A&H

Would you answer a few questions?

Ross

Forum VAR
Staff member
Level 6 Referee
FA Referee
Would anyone be willing to answer a few questions about refereeing?

Had a chap from BBC sport get in touch and he'd like to hear from you.
He'd like you to get in touch about any of the following:

The FA’s Respect campaign – It had a number of objectives, one of which was to stop referees leaving the game in their droves. Has it worked?

If referees are continuing to leave the game, why? What are the reasons?

What makes someone want to be a referee? What’s the motivation?

Abuse and assaults – Are refs suffering more at the hands of players, managers and spectators? Or are things are improving?

Do referees need more support? If so, from whom? What could be done to make a referee’s job easier?

If you would like to put something on the record with him, drop him an email
philip.gordos@bbc.co.uk

Thanks folks
 
The Referee Store
Emailed him last night, I think its good that referees are finally able to have their say in the respect campaign because we are the least respected figure in the game (other than the honest CAR or the honest club ref!)
 
Here's my message to mr gordos.

Dear Philip,
I'm contacting you after a message from Ross, the admin at refchat.co.ukregarding what I think about being a referee.I've recently started refereeing and I have noticed a worrying habit amongst the pundits on radio and television who make comments about an official's decisions giving the listener/viewer the impression that they know more about the laws of the game and the technical aspects of refereeing than the people with the whistle.Often you will hear a pundit or commentator say "what a terrible decision" or "the ref's got that wrong", overlooking the fact that the official sees an event once, at speed, with players who Steven Gerrard was recently quoted on the bbc as saying "they'll use every trick in the book to win". See this story for the quote http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/31849951?SThisEMCould the BBC team at least perhaps make each comment on a decision begin with "in my opinion..." or "I think...". After all, refereeing is all about decsion making, often under pressure and with the referee's opinion to be viewed as the key one (the phrase "if, in the opinion of the referee" being used regularly in the FIFA laws of the game). I do feel very passionate about the Respect campaign and I feel it would have been so much more effective if there had been a top down approach as well as the bottom up one that was generally used.I would like to challenge the bbc football commentary team to be honest about their own knowledge of the laws of the game by taking the basic referee's exam that is sat by every official at the start of their refereeing career and then have their scores published on the BBC sport website. Perhaps this would show just how knowledgeable the BBC's team are, especially when I received an email from the corporation stating that they are proud of the knowledge that the experts bring the coverage of football. Perhaps those that underperform should be required to take a basic referee's course in full to ensure the licence payers are getting value for money?I would be happy to talk more about this if necessary. As part of your research, you might like to listen to the commentary of Colombia's group match with Greece at the 2014 World Cup when Pat Nevin criticised Mark Geiger for "only taking 9 steps to pace the 10 yards" at a free kick. This is a simple case "how long are your legs" which showed Mr Nevin's clear lack on refereeing knowledge.Thanks again for taking the time to read all I have had to say. I look forward to seeing your report.Kind regards
 
Well, I messaged him, he replied and might be having a phone interview soon. All cleared by the County RDO too!
 
Well I had my phone interview yesterday and it was really interesting. Phil gordos will be researching for a while longer but will keep me in the loop on when it's done.
 
I'm always suspicious of this type of interview/survey/feature. Often if it is initiated by an outside body, they will decide how they want the answers to be interpreted and will edit the responses to ensure that outcome is achieved. If it is initiated by The FA, they will be looking to put a positive spin on the successes of the campaign/programme, etc. Either way, the message is twisted to suit the objectives of the person ot persons asking the questions.

I guarantee the journos involved in this project will not be looking to be critical of their journo colleagues, especially as some of those in the written press will have half an eye on a lucrative progression into the world of tv.
 
If he lies then the his soul will be prodded by tiny creatures blowing fox 40s out of the bumholes.
 
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