Body Cam
- Thread starter James P
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Anubis
RefChat Addict
No, if you feel the need for this, find a new hobby.
by sounds of it some lame reject will goad someone into abusing them, then proudly make an example of them.
You are there to officiate a sporting event, its not a human right to be a football referee, you need use tact, management skills, decorum, experience, common sense. Ideally, your refereeing should be an extension of you as a person, whilst of course utilising the lotg.
No doubt its been covered but its potentially breaching some gdpr, or at minor levels, some form of child protection law to record this.
by sounds of it some lame reject will goad someone into abusing them, then proudly make an example of them.
You are there to officiate a sporting event, its not a human right to be a football referee, you need use tact, management skills, decorum, experience, common sense. Ideally, your refereeing should be an extension of you as a person, whilst of course utilising the lotg.
No doubt its been covered but its potentially breaching some gdpr, or at minor levels, some form of child protection law to record this.
I’ve never had a situation in a game where I’ve felt a body cam would have changed/helped.
However, there are far to many reports these days of referees being assaulted or driven away from the sport because of levels of grief they get.
If the use of body cams acted as a deterrent and helps to remedy the decline in refereeing numbers then I absolutely would support the wearing of them.
However, there are far to many reports these days of referees being assaulted or driven away from the sport because of levels of grief they get.
If the use of body cams acted as a deterrent and helps to remedy the decline in refereeing numbers then I absolutely would support the wearing of them.
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I’m in no way attacking or criticising your viewpoint Ross but I am curious as to why you have such a firm objection to the idea?
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Who's paying for it? Grassroots football is underfunded as it is, and adding another £100-£200 to the "starting kit" for a referee is just increasing the barrier for entry even further, meaning we'll get fewer people giving it a go when we need to be trying to drastically increase recruitment.
At no point in my 26 years of officiating have I ever felt the need to have the safety net of a body cam. Yes it’s lonely place at times, I’ve had my fair share of mass cons and have even been punched in that time, I just don’t see what benefit wearing a body cam will have. If someone is that incensed, body camera or not, they’ll still do whatever they were going to do.
Edit, and probably nick and destroy the evidence anyway.
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Agree that it wouldn’t prevent all issues but on the occasions where a referee is assaulted it then provides solid evidence to ensure that player/manager/spectator is punished accordingly rather than escaping justice due to a lack of witnesses.
@GraemeS the cost is definitely an issue, however, it wouldn’t have to be a mandatory bit of kit. Just remove the current restriction on wearing them.
That way, if a referee had the spare cash and wanted to wear them then they have that choice available.
Clearly not everyone wants to wear one but it would be good to have the option of it made some referee feel safer/more confident.
Very much agree on the RefSupport view point.
They seem hellbent on creating a ‘them and us’ mindset in football.
I’m not sure sorting out top level football is a short term solution though. It’d take years and years to instigate the necessary change in current mindset that seems to be accepted by the vast majority of the general football public.
Also, how much respect are you gonna get from clubs when you're choosing to record them perhaps against their wishes. Behaviour needs to improve (particularly aggravated incidents), but this is not the answer
I'm a firm no as well, for a number of reasons, but ultimately if a player wants to smack me in the back of the head, a camera won't make any difference. My main concern is what happens if I choose not to wear one, does that make my misconduct reporting less credible? Will clubs be able to appeal based on the fact I can't provide video evidence like "last weeks" ref?
Not to mention the potential minefield of safeguarding when it comes to filming children. Granted I wouldn't, but I could imagine a new inexperienced 16yr old feeling the need to wear one for an U14's fixture.
Not to mention the potential minefield of safeguarding when it comes to filming children. Granted I wouldn't, but I could imagine a new inexperienced 16yr old feeling the need to wear one for an U14's fixture.
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RefChat Addict
Agree, they clearly aren't "the" answer. They might help a bit, even if only some refs are wearing them, it might give some folks pause--but not once they enter that red haze.
But in practical terms it seems to me to be a bit of a dream. The levels they would probably do the most good are the levels where no one is going to pay for it.
I live locally to the guy who runs it and a year or so ago he turned up at one of my games and my god did he cause problems. He went mad at the coaches after the game for the ‘treatment of the referee’ despite the fact I’d personally had no problems. That game then appeared on their Facebook page with him slating the club and me ending up in a meeting with the FA. Nightmare
The guys seems to have a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder.
I’ve had numerous messages from him on Twitter harassing me because I disagreed with some comments/their approach on a few incidents.
In my view, he is doing more harm than good.