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RefCoach.org - Referees and Social Media: An Eternal Struggle or a Chance to Progress?

  • Thread starter Alessandro Arbizzani
  • Start date
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Referees have never been this connected before

Social Media has been a part of our lives for almost two decades. Everyone is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or one of the many other social platforms that are available to us, making us the most connected generation in history.

This type of connection has helped us with sharing more information and keeping us closer to family and friends living far from us, but as referees, social media can often be a dangerous place to be.

One of the greatest aspects of football is that no two games are the same, no two incidents are the same and everyone is entitled to their opinion on often controversial topics. This is where referees can be most vulnerable. 10 years ago, when social media wasn’t the beast it is today, huge amounts of video was being uploaded. Since then, the volume of video being uploaded has accelerated at an astonishing rate.

Here’s an interesting stat about YouTube, which is ranked as the third most popular social platform in the world:

In 2010 there were 24 hours of video uploaded per minute on YouTube. Today, in 2020, there are 500 hours uploaded to YouTube every minute worldwide. The total amount of hours of footage uploaded per minute has grown more than 20 times. This doesn’t include the wide adoption of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as platforms to share content.

Sources:

These statistics can lead us quickly to understand why referees are always going to be in the spotlight. Any decision a referee makes is now available to the whole world with just one click but, not only that, we as people are being judged by the whole world. Our lives, our opinions, our actions are constantly scrutinised and examined by every keyboard warrior from anywhere in the world.

This puts us in a very delicate situation.

Some of us may think we are immune from any form of criticism. That we may not have any responsibility towards our colleagues just because we may be a first-year referee or because we referee junior matches. This is wrong.

The day we become referees, we become part of a movement, a group, a family that spreads worldwide. As referees we need to support each other, especially with the public, simply because no one else will. This doesn’t mean defending the undefendable, what it means is not attacking each other and always putting ourselves in the shoes of whoever is being criticised.

How does social media fit in all of this?


Social media is an easy way for people to criticise referees. Our decisions can be right or wrong and that is something we will always have to deal with, but our behaviour and the way we carry and present ourselves is totally up to us.

As match officials we need to remember that we are always being watched and, despite being humans, we cannot afford to lose our temper and control ourselves even in the toughest situations. It is quite unfair but the general public tends to easily forget players errors but always remember when a referee makes the simplest mistake.

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“I lost my cool”

Mr Busacca said he was provoked by the subsequent "verbal abuse" he received from the fans, but he apologised for his "unsporting gesture".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8268036.stm


Take for example, when in 2009 Massimo Busacca lost his cool and showed the middle finger to the FC Baden supporters in a Swiss match. He was then banned for 3 matches, but his actions are still remembered as the time a referee flipped the bird at the supporters.

This is what an image shows. However, what led to this gives a total different spin to the situation: Busacca had asked for a warning to be played over the public address system after Baden supporters ran onto the pitch and for that he was verbally abused by the supporters in the stand. His reaction was very human, but not appropriate for a referee who is supposed to be setting an example for discipline and respect for the rules.

Should have he done this? Absolutely not. Can we understand why he did it after hearing the whole story? Absolutely yes. He is a human, just like every one of us.

Luckily back then in 2009 Social Media were not as popular and viral as they are now. Let’s compare this to a very recent episode happened in the Latvian Premier League.

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Andris Treimanis is the referee in this picture. At first, may look like there is very little difference between what we saw Busacca did above and what Trimanis is doing in this episode, if not worse as he’s addressing a player directly to his face.


What is the problem with this picture?


The problem with this picture is that is not telling us the whole story.


To really understand what happened in this incident, we need to take a look at the full video. So here is what really happened:


  • Number 17 for the white team, had a verbal exchange with either an opponent or someone from the opposing team technical area and consequently ‘flipped the bird’ at them


  • Andris Treimanis correctly sent him off for using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures (Law 12, Sending off offences)


  • When approached by the offender Treimanis simply told him and showed him what he did to deserve the red card

You can watch the full incident in this video.


Now, let’s look at the photo above again. Doesn’t knowing the whole story completely change the meaning of that frame? Absolutely.

We have gone from a referee insulting a player to a referee simply communicating with a player to explain his decision. The problem with this is that many accounts on social media have been divulging fake news about this referee ‘showing how he feels about the player’. They couldn’t have been any more wrong.

Surely Treimanis won’t suffer a three match ban like Busacca did as he didn’t do anything ‘wrong’, but the public won’t care about what really happened. What everyone will care about is what they want to see: a referee insulting a player.

And why is that? Because a referee ‘flipping the bird’ at a player get more clicks and likes than the actual truth.

How can we use social media in a positive way?


Social media is an extremely powerful tool, but, generally it is used in a more negative way, with referees often being the subject of abuse and criticism.

As referees we need to be the first ones to stick our necks out for our colleagues and try to educate the rest of the world to understand and respect match officials. Too often we see referees arguing or criticising colleagues without trying to think about the bigger picture: if we, as referees, are the first ones calling out mistakes of our peers and criticising them publicly, we will never get rid of the culture of blaming referees for anything that goes wrong in a game.

The best way to use social media in a positive and constructive way is to attempt to explain and educate the public to what referees do and think whilst in a match. Instead of spreading hate and nurturing the blame-culture we have always been the subject of, referees have the opportunity to create a united front against this culture and promote change.

At RefCoach, we are trying to use social media in a positive way, to bring elite level coaching to every referee, no matter their location or ability. Social media and technology presents us with a unique opportunity to change the way education is provided in refereeing. If all referees, no matter their location, have access to elite level coaching and tools, we have the opportunity to improve refereeing across the world. Having more referees with a higher level of education will in turn create a stronger group of humans who can educate the broader footballing public.

Referees should use the ability to connect with their colleague from across the world to improve and better themselves. This can be the new normal instead of a culture of criticism and abuse.

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