Referees on rise thanks to Howard Webb’s success and FA recruitment drive

Refereeing has never been a more popular profession, nor
a more pilloried one.

Numbers are soaring, thanks to Howard Webb’s success and
judicious development campaigns, but the Football Association wants outspoken
managers such as Harry Redknapp to appreciate the difficult job that officials
such as Webb and Mark Clattenburg do.

The FA releases hugely encouraging National Game Strategy
figures next week revealing that 1,840 new referees have been recruited into
football an increase of 7.4 per cent on 2009, taking their first steps towards
becoming the next Webb.

While voicing pride in the "very good" referees
in English football, the FA admits Clattenburg could have handled the
Gomes/Nani incident better. As the fallout from Clattenburg’s refusal to rule
out Nani’s goal against Redknapp’s side highlighted, refereeing has always
stirred great, often intemperate, debate but this season has seen an intriguing
dynamic.

Managers appear increasingly militant towards officials
yet English referees have never been more in demand around the world.

Webb, Clattenburg, Martin Atkinson, Mike De

Referees on rise thanks to Howard
Webb’s success and FA recruitment drive

Refereeing has never been a more popular profession, nor
a more pilloried one.

 

Numbers are soaring, thanks to Howard Webb’s success and
judicious development campaigns, but the Football Association wants outspoken
managers such as Harry Redknapp to appreciate the difficult job that officials
such as Webb and Mark Clattenburg do.

The FA releases hugely encouraging National Game Strategy
figures next week revealing that 1,840 new referees have been recruited into
football an increase of 7.4 per cent on 2009, taking their first steps towards
becoming the next Webb.

While voicing pride in the "very good" referees
in English football, the FA admits Clattenburg could have handled the
Gomes/Nani incident better. As the fallout from Clattenburg’s refusal to rule
out Nani’s goal against Redknapp’s side highlighted, refereeing has always
stirred great, often intemperate, debate but this season has seen an intriguing
dynamic.

Managers appear increasingly militant towards officials
yet English referees have never been more in demand around the world.

Webb, Clattenburg, Martin Atkinson, Mike Dean, Andre
Marriner, Lee Probert and Stuart Attwell are involved in European competition
and also get invited to oversee high-stakes games from Rio to Tokyo. Even the
Scots have discussed asking an Englishman to control Old Firm confrontations.

The FA hosted a group of 30 South Korean referees at a
workshop in Manchester on Tuesday, the visitors taking in the Old Trafford
Museum and a trip to Carrington where they broke into whoops of delight on
meeting Ji-Sung Park. "I’m very happy to see Korean referees come here and
learn from the good English referees,” Park said.

The perception in England is that player dissent towards
referees is bad but Park stressed it was worse elsewhere. "In Korea, there
are many problems with players always arguing with the referees but in England
that doesn’t happen,” said the United midfielder.

"When I came to England [from PSV Eindhoven in 2005]
I saw the players respect the referees’ decisions. There are always arguments
about the games in the papers afterwards here but in Korea the arguments are
during the game.

"Players have to respect referees. They are human
beings. Maybe they make mistakes but that’s part of football. I like English
referees because they keep the tempo high. They don’t break the game up.
Sometimes they let tackles go if it’s not serious. In Korea they stop the game
too many times. I like it to flow. Referees have to improve a lot in Korea.

"What Howard Webb has done shows the quality of
English referees is high in the world. They deal with the Premier League so
that means they can deal with the best competitions in the world."

Redknapp might disagree. Tottenham’s manager was enraged
by Clattenburg’s decision to allow Nani’s goal to stand at Old Trafford on Oct
30. "By the letter of the law, Mark didn’t do anything wrong,” said Ian
Blanchard, the former Premier League official now head of national referee development
at the FA.

"Mark had two big decisions to make,” continued
Blanchard, also a referees’ assessor. "First, was there a penalty with
Kaboul on Nani? Mark clearly says there was no penalty.

