Wednesday 13th May 2009….a well written article

I really like this article..

An excerpt from an article "Right or wrong Respect the ref " on CBC website

"Over the last few weeks, the work of referees has attracted more than its usual share of criticism. John Carver's outburst at officialdom in Dallas was swiftly followed by the deplorable sight of players haranguing and intimidating the referee during both high-profile UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

The plethora of complaints threatened to escalate still further at the weekend after Toronto FC were forced to watch Jaime Moreno convert a controversial, last-gasp penalty to deny them maximum points at RFK Stadium.

Vilification of match officials, both on the field and during post-game interviews, has become so commonplace that what happened next was mildly shocking.

Chris Cummins, Toronto FC's recently appointed interim head coach, actually agreed with the referee. He accepted that Marvell Wynne's injury-time handball was, indeed, worthy of a penalty kick to the opposition. Publicly at least. No rant, no sideswipe, no condemnation.

Whatever was said in the visitor's dressing room stayed right where it was and, for that, in my opinion, Cummins should be commended. He chose to keep his counsel rather than complain his team had just been robbed of victory.

Referees are not robots with all-seeing eyes and instant super slo-mo replays. They're human beings and humans make mistakes. As long as they are honest mistakes - and frankly, some players' gamesmanship makes the job almost impossible - there's no argument from this observer.

At the end of the day, someone has to be in charge and apply the rules. It is incumbent upon the players to respect the decisions made – good, bad or indifferent. The crowd is entitled to boo and jeer all it wants, that's part of the game-day atmosphere, but those on the field and in the dugout must be professional in every sense of the word.

I'm well aware soccer is a passionate game where emotions run high – that's part of the reason we love the sport in the first place – but there's a line to be drawn between competitiveness and abuse. I'm not going to preach about players being role models – they know they are and they should be aware of the message they send out to youngsters when the red mist descends.

We don't live in a utopian world where everyone plays fair, either in the classroom, the boardroom or on the football field. But Cummins, to my mind, set an example many others would do well to follow. His job is to get the best out of his players, not to give the referee a lecture on the laws of the game.

Soccer fans are always excited to see new, emerging talent - crucial to the future of the game - but no more important than the encouragement needed to recruit and develop the next generation of referees, for, without them, the game disappears completely and is replaced by anarchy."