By Mohammed Iddi Muktar; Over the past years, conscious, calculated and progressive efforts have been made by well meaning stakeholders in football to make it what we believe it is. However, we are still struggling to improve and maintain football in our part of the country. This is because of a broken trust in the structures facilitated by some football people, and it has permeated all levels of the game.
The refereeing segment has been the worst affected. Some people have succeeded in making refereeing look akin to a crime. Sadly, some of these people are the very administrators, coaches and executives in the football sphere we know. The people who voluntarily occupy positions to enhance development in football.
As regulators, they have sit aloof and observe the incessant demeaning, harassment and assault on referees without doing anything satisfactory about this embedded disorder. So if referees do not own football clubs, you cannot device strict punitive measures to protect them and antagonize this phenomenon?
Referees are equally a key part of our Associations. They are our own and drivers of the vehicles you are charged to accelerate and maintain. Referees already are inadequate in number, so let us not fold our hands and watch the situation deteriorates. Instill sanity in the game and and make everyone feel safe. The fear of safety might have cascading effects on the production of referees.
We know you are not willing to bite hard because some of you are equally perpetrators. Your conduct clearly impact the atmosphere of matches and propel bad matches. But like yourselves, referees are humans, have feelings and families too. As you sometimes parade wrong players and lose, or make tactical errors, so as referees. Don’t we think it is time we begin taking responsibility for losing instead of taking long routes to blame officials? We don’t have to subject a referee to slander or libel to win. If you claim the job is easy and have the prowess at interpreting and applying the laws, have a go yourselves; or you shut slagging referees and let them do their thing.
We may have our reservations about certain decisions, but for the spirit of the game, let us learn to respect referees’ decisions and respectfully seek clarifications. Let us be guided that, if we think we can mistreat referees and pay fines or go scot-free, we will all die and meet a best judge. NO REF, NO GAME.
Peace!
