The Premier League needs to lead from the front and protect those involved better. Otherwise, referees should go on strike to end persistent abuse and force the hand of football’s leaders.
Jeremy joined the Daily Star in 2010 as Manchester football correspondent and has been chief sports writer for over 10 years. He provides expert coverage of Manchester United and Manchester City, the entire Premier League and English football teams. Jeremy has covered Wimbledon, golf majors and the Olympics, as well as the soccer, rugby and cricket World Cups.
We live in a world where we feel uncomfortable praising soccer referees. As it stands, we’ve decided it’s fair game for it to fall on them like a ton of bricks, and that’s the first chance we get.
The lopsided argument seems to be that match officials choose to be in the spotlight and are well paid, so abusing them is justified. But we keep overlooking one simple fact.
Referees are also human and can make mistakes. And if there is a man or woman in the world who never does wrong, I would like to meet them.
Points leader referee Anthony Taylor said this week in a rare but courageous interview with the BBC. Taylor has been a Premier League referee for almost 15 years, refereed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2020 European Championship, and oversaw both the European Super Cup final and the Nations League final.
He has reached the pinnacle of his profession, which suggests that he is very good at what he does.
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But the fact that he has chosen to vocally criticize the “expectation of perfection” culture to which officials are subjected should be of great concern to gaming authorities.
The continued abuse Taylor receives means his family is no longer willing to go to matches he coaches. He has been subjected to verbal and physical abuse from supporters and managers, including Jose Mourinho.
It affected his mental health, causing him to sometimes question whether his job was worth all the burden and pain that came with it.
Players, managers, supporters and pundits have a responsibility to show more respect to referees. There is no game without them. And how long will it be before the match referee is so bad that he refuses to continue and walks away?
Why can’t football follow both rugby norms when it comes to the treatment of officials?
The answer is very simple. And it all comes down to culture. It has become a cancer in the sports world that has been allowed to spread.
But if Taylor and his colleagues decided to strike because of that, it’s safe to assume that those who control the game need to come up with a cure immediately.
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