The next incident is the handball [by Nani]. Was there a
deliberate handball? Yes there was. Mark, in communication with his assistant
linesman, decides he’s seen it, the goalkeeper has possession, let’s play on.

"There’s 84 minutes into the game and Spurs
[trailing 1-0] need the advantage. Most referees would do the same. Mark
perhaps should have communicated what he was doing better and clearly
indicated, ‘I’m happy nothing untoward happened, I’ve seen everything, let’s
play on’. That’s a learning point."

Blanchard added that Clattenburg could have clarified his
decision on television afterwards. "Referees are encouraged to talk
afterwards to explain a point of law. It would be of benefit to the spectators
as well.”

It would also take the sting out of acerbic comments from
managers like Redknapp, who escaped an FA charge for his remarks about
Clattenburg.

"Managers are outspoken, and have every right to be
at times, but there is a process in place for talking about referees,”
continued Blanchard. "There is a 30-minute window after games where
managers can knock on the door and speak reasonably to referees. Some do that.
Others prefer not to. They go to the press and the next thing we know we’ve got
headline news.

"Some referees take notice of what is said in the
media and sometimes their confidence is shot through. It’s about having the
strength to overcome this adversity. Mark is typical of the referees who do
show tremendous courage.

"Managers’ comments are unfortunate. It also has an
impact on grass-roots because managers and players are role models. Four years
ago, a head teacher from a secondary school in the Midlands rang me on a Monday
and said: ‘I really want you to consider the decline in the behaviour of the
boys as a result of what happened on TV in live games over the weekend. Please,
please, as the governing body, get something done’.

"We have to appreciate the stresses and strains of
being a manager, just as much as a manager has to appreciate the stresses and
strains of being a referee. We’d like managers and players to understand what
we are doing."

Blanchard has sympathy with managers’ call for some
assistance for officials – "we need to look at goal-line technology” –
but emphasised the quality of the men in the middle.

"We have some very good refs in the Premier League,
Football League and semi-pro. We have been asked by a number of countries to
send refs over to referee their high-profile cup finals and end-of-season games
in Brazil, Australia and Japan.

"The achievements of Howard at the Champions League
final and the World Cup speaks volumes for the general standard of refereeing
in this country. With Howard and the ‘Football Needs’ [recruitment] campaign
our basic refereeing courses in our county FAs are now often full."

Referees on rise thanks to Howard
Webb’s success and FA recruitment drive

Refereeing has never been a more popular profession, nor
a more pilloried one.

 

Laying down the law: referee recruitment has soared
thanks to Howard Webb’s (second left) success Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Numbers are soaring, thanks to Howard Webb’s success and
judicious development campaigns, but the Football Association wants outspoken
managers such as Harry Redknapp to appreciate the difficult job that officials
such as Webb and Mark Clattenburg do.

The FA releases hugely encouraging National Game Strategy
figures next week revealing that 1,840 new referees have been recruited into
football an increase of 7.4 per cent on 2009, taking their first steps towards
becoming the next Webb.

While voicing pride in the "very good" referees
in English football, the FA admits Clattenburg could have handled the
Gomes/Nani incident better. As the fallout from Clattenburg’s refusal to rule
out Nani’s goal against Redknapp’s side highlighted, refereeing has always
stirred great, often intemperate, debate but this season has seen an intriguing
dynamic.

Managers appear increasingly militant towards officials
yet English referees have never been more in demand around the world.

Webb, Clattenburg, Martin Atkinson, Mike Dean, Andre
Marriner, Lee Probert and Stuart Attwell are involved in European competition
and also get invited to oversee high-stakes games from Rio to Tokyo. Even the
Scots have discussed asking an Englishman to control Old Firm confrontations.

The FA hosted a group of 30 South Korean referees at a
workshop in Manchester on Tuesday, the visitors taking in the Old Trafford
Museum and a trip to Carrington where they broke into whoops of delight on
meeting Ji-Sung Park. "I’m very happy to see Korean referees come here and
learn from the good English referees,” Park said.

