him to state his name. He said: “You know my name – I am the England captain.” When I insisted, he replied: “Well, it’s bloody Emlyn Hughes.” After that we became great mates.
3 – The Bernabeu (Real Madrid)
This is a real ampitheatre. A lot of our stadiums in the UK are oblong or oval in shape but the Bernabeu is circular – so it feels like a massive bull-fighting ring. The Spaniards are passionate about their football and it’s always a pulsating atmosphere. There’s never a break in the intensity of the noise. If you make a bad decision, an English crowd will boo, but at the Bernabeu they whistle. If a player is not doing well they wave white handkerchiefs, which is something that I’d never seen before. The referee gets a police escort with outriders at European games, but I used to make my own way from the hotel because I wanted to soak up the atmosphere. It’s a great historic club.
4 – Old Trafford (Manchester United)
It’s always special when you referee at the Theatre of Dreams: the home of Sir Matt Busby and George Best, who played in games that I refereed during my early career. The Man United fans have had very high expectations in recent years thanks to the modern legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has surely got to be the world’s greatest ever football manager. Unlike Anfield, there’s a substantial gap between the touchline at Old Trafford and crowd, so you are sometimes less aware of fan reactions during a game. The Man United supporters still manage to make a hell of a racket. People travel to Old Trafford from all overt he world these days, so the big games feel a bit like an international carnival.
5 – St James’ Park (Newcastle United)
The Geordies make a hell of a noise and they cheer every ball. I can remember arriving here to referee the North East derby between Newcastle and Sunderland, whose fans are equally passionate. It had been pouring down with rain all night and the pitch was totally waterlogged. It was obvious that there was a strong possibility the game would be called off but a senior police office explained that the city was full of fans of both clubs. He said there would be a risk to public order if the game were called off – so we decided to go ahead. When we tossed the coin the Newcastle captain looked at me and I said: “Just don’t kick it into the far corner, it’s a bit deep and I am a bad swimmer.”

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6 – Estadio Azteca (Mexico)
I officiated here early in my career as an international referee and I’ll never forget it – there were over 120,000 spectators in the stadium to watch the national team. The noise was totally different to what you get at an English fixture because it sounded like people were blowing on trumpets and horns. You need to be very fit because of the altitude and you need to acclimatize very quickly. The Mexicans eat chillis as if they are peanuts – and while they are roaring on their team and you smell the spices in the air. When I came off at half time my eyes were watering. Somebody explained that it was the aroma of the chillis, so I had to lay back while they bathed my eyes with lukewarm water!
7 – Highbury/The Emirates (Arsenal)
When you arrived at the old Highbury it wasn’t like going into a football club – you felt as if you were walking into a grand civic hall. It was all marbled corridors and a uniformed commissionaire was there to greet you. Of course the Emirates is very different today but it retains its sense of history and the facilities are first class. The Arsenal fans are an intelligent crowd. They are passionate but I think they are a bit less tribal than many other clubs. I think they go there to be entertained rather than to let off steam. I always liked refereeing at Arsenal because if I had a good game the supporters would come up and say ‘Thanks ref.”
8 – Hampden Park (Scotland)
It’s a massive stadium with an electric atmosphere that can sometimes be at the ferocious end of the scale. I refereed a couple of games up there, including Scotland v Yugoslavia, which Scotland won 6-1. The referee’s dressing room was tiny back then but I assume they’ve improved things now. When you are on the pitch you’re some distance away from the crowd so you’re slightly insulated from the supporters even though it can still be very noisy.
9 – Stamford Bridge (Chelsea)
The old Stamford Bridge could be a cold, desolate place because it was almost a one sided stadium to some degree with one giant stand on the side. It also had The Shed but the ground was a mixture of different styles and it didn’t seem joined together. The pitch was never a good playing surface and the supporters were so far away that I don’t think they felt part of things, they were just watching from afar. Thankfully, it has changed a lot today and the crowd is now much closer to the action and when the blue flags are waving it’s a great sight.
10 – Giants Stadium (New York Cosmos)
This is normally a stadium where american football is played so it is very narrow. When I refereed there it was my first time in an American stadium and there were about 27,000 spectators for a game versus Vancouver, whom have a bit of a history with New York Cosmos. Giorgio Chinaglia scored a goal that I disallowed because he’d climbed onto the back of an opposition player to head it home. I gave him a straight yellow and the crowd were amazed because that wasn’t the done thing. At half-time the linesmen said to me: “What have you done, he is like a God here!” But Chinaglia didn’t mind – afterwards he came to my dressing room and asked if I would autograph the yellow card so that he could keep it as a souvenir.
… And as for QPR, Leeds and Norwich…
There are some stadiums that stick in my mind for different reasons. Loftus Road, the home of QPR, is tiny but the crowd are right on top of the pitch so the noise can be deafening. There might be less than 20,000 in the ground but they make the same noise as 40,000.
I can remember refereeing an FA Cup replay there midweek and getting stuck in terrible traffic. When I arrived we were missing a linesman so we put at an appeal to the crowd for a volunteer. Three people came forward including a young man and two older guys. I chose the most experienced older guy. The youngest guy laughed and said it was probably for the best, before rolling up his sleeve and showing me a huge QPR tattoo.
Elland Road also sticks in my mind but for different reasons. The Leeds fans are very boisterous and you know you are going to get stick there if you make a call that they don’t agree with. It’s one of those grounds were the atmosphere has a bit of an edge and I have experienced similar at Millwall and Cardiff City.
As for the most aggressive atmosphere that I’ve ever encountered, believe it or not it was at Carrow Road for Norwich v Ipswich Town. There are certain derby fixtures that you always know are going to be highly charged, but the East Anglian derby tops the lot. The players came out of the tunnel as if they were ready for a boxing match. The noise was intense and aggressive. During the game Mich d’Avray, who was playing for Ipswich, collapsed after accidently heading his opponent. You could see he was in trouble so I ran over and his tongue appeared to be blocking his airway, so I flicked it aside to help him. Mich was taken to hospital but he recovered and later he called me to say thank you.

 

I'm surprised the second Stadium Of Light didn't make it. All those empty pink seats are unique in would football.

 

****ing hell you have a talking mat?

This could make you a fortune. Imagine walking through the door and all you hear is 'ouch ya fat bastard take your shoes of and ffs put them chinos in the bin'

This could make you a fortune with the right marketing.

 

Apparently it can only be classed as a football stadium if it is occupied for at least 90minutes each week so unfortunately they weren't included.

 

I forgot they walk out at half time now.

 

It used to be but now the atmosphere is ****

 

It was mint against Saints.

 

Everyone knows the derby game in question, Sunday game, 1-0 Scottie Sellars free kick, Clarkie making that sliding tackle in the pond in the corner. He's right mind, there were murmurings in the Gallowgate it might get called off, people immediately started getting restless, there would have been hell on. I remember standing thinking "this is exactly why I love the derby, come hell or high water, we are getting it on and we're kick lumps out of each other!"

Not sure about the keeping mind

 

You have the beginning of an idea there mate.
You could run the Far East side of things.
We could put a build it dog turd alarm in.... 'halt... dog **** detected'....