THOUSANDS of referees each year are leaving the game as the levels of intimidation and abuse continue to rise.
Football is facing a crisis as it struggles to recruit and retain referees in particular at grassroots level. It is estimated one in seven match officials quit every year with the abuse they face a major factor in up-taking that decision.
UEFA’S head of referees, Roberto Rossetti has called it a “vocational crisis” which is also putting pressure on efforts to bring new referees into the sport.
In August 2023 UEFA launched their first ever referee recruitment campaign named ‘Be A Referee’ designed to inspire young people across Europe to take up officiating. UEFA aims to recruit 40,000 new referees each season in order to combat the shortage football now faces.
Zvonimir Boban, UEFA chief of football and Director of technical development was optimistic about this approach saying, “referees play a pivotal role in safeguarding the game on the field of play, also equipping young people with invaluable life skills that will serve them both on and off the field”.
In England specifically, aggressive behaviour towards referees has become such a problem that the Football Association (FA) became the first association to trial the use of body worn cameras in an attempt to reduce the abuse aimed at referees at grassroots level.
The frequent abuse of referees in the professional game is seen as a major contributor to problems lower down the football pyramid, as players and spectators are known to take lead from what they watch on television.
Turkish referee Halil Umet Meler recently suffered a fractured eye socket which landed him in hospital, after being attacked at full time after a Turkish Süper Lig game.
According to The Conversation, “more then 93% of referees have told us they had been verbally abused, whilst almost one in five had reported physical abuse”, a stat that speaks levels in terms of something that needs to be put into place to combat this problem.
Referee’s will always make mistakes, they will miss offsides, make incorrect penalty decisions and none of them enjoy making an incorrect decision. They are there for the love of the game and because they enjoy being a part of football.
They deserve respect for putting themselves in full view of everyone where there is no hiding place and contributing towards a fair game, so look after your referees, we are in short supply.
