Whist cursing that prick Martin Atkinson on the way home today, an interesting question popped into my head.
Why are almost all referees in England blokes in their 30s to 40s?
Ridiculously atrocious decisions like today's notwithstanding, I often sympathise with refs when their bad calls get called up. I'm 29 and even at my physical peak, I'd not be confident of making 100% correct split second decisions after having done shuttle runs up and down a football pitch for 90 minutes. It's proven that as tiredness creeps in, it becomes harder to mentally react. It' the same as the players. You're more likely to see silly errors the more the game wears on because the players are tired.
Having an older fellow in charge of running the game no doubt dates back to the early days, when people actually respected their elders and it was probably felt that a guy who's a few years senior to the players added a sense of authority. They were also perhaps better educated and experienced in the rules of the game.
Fast forward to today and the game, and the players within it, have got much much faster. Many teams now feature at least one guy who can run 100m in under 12 seconds. The players have also become much more efficient at bending the rules and conning the officials.
Yet the referees ad linesmen are still guys in their 30s and 40s. Surely the officials should be in as close to physical fitness of the players as possible? Why can't we have younger refs who can actually handle the physical pressure? Surely a guy who is in his mid-late 20s is going to be better than a puffed out fat prick like Phil Dowd?
And don't give me that shit about the players not respecting them. They don't respect the current guys as it it.
This season more than any has shown that there needs to be a complete overhaul of refereeing at the top level in this country, with a proper academy installed and a serious recruitment drive.
Oh and mic up the refs so fans know what's going on and bring in fucking technology already!
drunken rant over
Why are almost all referees in England blokes in their 30s to 40s?
Ridiculously atrocious decisions like today's notwithstanding, I often sympathise with refs when their bad calls get called up. I'm 29 and even at my physical peak, I'd not be confident of making 100% correct split second decisions after having done shuttle runs up and down a football pitch for 90 minutes. It's proven that as tiredness creeps in, it becomes harder to mentally react. It' the same as the players. You're more likely to see silly errors the more the game wears on because the players are tired.
Having an older fellow in charge of running the game no doubt dates back to the early days, when people actually respected their elders and it was probably felt that a guy who's a few years senior to the players added a sense of authority. They were also perhaps better educated and experienced in the rules of the game.
Fast forward to today and the game, and the players within it, have got much much faster. Many teams now feature at least one guy who can run 100m in under 12 seconds. The players have also become much more efficient at bending the rules and conning the officials.
Yet the referees ad linesmen are still guys in their 30s and 40s. Surely the officials should be in as close to physical fitness of the players as possible? Why can't we have younger refs who can actually handle the physical pressure? Surely a guy who is in his mid-late 20s is going to be better than a puffed out fat prick like Phil Dowd?
And don't give me that shit about the players not respecting them. They don't respect the current guys as it it.
This season more than any has shown that there needs to be a complete overhaul of refereeing at the top level in this country, with a proper academy installed and a serious recruitment drive.
Oh and mic up the refs so fans know what's going on and bring in fucking technology already!
drunken rant over
