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Livingston Scott, Observer staff reporter
Monday, August 06, 2007
Referees in the Kingston & St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) have withdrawn their services indefinitely, following two troubling incidents over the last three weeks.
According to president of the Jamaica Referees' Association, former FIFA official, Peter Prendergast, KSAFA is the main region affected by the recent difficulties, as both incidents occurred in St Andrew.
Prendergast is now calling for greater support and response from the clubs, communities and competition organisers in regard to officials' security.
The clubs, communities and football associations, he said, have a responsibility to ensure the safety of referees and at the moment "none of them" is living up to this responsibility.
He added that players now seem to be infected by the "disease", pointing to the incident during a KSAFA Under-17 match last Thursday at Maverley Park Complex, when a home team player was ejected and the player then went about hurling a string of verbal abuse at the man-in-the-middle.
In addition, upon leaving the field the youngster proceeded to slash the tyres of the referee's vehicle and a bicycle close by.
The other situation, he said, took place three weeks ago during a Masters' League match at the Drewsland mini-stadium, where a Waterhouse player physically assaulted the referee during a game.
Prendergast also pointed to another problem affecting his association, with regard to the late payment of referees' fees from the JFF and other competition organisers. This, he said, was impacting negatively on the psyche of the referees, which can affect their performance.
"Most competition organisers do not pay us on time so it is hard to keep the referees motivated, especially when they have to pay their transportation and food out of their own pockets for weeks.
"So the little that we are suppose to get, if we do not get it in a timely manner then it can affect the psyche of the referees."
But Jamaica's most celebrated referee said the recent outburst of violence against match officials has raised serious cause for concern among his colleagues.
The referees' boss made is clear that the association was not on a strike, but trying to raise attention to their plight for proper security, which he believes is being totally ignored.
Prendergast told the Observer that the referees group will be holding a meeting with the president of the Jamaica Football Federation, Crenston Boxhill, on Wednesday at 10:00 am in an effort to try to resolve the current situation.
However, he warned that he could not guarantee an immediate return to work by the officials, but said he was sorry the situation had reached this far, as he is yet to have a disruption of any league because of referees during his tenure.
"The more activities you can have in a community, it is the less chance you have for crime and violence, so the more games you have the more beneficial it is for the communities.
"But the club and the community must know they have a responsibility to ensure that people feel secure whenever and wherever in their community when they come to events like these," he said.
The referees boss added that there is a system of payment for paying the match officials, but if they are not paid on time this system cannot be maintained, making his job of attracting new referees to the association much more difficult. At present the referees' association is in need of at least 200 additional officials, according to Prendergast.
However, the security issue, he said, will have to be resolved. "If we follow competitions rules, then half the games we go to would not be played... but the communities and the clubs need to ensure that certain things do not happen," he concluded.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Referees in the Kingston & St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) have withdrawn their services indefinitely, following two troubling incidents over the last three weeks.
According to president of the Jamaica Referees' Association, former FIFA official, Peter Prendergast, KSAFA is the main region affected by the recent difficulties, as both incidents occurred in St Andrew.
Prendergast is now calling for greater support and response from the clubs, communities and competition organisers in regard to officials' security.
The clubs, communities and football associations, he said, have a responsibility to ensure the safety of referees and at the moment "none of them" is living up to this responsibility.
He added that players now seem to be infected by the "disease", pointing to the incident during a KSAFA Under-17 match last Thursday at Maverley Park Complex, when a home team player was ejected and the player then went about hurling a string of verbal abuse at the man-in-the-middle.
In addition, upon leaving the field the youngster proceeded to slash the tyres of the referee's vehicle and a bicycle close by.
The other situation, he said, took place three weeks ago during a Masters' League match at the Drewsland mini-stadium, where a Waterhouse player physically assaulted the referee during a game.
Prendergast also pointed to another problem affecting his association, with regard to the late payment of referees' fees from the JFF and other competition organisers. This, he said, was impacting negatively on the psyche of the referees, which can affect their performance.
"Most competition organisers do not pay us on time so it is hard to keep the referees motivated, especially when they have to pay their transportation and food out of their own pockets for weeks.
"So the little that we are suppose to get, if we do not get it in a timely manner then it can affect the psyche of the referees."
But Jamaica's most celebrated referee said the recent outburst of violence against match officials has raised serious cause for concern among his colleagues.
The referees' boss made is clear that the association was not on a strike, but trying to raise attention to their plight for proper security, which he believes is being totally ignored.
Prendergast told the Observer that the referees group will be holding a meeting with the president of the Jamaica Football Federation, Crenston Boxhill, on Wednesday at 10:00 am in an effort to try to resolve the current situation.
However, he warned that he could not guarantee an immediate return to work by the officials, but said he was sorry the situation had reached this far, as he is yet to have a disruption of any league because of referees during his tenure.
"The more activities you can have in a community, it is the less chance you have for crime and violence, so the more games you have the more beneficial it is for the communities.
"But the club and the community must know they have a responsibility to ensure that people feel secure whenever and wherever in their community when they come to events like these," he said.
The referees boss added that there is a system of payment for paying the match officials, but if they are not paid on time this system cannot be maintained, making his job of attracting new referees to the association much more difficult. At present the referees' association is in need of at least 200 additional officials, according to Prendergast.
However, the security issue, he said, will have to be resolved. "If we follow competitions rules, then half the games we go to would not be played... but the communities and the clubs need to ensure that certain things do not happen," he concluded.