Could the introduction of leading European officials improve standards within the English game...
We came across an interesting article from top European football journalist Gabriele Marcotti today, discussing whether leading referees should be allowed to move between countries. It’s an intriguing debate, for two primary reasons:
1) Is it actually fair to prohibit referees within the European Union from working in different countries? As Marcotti highlights, if footballers can do it, why can’t referees?
2) Would the introduction of high quality European referees improve the overall standard of officiating in the English game? I certainly believe the current standard is poor, but then Tom Ovrebo is, on paper, a leading referee according to UEFA. And I’m not sure anyone wants this man taking charge of English fixtures…
A link to Marcotti’s article is below:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/gabriele_marcotti/article7035539.ece
This also leads nicely onto an entertaining question of who is your all-time favourite/most hated referee? The ‘cult heroes’ of refereeing if you like. Naming refs we despise is probably rather straightforward – Graham Poll, Steve Bennett and Howard Webb immediately come to my mind.
But what about those custodians who provoke more jovial memories? The hapless, incompetent yet strangely comical Uriah Rennie for example. Perhaps you’re a fan of pedantic ginger pocket rocket Paul Durkin. Or maybe you have fond recollections of Alan Wilkie, a referee with his very own autobiography – One Night at the Palace – where he “lifts the lid on what really goes on in the world of professional football”.
Any further suggestions are very welcome.
Personally, I'm a big Trevor Kettle fan, but that's mainly because he's the only Championship ref we get that I can remember the name of...
ReplyDeleteAs for the foreign ref's idea, it's an interesting one. I guess *in theory* then they should be allowed to move around, given that they are workers like anyone else. I guess the issue is whether or not they would come in on a permanent basis or would just be called in to do one off games? This happens in other parts of Europe, where leagues that have had a lot of corruption around refereeing have brought in foreign refs.
If they were allowed to become refs here permanently (and if they want to live in the UK more power to them) then you better believe that English football would pay the highest wages, with a result being a sort of 'brain drain' with all the best refs in one place. Then again, I guess that already happens with players.
What I will say is that if we did have some foreign refs they miht not be so 'matey, matey' with the players they've known for a long time and you wouldn't have a situation where refs call some players 'JT' and 'Stevie G' whilst referring to others as 'the wigan left back'. In these cases familiarity does indeed breed contempt
Are you trying to suggest that Premier League referees don't have a nickname for Erik Edman...
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it's a very valid point.