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Last week, I mentioned why referees should not “cosy” up to managers and the reasons against it.
Well, right on cue, there was a fine example of what the consequences can be when things don’t go the way managers or coaches would like them to.
The recent Premier League game between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur was a fine example of why match officials need to keep their distance, and in that I include fourth officials because I often witness interactions between them and club officials.
In last week’s article, I described how Spurs’ boss Mauricio Pochettino hugged the fourth official at the end of his team’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Uefa Champions League match in London.
All nice and dandy because they won.
Fast forward a few days and they lose 2-1 to Burnley, and the whole situation is the complete reverse.
Pochettino was angry with referee Mike Dean because he claimed that a decision that went against his team ultimately led to their defeat and the loss of three valuable points in their chase for the Premiership.
I watched the game and, in fairness to the referee, it was a decision that could have gone either way.
However, the Spurs boss thought differently and loudly made his feelings clear to the referee as he was exiting the field at the end of the game.
It was a verbal lashing he was dishing out to the unfortunate match official and he warded off attempts by his own coaching staff to desist from this most unsavoury confrontation.
Dean, in his defence, remained calm and professional, and seemed to engage the Tottenham manager in conversation, if that’s what you would call it.
In my opinion, there are two issues here, both of which are not acceptable.
1. Pochettino should not have been allowed to gain any form of access to Dean. Referee security was sadly lacking.
2. Referees are not there to be “whipping boys” and are not to be abused, insulted or questioned about what decisions they make on the field during the course of the game.
I was absolutely fuming while watching this and was screaming at the TV for the referee to pull out his red card as coaches and subs can now get red and yellow cards, which they could not in the past.
The referee showed weakness in the face of this onslaught and did nothing for the standing of match officials other than to send out a message that we are there to bear the brunt of clubs and their frustrations.
Dean had an opportunity to send out a message to all club officials that such abuse and insults would not be tolerated and would be treated with the contempt they deserve. P
ochettino has been charged by the England Football Association and will face a hearing in the near future.
I had better stop now in case I say something I’ll regret later on.
Referees’ position on substitutes
An extraordinary, some say unprecedented, situation occurred in the final of the Carabao Cup last Sunday when Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri wanted to substitute his goalkeeper.
The problem was that the goal minder (Kepa Arrizabalaga) didn’t want to be substituted and so followed something I and many other people had not witnessed before.
Sarri was going crazy because his keeper refused to come off.
There had been some criticism of referee Jon Moss for his handling of the affair, but he was absolutely correct in the way he dealt with the situation.
The referee’s job is just to facilitate the substitution and not to get involved in trying to remove any player from the field during substitutions – that is the entire responsibility of the team management of the player(s) involved.
Happy whistling!
. Follow me on Twitter @dr_errol
