The Men in Black

So why do referees get such grief? Is there anything we can do to help them? I asked some United fans for their views on the subject and received some very interesting replies.

Mark Slater from Stevenage commented, "The main problem with referees is inconsistency". Mark gave an example "Like the game the other week when Kasey Keller picked up the ball outside the area and wasn't even booked. Back in the studio Philip Don (chief of referees) was announcing to the viewers it should have been a red card. I think they should all go on a training course to try and install a bit of consistency as you different referees give different things and that's frustrating for everyone."

James Mitchell from Surrey noted that "Passions run high on a football field and it must be hard to behave in a detached and rational way when you are having a red card waved inches from your face in front of thousands of spectators." James went on, "DiCanio should be punished severely for his actions, but I think the referee should have taken him to one side and dealt with the matter in a calmer fashion. Why can't referees learn that dramatically shoving red card in peoples faces is asking for trouble?"

Peter Laborne from Fenstanton disagreed and added, "Football players are professionals and should behave as such. It's ridiculous that they can't even control themselves." Peter added, "I think that the referee should be given a microphone so he can explain his decision to the fans and manager to defuse the situation before it gets out of control."

Terry Wilby from Melbourn commented, "Regardless of the standard of refereeing, the decisions do tend to even out over a season. For example we scored a penalty at Torquay that should have never been given, but were denied an obvious one at Scunthorpe. At Southend they scored a perfectly good goal that was given offside, I am sure that later on in the season the same will happen to us."

Simon Gleave from London stormed, "Managers of football teams are forever giving referees abuse. Roy Evans said last week that referees are ruining the game, and Roy Hodgson actually went on television and complained about one penalty decision against Blackburn." Simon went on, "None of these managers are setting an example of how to treat match officials. They should be told not to comment on individual referring decisions in public or face a disciplinary charge."

Mark Heslop from Cambridge noted that, "At the risk of sounding obvious, referees have to make instantaneous decisions without the resource of replays. The integrity of the officials should never be questioned; otherwise the whole thing falls apart. Lots of managers get caught up in the emotion and pressure and make unwise statements. You can only really judge a referee if you are truly neutral."

Andrea Thrussell from the Isle of Man commented, "What we need is the three officials to start working as more of a team, and not just three individuals which most of them are doing at the moment."

Mike Winney from Cambridge commented, "Referees are human. Sometimes they spoil matches, but so do managers by showing a lack of ambition. We pay to watch live sport not a pre scripted game show."

Sam Shortt from Cambridge disagreed and added, "Surely we are entitled to have consistent referees and I personally don't feel that being robbed of three points one week and gifted three points the next adds to my entertainment. What I pay to see is football played according to the rules of the game, and at present inadequate, substandard and plain simple useless referees are preventing this from happening."

Dom Lumley from Bishop Stortford challenged this rather strong viewpoint, he commented, "Referees aren't that bad, and when you are supporting your team it is hard to show any real degree of objectivity. It is funny how it is only when referees have bad games that they are noticed, and this must be depressing for them as many referees each week have really good games which go unnoticed."

Thank you all for your well-expressed views. Personally I agree that objectivity is a major problem, but as a Cambridge fan I can point to some awful refereeing decisions which we have benefited from considerably this season. I feel referees need to be made more accountable for their action because at the moment they seem to be a law unto themselves as Kevin Lynch highlighted with his comments after the Scunthorpe game.

A good win tonight is essential to keep out promotion bandwagon on the tracks. So clear your throats, stand proud and bellow "come on you U's" and "come on you yellows!"

Will Jones