This post is about Football referees and their Assistants. … but – the honest, unapathetic part of my nature cannot allow me to not give you a ‘Preface.’ Are you a CHEAT – or simply apathetic towards cheating ?...............either way, you won’t read this post – because -….. Unfortunately, apathy seems to ‘rule’ in our society…. To quote a famous saying; ‘ Evil exists only where good people do nothing. ‘ If you [good] people do nothing, you are condoning the ‘evil ‘ of cheating !...... BUT – practically all of you will assure me that none of you cheat and hate cheating as much as me [[ now – uncross your fingers ! ]]… If you claim to be good, I defy you not to be apathetic – or is it that you are a cheat ? Before I incur the wrath of your ( maybe ) guilty conscience – let me reassure you that I accept that probably all of you are [fairly] good people – or – at very least, have good intentions. By now, everyone here knows that I hate cheating in all aspects of life – not just in sport. Unfortunately many forms of cheating prevails in our lives – and much of it is / has become, socially ‘acceptable’ and trivialized! - - who hasn’t phoned in ‘sick’ for work after a ‘heavy’ night? – is that form of cheating considered ‘harmless’ ? – or is it on a ‘scale’ of cheating that doesn’t really count ? Whichever way you view it – I regret to say that you are a cheat… and if you think there’s no harm in taking any illegal, paid time off work – that makes you a cheat and a hypocrite when you complain about others doing the same………. Anyway – enough of the ‘Preface.’ Regrettably attitudes in Football seems to have made cheating acceptable… Cheats seem to prosper – and go unpunished…. Very early in yesterday’s game Hawkins ‘won’ a free kick after a Tranmere defender fouled him… For a minute I thought we had a referee who would actually see and punish the cheating that Hawkins has to suffer every week…… Well – I was wrong ! I make no excuse that the performance by The Gills (especially) in the first half – was dreadful – AGAIN !.....I could accuse The Gills of cheating – by their lack of intent to try to score ( but that form of cheating belongs in the ‘Preface.’ ) It didn’t take long for the Officials at the game to revert to type….. Are they ALL blind to the MANY occasions when players cheat ? Maybe they are ! Perhaps the linesmen { & women } need to have their flags mounted on white sticks ? – perhaps even with a red band (( they must be deaf to the criticism by the fans. )) At the Tranmere game, our opponents used the usual cheating tactics that is common in all the opponents at Priestfield – and which is not seen by any of the officials ( apparently ) …. … I say ‘apparently’ because – I cannot believe that every week, a different set of multiple ‘Officials’ fail to ‘see’ so many fouls – notably shirt pulling, that exists in every game…. I cannot believe that the same different, multiple set of Officials are incompetent, and thereby fail to punish all the fouls that are committed…. So – what is there left to concur ? ….Maybe the Officials can’t be bothered to use their whistle or flags… Perhaps they have become disillusioned with the cheating by ( mostly all ) the players… perhaps deciding that it’s a ‘ 6 and two 3s.’… and can only be bothered if the offence is ‘more serious.’…….Any form of ‘ tolerance ‘ of cheating is unacceptable – especially when it comes to those who are ‘supposed’ to implement the rules….To tolerate cheating is CHEATING at a ‘higher’ level…It must not be allowed to exist – but – more importantly, it does not need to exist. The Officials may be disenchanted when the players of both teams insist on cheating – and will simply turn a blind eye…. They might think that by ignoring the vast majority of cheating, that the players will end up ‘punishing’ each other. ..BUT – to do so is to totally disrespect the fans. I do not attend any venue where I have paid handsomely to see a performance (( win, draw or defeat )), and where the value of my ‘commitment’ has been insulted by cheating from anyone on the stage – or worse, by those in control…. And, for clarity – when I say cheating – that is by foul play or ‘no’ play ! There is a simple remedy to eliminate cheating by the players… The Officials need to punish every incident of cheating. If that means (( initially )) that 10 penalties are awarded in each game – so be it… If it means 4 or 5 players being sent off in each game – so be it…. THAT scenario won’t last for long. The players will quickly learn that they will not be allowed to cheat without being punished… Very quickly, the players will do something remarkable – they will play fairly ! …It happens in Rugby !- where I have yet to hear the fans chant ‘’ You don’t know what you’re doing. ‘’ – and that is in a game that is known to be a ‘contact’ sport – unlike football ! So – what chance have I got of seeing a game without anyone on the pitch (or side lines), guilty of cheating ?
I kept meaning to reply to this.... After what happened in the Swindon game to Hurtado, is clearly obvious that cheating is widely accepted - I saw very few complaints (if any) after he was constantly being chopped down because of his pace, and the ref did absolutely nothing (nor his lino) to protect him. Even worse after the game it was still not getting called out. It's cost him his career progress at Gillingham - It just seems odd a good player is forced to retun to his club because the officials failed to do their job properly and worse still that players would cheat in such a manner to cause injury to a fellow professional.
Looks like the latest cheat was at Liverpool yesterday ! I swear the Officials make it up as they go along.... I thought that even if you got the end of a toe to the ball before your opponent, if your 'follow through' is dangerous - then your action is a foul (( and - if inside your penalty area, you incur a penalty. )).... It's as well that MacAllister wasn't a few inches shorter in stature.
This, ( apparently ), is not dangerous enough to be called a foul..........I wonder if I did the same to the (cheating) referee he would be so forgiving ? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/68530203