The perception in England is that player dissent towards
referees is bad but Park stressed it was worse elsewhere. "In Korea, there
are many problems with players always arguing with the referees but in England
that doesn’t happen,” said the United midfielder.

"When I came to England [from PSV Eindhoven in 2005]
I saw the players respect the referees’ decisions. There are always arguments
about the games in the papers afterwards here but in Korea the arguments are
during the game.

"Players have to respect referees. They are human
beings. Maybe they make mistakes but that’s part of football. I like English
referees because they keep the tempo high. They don’t break the game up.
Sometimes they let tackles go if it’s not serious. In Korea they stop the game
too many times. I like it to flow. Referees have to improve a lot in Korea.

"What Howard Webb has done shows the quality of
English referees is high in the world. They deal with the Premier League so
that means they can deal with the best competitions in the world."

Redknapp might disagree. Tottenham’s manager was enraged
by Clattenburg’s decision to allow Nani’s goal to stand at Old Trafford on Oct
30. "By the letter of the law, Mark didn’t do anything wrong,” said Ian
Blanchard, the former Premier League official now head of national referee development
at the FA.

"Mark had two big decisions to make,” continued
Blanchard, also a referees’ assessor. "First, was there a penalty with
Kaboul on Nani? Mark clearly says there was no penalty.

The next incident is the handball [by Nani]. Was there a
deliberate handball? Yes there was. Mark, in communication with his assistant
linesman, decides he’s seen it, the goalkeeper has possession, let’s play on.

"There’s 84 minutes into the game and Spurs
[trailing 1-0] need the advantage. Most referees would do the same. Mark
perhaps should have communicated what he was doing better and clearly
indicated, ‘I’m happy nothing untoward happened, I’ve seen everything, let’s
play on’. That’s a learning point."

Blanchard added that Clattenburg could have clarified his
decision on television afterwards. "Referees are encouraged to talk
afterwards to explain a point of law. It would be of benefit to the spectators
as well.”

It would also take the sting out of acerbic comments from
managers like Redknapp, who escaped an FA charge for his remarks about
Clattenburg.

"Managers are outspoken, and have every right to be
at times, but there is a process in place for talking about referees,”
continued Blanchard. "There is a 30-minute window after games where
managers can knock on the door and speak reasonably to referees. Some do that.
Others prefer not to. They go to the press and the next thing we know we’ve got
headline news.

"Some referees take notice of what is said in the
media and sometimes their confidence is shot through. It’s about having the
strength to overcome this adversity. Mark is typical of the referees who do
show tremendous courage.

"Managers’ comments are unfortunate. It also has an
impact on grass-roots because managers and players are role models. Four years
ago, a head teacher from a secondary school in the Midlands rang me on a Monday
and said: ‘I really want you to consider the decline in the behaviour of the
boys as a result of what happened on TV in live games over the weekend. Please,
please, as the governing body, get something done’.

"We have to appreciate the stresses and strains of
being a manager, just as much as a manager has to appreciate the stresses and
strains of being a referee. We’d like managers and players to understand what
we are doing."

Blanchard has sympathy with managers’ call for some
assistance for officials – "we need to look at goal-line technology” –
but emphasised the quality of the men in the middle.

"We have some very good refs in the Premier League,
Football League and semi-pro. We have been asked by a number of countries to
send refs over to referee their high-profile cup finals and end-of-season games
in Brazil, Australia and Japan.

"The achievements of Howard at the Champions League
final and the World Cup speaks volumes for the general standard of refereeing
in this country. With Howard and the ‘Football Needs’ [recruitment] campaign
our basic refereeing courses in our county FAs are now often full."

an, Andre
Marriner, Lee Probert and Stuart Attwell are involved in European competition
and also get invited to oversee high-stakes games from Rio to Tokyo. Even the
Scots have discussed asking an Englishman to control Old Firm confrontations.

