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Referees in the spotlight
Howard Webb has given 3.2 cards per game this season (stats up to 27/1/11)
By John Sinnott
Abused by fans, mocked on Twitter by players, frequently derided by managers and under constant scrutiny from every conceivable television camera angle, the life of an English football referee can be a tough and unforgiving one.
Mark Clattenburg, Phil Dowd, Peter Walton, Howard Webb, Anthony Taylor and Martin Atkinson are just a few of the officials to have incurred the wrath of almost every Premier League manager, from Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish to Mick McCarthy, Tony Pulis and David Moyes.
Stoke boss Pulis was so angered by Atkinson's performance in his side's 2-0 defeat at Sunderland in November that he called for the introduction of a promotion and relegation system for referees in an effort to reduce the number of poor decisions.
"If the top three [referees] in the Championship got the opportunity to work at the top level, I think it would certainly clear a few referees' minds," said Pulis.
His suggestion was not taken too seriously at the time but his outburst only served to highlight the growing disillusionment with the standard of officiating in English football's top flight.
For the record, there is no such thing as a league table for Premier League referees, who number 16 and have responsibility for officiating 380 top-flight matches over the course of a season.
So how are they judged? And who is responsible for ensuring they are up to the job?
Assessors monitor how referees perform, while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the board tasked with the responsibility of developing excellence in officiating in the English game, works closely with football analysts Prozone to provide constructive feedback to referees and help improve their decision-making.
Atkinson has dished out the most red cards - eight - this season. (stats up to 27/1/11)
According to a Premier League spokesman, English referees are performing pretty well.
He claimed that the number of offside decisions they get wrong is "extremely low" and told me that overseas football associations frequently use English referees to help train their own officials.
Former top-flight referee Dermot Gallagher agrees that English officials are doing a good job, insisting they are getting the "key decisions right", while Alan Leighton, national secretary of referees union Prospect, says that any underperforming referees soon find themselves under the microscope.
"Officials are assessed in a number of ways and their decisions are assessed and evaluated," he said.
"A top official who does not get most key decisions right on a regular basis will find that they get into difficulty with the evaluation and assessment system. He is likely to be demoted."
Still, not everyone is convinced that all referees are up to scratch.
Stoke compiled a dossier on Mike Dean after he sent off two players during the early rounds of last season.
When the official was then tasked with taking charge of their game with Tottenham on 20 March, the club attempted to have him replaced, presenting their dossier to Mike Riley, the general manager of PGMOL, as evidence.
Continue reading here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9379989.stm
Howard Webb has given 3.2 cards per game this season (stats up to 27/1/11)
By John Sinnott
Abused by fans, mocked on Twitter by players, frequently derided by managers and under constant scrutiny from every conceivable television camera angle, the life of an English football referee can be a tough and unforgiving one.
Mark Clattenburg, Phil Dowd, Peter Walton, Howard Webb, Anthony Taylor and Martin Atkinson are just a few of the officials to have incurred the wrath of almost every Premier League manager, from Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish to Mick McCarthy, Tony Pulis and David Moyes.
Stoke boss Pulis was so angered by Atkinson's performance in his side's 2-0 defeat at Sunderland in November that he called for the introduction of a promotion and relegation system for referees in an effort to reduce the number of poor decisions.
"If the top three [referees] in the Championship got the opportunity to work at the top level, I think it would certainly clear a few referees' minds," said Pulis.
His suggestion was not taken too seriously at the time but his outburst only served to highlight the growing disillusionment with the standard of officiating in English football's top flight.
For the record, there is no such thing as a league table for Premier League referees, who number 16 and have responsibility for officiating 380 top-flight matches over the course of a season.
So how are they judged? And who is responsible for ensuring they are up to the job?
Assessors monitor how referees perform, while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the board tasked with the responsibility of developing excellence in officiating in the English game, works closely with football analysts Prozone to provide constructive feedback to referees and help improve their decision-making.
Atkinson has dished out the most red cards - eight - this season. (stats up to 27/1/11)
According to a Premier League spokesman, English referees are performing pretty well.
He claimed that the number of offside decisions they get wrong is "extremely low" and told me that overseas football associations frequently use English referees to help train their own officials.
Former top-flight referee Dermot Gallagher agrees that English officials are doing a good job, insisting they are getting the "key decisions right", while Alan Leighton, national secretary of referees union Prospect, says that any underperforming referees soon find themselves under the microscope.
"Officials are assessed in a number of ways and their decisions are assessed and evaluated," he said.
"A top official who does not get most key decisions right on a regular basis will find that they get into difficulty with the evaluation and assessment system. He is likely to be demoted."
Still, not everyone is convinced that all referees are up to scratch.
Stoke compiled a dossier on Mike Dean after he sent off two players during the early rounds of last season.
When the official was then tasked with taking charge of their game with Tottenham on 20 March, the club attempted to have him replaced, presenting their dossier to Mike Riley, the general manager of PGMOL, as evidence.
Continue reading here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9379989.stm