Rising Tide of Violence Against Referees

With the 2010 World Cup just around the corner and England one of the favourites to win the Jules Rimet Trophy, everything appears to be buoyant within the English professional game. However, this cannot be said of the amateur game. Indeed the future of amateur football is in crisis after a report reveals that over 1 in 3 referees are leaving the game because of the fear of violence from players and supporters.

The study by the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research at Leicester University suggest that with so many referees leaving the game and fewer people willing to replace them, that within a decade some amateur leagues may well fold because of the shortage of qualified referees.

The problem is particularly acute in London, where according to the London Football Association (LFA) some league matches were cancelled last season because of the absence of trained match officials.

Regarding assaults on referees LFA statistics show that there were 41 recorded assaults for the 2009/2010 season. These do not take into account the assaults, which were not reported.

Many of the reported attacks on referees normally land at the desk of Stephen Perrins, the general secretary to the London Society of Referees. An organisation that looks after the welfare of referees in the capital. He shares the concerns of the report.

Perrins said: "I have known of referees being head-butted and punched by players when a decision has gone against their team. There was even one incident where a wife of a player got so irate that she ran on to the pitch and starting hitting the referee with her umbrella."

Perrins feels that players discipline has gradually worsened over the years.

He said: "There has always been verbal abuse directed towards referees. Normally this can be dealt with within the laws of the game. But what you see now is that players and even supporters go beyond verbal abuse and feel it's their right to man-handled referees as well."

Perrins, 49, said that more needed to be done by clubs and leagues to severely reprimand players if they have been found guilty of serious assault against referees.

Chris Tanning, a referee for nearly 3 decades echoes this view. He has become one of many officials who has fallen victim to the violence spreading in amateur football.

"18 months ago I took charge of a game where I sent of a player for abusive behaviour. He was so incensed with my decision that he head-butted me smashing my jaw," Tanning said.

The father of two, had to undergo two major operations to repair three fractures in his jaw. He now wears a steel plate in his head.

Despite his horrific ordeal Tanning still officiates today even though his family have urged him to pack it in.

"I still get spat at and called every name under the sun," said the 59-year-old. "There's quite a lot of that going on at the moment, and it has definitely got worse over the past few years. That's why we are losing so many referees in London and elsewhere."

At the other end of the age spectrum is John Good who qualified as a referee just six months ago. But already he has to run the gauntlet of hate every week from players and supporters at the tender age of 19.

Good said: "In six months, I've been physically attacked and have received verbal threats in almost every game. On one occasion, I sent a player off and, as he was leaving the pitch, he said he would burn my house down with my family inside."

Good warned that violence was destroying the game at grass-roots level and fewer younger referees like himself were coming through because of it.

He said: "We need unified and stringent action not only from clubs and leagues but also from the governing body the LFA to stamp out verbal and physical intimidation from the game before it's too late."

David Fowkes, the chief executive of LFA is all too well aware of the crisis facing non-league football in London. He believes that the newly introduced National Participants Database (NPD), would be one measure to solve this problem.

He said: "Everybody involved in football, be it clubs, players, coaches or referees would need to register on the new database and be given an unique number."

This initiative Fowkes said would identify players who have been previously banned for violent conduct not being able to play for another club using a different name.

"The database will weed out violent offenders and reduce the intimidation that referees have to endure," he explained.

Fowkes also said that the LFA would be announcing a crackdown on violence and abusive behaviour towards referees both on and off the pitch.

He said: "Referees at this level need our full protection because without them amateur football will slowly die."