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Referees and those contentious decisions
published: Wednesday | February 20, 2008
YOU'D LAUGH to hear some of the things referees joke about.
Funny, they are meant to make you laugh, that's why they call them jokes.
Like getting stoned for being brave enough to make marginal calls that impact heavily against a team with fanatical supporters, especially when they are at home; having to be escorted from the ground by police with guns drawn at the ready.
Sometimes, the tales tell of even beating a hasty retreat in someone else's car because tyres have been slashed. And in those days, most of the matches were not played at grounds like now with perimeter fencing. The field was simply roped off so Tom, Dick and Harry would be on you in a seconds, cutting seriously into the precious few seconds needed to sprint for dressingroom safety.
Referee Karl Tyrell and especially, assistant referee Malacho Brown, had those moments on Sunday. Well, sort of.
With 15 minutes remaining and Harbour View leading 1-0 in the Western Union Jackie Bell KO final against Waterhouse at Harbour View Mini Stadium, Damion Powell lashed in what appeared the equaliser the Drewsland team was desperately seeking - a viciously swerving free kick just outside the wing angle of the penalty box from Damion Powell.
Waterhouse's celebrations soon transformed into anger when Brown raised his flag and, after consultation with Tyrell, waved off the goal for offside as Waterhouse's Irvino English attempted to play the ball, in close proximity to Harbour View's goalkeeper, Dwayne Miller.
No goal
Direct free kicks that nestle in goal are allowed sometimes if a player is in an offside position but when players attempt to play the ball, it becomes offside by way of interference, so the goal does not count.
Camera replays vindicated Brown for his brave, yet controversial decision.
Spectators opposed to his decision - and like Brown without camera evidence at the time - did not.
So, you knew it was time for the running, spikes. They started hurling bottles on to the pitch, forcing players and officials to scurry to the safe part of the grounds in front of the main stand.
Several people from Waterhouse and Harbour View gestured for calm in the stands and removed bottles from the pitch. More bottles were thrown. Soon after, gunshots echoed from outside the ground and many spectators got busy, real busy, scaling the perimeter fence and flowing on to the pitch.
At that point, it was clear the match wouldn't continue.
It was not the first time that night that bottles had been hurled on to the field. Some were thrown when Harbour View midfielder Jermaine Hue was shown a red card near the 55th minute. Play was halted for some time, the bottles removed and the game restarted, until the next stoppage.
The executive council of the Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) and its disciplinary committee dealt with the matter swiftly on Monday night when it met with representatives of both clubs and handed down its decision.
The remaining 15 minutes of the match will be played at Edward Seaga Sports Complex on Friday, with only the players and officials on the original match card eligible.
That continuation precedent was set in a Premier League match earlier this season between Arnett Gardens and St. Georges Sports Club - when they were tied 1-1 - at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex, so this decision is not strange.
Wilson's injury
In that same game that was continued, Arnett used a player who wasn't on the original match card, Kwame Richardson, in place of Kevin Wilson, who had got injured in a subsequent match. The rules, or lack thereof, allowed that. But it was a highly controversial issue, especially as Richardson scored the winning goal. So, there is nothing wrong with KSAFA making a clear stance in this regard.
Waterhouse were fined $75,000 for the unruly behaviour of their spectators, for invading the field of play, throwing missiles on to the ground and for verbally abusing the referees.
That Waterhouse alone were fined is unbalanced and inconsistent, even though it may be down to the fact that their spectators have been guilty of repeating this sort of behaviour.
Of interest is their semi-final match against Arnett Gardens the previous Wednesday when Cornel Chin-Sue had a goal disallowed for Arnett for what appeared a close, but brave, offside call, and there was no interruption. Leading clubs like Arnett, Tivoli and Boys' Town were once guilty of spectator problems but they seem to have been transformed. Until Sunday, it had never been a problem with Harbour View. But they, and Waterhouse, will need to follow suit and become leaders in every way - with an emphasis on crowd behaviour, which is, by the way, an international problem affecting the sport.
Ironically, on Monday, Sepp Blatter, president of the sport's world governing body, FIFA, fended off queries for utilising more technology to make decisions. While announcing a new trial of two additional assistants for the Women's Under-20 World Cup Finals in Chile in November, Blatter said: "FIFA's rules are practically perfect," then added, "What is the problem with football today? It's not the rules, it's the refereeing."
Since they are the ones making the decisions I guess that explains that bit. And in a serious way, they will explain the difficulties associated with those brave, but unpopular decisions which are a part of the game.
