http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31125655 Africa Cup of Nations: Referee banned for six months An Africa Cup of Nations referee has been banned for six months for "poor performance". Referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn gave Equatorial Guinea a controversial penalty in stoppage time as they beat Tunisia 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Tunisia staff confronted the official after the match and their federation has been fined $50,000 (£33,000). "The referees committee noted the poor performance of the referee," the Confederation of African Football said. Caf added that the referee's failings included an "unacceptable failure to maintain calm and ensure proper control of the players during the match". Caf also wants an apology from Tunisia for accusations of bias. And Tunisia have been ordered to pay for damages to a door and a refrigerator in the team's dressing room at Bata Stadium. BBC World Service's Steve Crossman: "Six months is a significant amount of time but at least it's a specific ban. At the last Nations Cup, Slim Jdidi, ironically from Tunisia, was suspended indefinitely after a poor showing in his semi-final and he went on to make Fifa's shortlist for the 2014 World Cup." Mauritian referee Seechurn awarded the penalty in stoppage time after Ali Maaloul was harshly ruled to have fouled Ivan Bolado when Tunisia were leading 1-0 and, after equalising from the spot through Javier Balboa, hosts Equatorial Guinea went on to win in extra-time. Seechurn has also been removed from Caf's list of elite referees. According to Caf, it was sent two letters by the Tunisian FA following the match, with the second asking for an investigation and suggesting that Caf and its officials "were questionable and biased against Tunisia in general". Unless Tunisia's football federation can provide "irrefutable evidence to substantiate the accusations" they need to send a letter of apology by midnight on 5 February or face expulsion from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Tunisia football chief Wadie Jary resigned from Caf in protest after the match and he was also "condemned" for his behaviour after going on to the pitch to confront Seechurn, as well as criticising the referee and African football's governing body. Equatorial Guinea were fined $5,000 (£3,300) for poor security at the stadium. I laughed at the comment from the BBC guy "At the last Nations Cup, Slim Jdidi, ironically from Tunisia, was suspended indefinitely after a poor showing in his semi-final and he went on to make Fifa's shortlist for the 2014 World Cup." Says it all about FIFA but can you imagine if we banned the refs over here for poor performance - there'd be no football lol
"unacceptable failure to maintain calm and ensure proper control of the players during the match". Quite right too, it's their job. In this country the clubs get fined for failing to control their players. It doesn't even make sense.
It should be. Is Uriah Rennie still reffing? iirc he was slung out of the prem for having crapness in large amounts.
Makes you wonder what it takes. Surely there must be some decent refs in the other leagues who can move up. The prem standard is shocking.
Billions of quid in our league alone, yet the refs are paid a poor salary. Stick top referees on 500k a year and I'm sure we'll soon see an improvement. For £85k a year as a top referee, I wouldn't give a **** either.
I am just off out to get myself a referees manual. As you can now tell I am not on top wage. If thats what referees get I fancy a bit. Probably banned from refereeing Sunderland/Newcastle games. I can just say I am a City fan??!!
Well yeah, 85k isn't to be sniffed at, but in the vast scheme of the Premier League, considering how pivotal their role is, you'd think they'd be on better wages.
But they were better when we paid them less, this belief that the more you pay professionals the better the standard does not always work out, banking springs to mind.
There's that way of looking at it or, you could say the more lucrative an industry it is, the more likely people are to 'apply within' for employment, the more people that are involved the better chance you have of finding somebody with a brain cell of common sense. Banking requires a different aptitude, mathematics to be precise just to get a foot in the door. There's less prerequisites for football referees academically.
They're not worth the 85K they get now. The standard was way better pre 1991. Giving them money and extra protection has made things worse imo.
Currently the only prerequisite seems to be that they have to experts at hide-n-seek, the cowardly bastards.
Yeah, but pre 1991 they probably had half the job to do. If you watch Premier League Years on Sky you see all sorts that wouldn't wash with today's crop of cowards, I'm not saying the current ones deserve more, but from my viewpoint, I wouldn't do their job for £85k, it's **** all for the **** they get slung at them. Alternatively, offer them £30k a year and fetch in real-time video replays.
All this play acting and diving I believe has grown from Referees protecting themselves as a priority over upholding the laws of the game. It now can't be policed.
And foreigners, they love a dive. Who dived first? You love a good stat. I wonder if he got a volley to the face off the accused player. Bet it was an Italian, they've always been pussies.
