In all seriousness Dave, I have never bought into the fans' right to hurl abuse at the referee. I've never gone to a game and called a referee a "****ing ****" or anything of the kind. Like every other fan I get pissed off when the officials make mistakes and query their ability but in what is supposed to be a civilised society is it really necessary for 40,000+ people to be screaming vitriolic abuse at a guy just trying to do his job. It doesn't happen in rugby league or union and it doesn't happen in other forms of entertainment or in the workplace. Imagine walking into the office and noticing that a colleague had made a mistake. How long would you, I or anyone else last in the job if we pulled them up on their error with a gentle encouragement of "YOU ****ING ****, YOU'RE NOT FIT TO WORK HERE. GET A ****ING GRIP YOU ****!"
Gordon Ramsay seems to get away with it. Seriously, I agree with you- I would never use that term to anyone anyway, face to face or on the relative anonymity of the internet. Passions run high at football games, and I don't think we're going to hear shouts of "jolly bad show, old chap" aimed at the ref anytime soon. I'd like to see a serious clampdown on players verbally abusing the ref, then younger fans might begin to get a better example set to them. But for now, I think we're going to hear plenty of vitriol coming from the terraces every week. Calling someone names is one thing though, expressing the hope that they die of a terrible disease, in a published media outlet, is something else and utterly indefensible.
i am genuinely very sorry about his cancer, and happy that he overcame it. I lost both my parents, two uncles and a cousin to the scourge, so statistically my numbers on it too, and i don't find cancer funny at all. But, he is a bent ****, just like Steve Bentref,, Coward Webb, Manc Riley and Phil my pockets with bungs Dowd. Referees are not well meaning amateurs anymore, they're well paid professionals, yet when we had the beachball incident a few years back at Sunderland, fathead Bruce was openly joking that a ref who knew all the rules would be a 'saddo'. FFS, they're paid more than airline pilots and gp's (never mind four times as much as a nurse) and we're supposed to lauh if they don't know the rules - i.e. that a two-footed challenge off the ground is automatically considered uncontrolled and ergo a pen. And, much as I admit it was difficult to see Evans' made no contact with the ball but got Suarez's foot (though he 'saw' Johnson commit much less contact on Valencia from half the pitch away) he was standing five yards away from Scholes when he jumped in two-footed on Sterling in the box' "Wah, but he got the ball" say United and their cheerleader Lawrenson. So did Spearing angainst Fulham, but the lot of them tut-tutted and said it was definite sending-off. So forgive me if I saw a series of biased 'mistakes' as something more sinister and underhand. I don't believe a highly paid professional can be that unintentionally thick, unless their decisions tend to even out like that dofus Atkinson - utterly incompetent. I don't make jokes/sneers about cancer and death, but I reserve the right to question their integrity and withstand the pressure from certain managers to give all the decisions their way.
NOF. We can both agree that the tweets sent to him were vile and I would applaud the police taking action. The comments upon which police force were tounge-in-cheek. However, the referees are professional acting in a public arena and therefore are open to public comment upon their performance. There is no difference between the referees and the players in this instance. Hence, I have to disagree with you that it was reprehensible for the Anfield crowd to voice their collective opinion upon Halsey's performance or for PGMOL to even try and ban such comment. The difference between a referee and a work-colleague is both the role and the venue.
Dave, it's the level of abuse I find so unnecessary and can't comprehend. I've never worked myself up into an uncontrollable rage because of a decision a referee has made. It doesn't happen in other sports.
It does happen in other sports. I find nothing wrong with Liverpool supporters on Sunday chanting "You're not fit to referee" to an official who made at least 3 critical mistakes that effected both the result and the playing of the game. I totally accept that he does not have the benefit of slow-mo or action replays (perhaps all referees should?) but when you appear to continue to make mistakes then you deserve the approbation.
I posted that in a light hearted manner because of the the bad feeling on the thread NOF, but since you made an issue of it he deserved to be punished and theres a ****load of other abuse he given to referees i could have posted. You're far to serious in your condemnation of everything Liverpool and over defensive of all things Utd.
There is also the issue the aforementioned had with Martin Atkinson, whom he not so many words called ''weak''.
Page, what I don't get is why all the refs are in Fergie's pocket when he treats so many of them like ****?
Fergie does pay the refs so a clever tactic from SAF to criticize them in public and he will be saying to them well done in private.
It's not that they are in his pocket, i'd say the critics of the 'bias' shown to Utd down the years have said there is/was a fear factor because of Ferguson's status/stature in the game and his hairdryer rants about referees in TV interviews.
Or just trying to keep their heads out of the firing line - its not like Fergie has even submitted complaints to the FA to get refs re-assigned after having a 'bad game' at OT...
Stop twisting it, Ferguson's temper and outspoken attitude is 'legendary' and referees don't tend to speak up when he has a go at them because they fear facing him again if they get allocated a Utd game. I cant remember a ref having the balls to say jack about him until they retire.
Bless 'er . Trying to make the OP look not so thick, by being thicker. How many times do you need to be told, my name aint Rob , and I'm not from Leeds, but any grief you'd like to plant on the racist you've found would be well deserved. You're certainly doing your research :, well done, keep it up Or are you, in your usual twisted way, defending the twitterers ? ( If it makes you feel better, and if you're not still tryng to find a grown up to read, and explain, the preceding sentences to you, my middle name is 'of' )
Interesting. And this very basic tactic has been picked up on by lots of fans but no other managers have realised that if they criticise referees they will start getting all the decisions in their favour too? They must be asleep at the wheel! Then again, if all the managers did it then the refs wouldn't know who to favour so perhaps Fergie has been especially astute and has agreed an exclusivity on referee criticism. I've certainly never heard any other manager criticise a referee in my 30 years of following football. Well thank **** that's sorted!
Your denial is funny, you come on here and kiss the manc's arses after posting Munich related ****e on your twitter account. please log in to view this image Rob Atkinson ‏@RobofLeeds I see #mufc fans sang "Where's your famous Munich song" at Anfield. Scum. You won't let it go, because your club is built on an aircrash. Collapse Reply Retweet Favorite
I don't know why your'e all so angry, didn't expect anything else myself, bunch of clowns and yobs at the Mancs