The FA hosted a group of 30 South Korean referees at a
workshop in Manchester on Tuesday, the visitors taking in the Old Trafford
Museum and a trip to Carrington where they broke into whoops of delight on
meeting Ji-Sung Park. "I’m very happy to see Korean referees come here and
learn from the good English referees,” Park said.

The perception in England is that player dissent towards
referees is bad but Park stressed it was worse elsewhere. "In Korea, there
are many problems with players always arguing with the referees but in England
that doesn’t happen,” said the United midfielder.

"When I came to England [from PSV Eindhoven in 2005]
I saw the players respect the referees’ decisions. There are always arguments
about the games in the papers afterwards here but in Korea the arguments are
during the game.

"Players have to respect referees. They are human
beings. Maybe they make mistakes but that’s part of football. I like English
referees because they keep the tempo high. They don’t break the game up.
Sometimes they let tackles go if it’s not serious. In Korea they stop the game
too many times. I like it to flow. Referees have to improve a lot in Korea.

"What Howard Webb has done shows the quality of
English referees is high in the world. They deal with the Premier League so
that means they can deal with the best competitions in the world."

Redknapp might disagree. Tottenham’s manager was enraged
by Clattenburg’s decision to allow Nani’s goal to stand at Old Trafford on Oct
30. "By the letter of the law, Mark didn’t do anything wrong,” said Ian
Blanchard, the former Premier League official now head of national referee development
at the FA.

"Mark had two big decisions to make,” continued
Blanchard, also a referees’ assessor. "First, was there a penalty with
Kaboul on Nani? Mark clearly says there was no penalty.

The next incident is the handball [by Nani]. Was there a
deliberate handball? Yes there was. Mark, in communication with his assistant
linesman, decides he’s seen it, the goalkeeper has possession, let’s play on.

"There’s 84 minutes into the game and Spurs
[trailing 1-0] need the advantage. Most referees would do the same. Mark
perhaps should have communicated what he was doing better and clearly
indicated, ‘I’m happy nothing untoward happened, I’ve seen everything, let’s
play on’. That’s a learning point."

Blanchard added that Clattenburg could have clarified his
decision on television afterwards. "Referees are encouraged to talk
afterwards to explain a point of law. It would be of benefit to the spectators
as well.”

It would also take the sting out of acerbic comments from
managers like Redknapp, who escaped an FA charge for his remarks about
Clattenburg.

"Managers are outspoken, and have every right to be
at times, but there is a process in place for talking about referees,”
continued Blanchard. "There is a 30-minute window after games where
managers can knock on the door and speak reasonably to referees. Some do that.
Others prefer not to. They go to the press and the next thing we know we’ve got
headline news.

"Some referees take notice of what is said in the
media and sometimes their confidence is shot through. It’s about having the
strength to overcome this adversity. Mark is typical of the referees who do
show tremendous courage.

"Managers’ comments are unfortunate. It also has an
impact on grass-roots because managers and players are role models. Four years
ago, a head teacher from a secondary school in the Midlands rang me on a Monday
and said: ‘I really want you to consider the decline in the behaviour of the
boys as a result of what happened on TV in live games over the weekend. Please,
please, as the governing body, get something done’.

"We have to appreciate the stresses and strains of
being a manager, just as much as a manager has to appreciate the stresses and
strains of being a referee. We’d like managers and players to understand what
we are doing."

Blanchard has sympathy with managers’ call for some
assistance for officials – "we need to look at goal-line technology” –
but emphasised the quality of the men in the middle.

"We have some very good refs in the Premier League,
Football League and semi-pro. We have been asked by a number of countries to
send refs over to referee their high-profile cup finals and end-of-season games
in Brazil, Australia and Japan.

"The achievements of Howard at the Champions League
final and the World Cup speaks volumes for the general standard of refereeing
in this country. With Howard and the ‘Football Needs’ [recruitment] campaign
our basic refereeing courses in our county FAs are now often full."