It might just mean running to save your life today, so you can laugh about it tomorrow. feedback: audley.boyd@gleanerjm.com
published: Wednesday | February 20, 2008
YOU'D LAUGH to hear some of the things referees joke about.
Funny, they are meant to make you laugh, that's why they call them jokes.
Like getting stoned for being brave enough to make marginal calls that impact heavily against a team with fanatical supporters, especially when they are at home; having to be escorted from the ground by police with guns drawn at the ready.
Sometimes, the tales tell of even beating a hasty retreat in someone else's car because tyres have been slashed. And in those days, most of the matches were not played at grounds like now with perimeter fencing. The field was simply roped off so Tom, Dick and Harry would be on you in a seconds, cutting seriously into the precious few seconds needed to sprint for dressingroom safety.
Referee Karl Tyrell and especially, assistant referee Malacho Brown, had those moments on Sunday. Well, sort of.
With 15 minutes remaining and Harbour View leading 1-0 in the Western Union Jackie Bell KO final against Waterhouse at Harbour View Mini Stadium, Damion Powell lashed in what appeared the equaliser the Drewsland team was desperately seeking - a viciously swerving free kick just outside the wing angle of the penalty box from Damion Powell.
Waterhouse's celebrations soon transformed into anger when Brown raised his flag and, after consultation with Tyrell, waved off the goal for offside as Waterhouse's Irvino English attempted to play the ball, in close proximity to Harbour View's goalkeeper, Dwayne Miller.
No goal
Direct free kicks that nestle in goal are allowed sometimes if a player is in an offside position but when players attempt to play the ball, it becomes offside by way of interference, so the goal does not count.
Camera replays vindicated Brown for his brave, yet controversial decision.
Spectators opposed to his decision - and like Brown without camera evidence at the time - did not.
So, you knew it was time for the running, spikes. They started hurling bottles on to the pitch, forcing players and officials to scurry to the safe part of the grounds in front of the main stand.
Several people from Waterhouse and Harbour View gestured for calm in the stands and removed bottles from the pitch. More bottles were thrown. Soon after, gunshots echoed from outside the ground and many spectators got busy, real busy, scaling the perimeter fence and flowing on to the pitch.
At that point, it was clear the match wouldn't continue.
It was not the first time that night that bottles had been hurled on to the field. Some were thrown when Harbour View midfielder Jermaine Hue was shown a red card near the 55th minute. Play was halted for some time, the bottles removed and the game restarted, until the next stoppage.
The executive council of the Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) and its disciplinary committee dealt with the matter swiftly on Monday night when it met with representatives of both clubs and handed down its decision.
The remaining 15 minutes of the match will be played at Edward Seaga Sports Complex on Friday, with only the players and officials on the original match card eligible.
That continuation precedent was set in a Premier League match earlier this season between Arnett Gardens and St. Georges Sports Club - when they were tied 1-1 - at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex, so this decision is not strange.
Wilson's injury
In that same game that was continued, Arnett used a player who wasn't on the original match card, Kwame Richardson, in place of Kevin Wilson, who had got injured in a subsequent match. The rules, or lack thereof, allowed that. But it was a highly controversial issue, especially as Richardson scored the winning goal. So, there is nothing wrong with KSAFA making a clear stance in this regard.
Waterhouse were fined $75,000 for the unruly behaviour of their spectators, for invading the field of play, throwing missiles on to the ground and for verbally abusing the referees.
That Waterhouse alone were fined is unbalanced and inconsistent, even though it may be down to the fact that their spectators have been guilty of repeating this sort of behaviour.
Of interest is their semi-final match against Arnett Gardens the previous Wednesday when Cornel Chin-Sue had a goal disallowed for Arnett for what appeared a close, but brave, offside call, and there was no interruption. Leading clubs like Arnett, Tivoli and Boys' Town were once guilty of spectator problems but they seem to have been transformed. Until Sunday, it had never been a problem with Harbour View. But they, and Waterhouse, will need to follow suit and become leaders in every way - with an emphasis on crowd behaviour, which is, by the way, an international problem affecting the sport.
Ironically, on Monday, Sepp Blatter, president of the sport's world governing body, FIFA, fended off queries for utilising more technology to make decisions. While announcing a new trial of two additional assistants for the Women's Under-20 World Cup Finals in Chile in November, Blatter said: "FIFA's rules are practically perfect," then added, "What is the problem with football today? It's not the rules, it's the refereeing."
Since they are the ones making the decisions I guess that explains that bit. And in a serious way, they will explain the difficulties associated with those brave, but unpopular decisions which are a part of the game.
It might just mean running to save your life today, so you can laugh about it tomorrow. feedback: audley.boyd@gleanerjm.com