The A-League pre-season has just kicked off, and the new A-League season is not far off. As is the case every year, there will probably be refereeing controversies.
We all remember Joel Griffith’s jab at the linesman’s jewellery pouch or Danny Vukovics Hi-five of God that got him one less chance at a football Olympic medal.
Certainly there were cries of injustice for both incidents and differences of opinion about the incorrect rulings and interpretations, the extent of the fouls and if it was suitable punishment, which led to numerous discussions, accusations, counter accusations and appeals.
The FFA recently appointed retired Dutch referee Mario Van der Ende to conduct a review of Australian football refereeing.
“This is the review we had to have,” FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said. “Referees are a critical component of any sport and have an important role to play in the game.”
The standard, or the peculiarities of Asian refereeing, was also marked down as one of the reasons for the Socceroos poor showing in their ill-fated maiden Asian Cup.
The Asian referees seem to treat physical strength, foul play, diving and time wasting differently to our whistle blowers. Adjusting to the Asian way of refereeing and vice versa would have to improve our chances of success competing as part of the Asian Football Federation.
What about if the FFA and the A-League rotated its referees and officials with the other top Asian football leagues like the J-League and the K-League?
It would be a great working holiday for all referees concerned, generate a lot of interest for the referees, and maybe even for the fans.
It would also give our players a greater taste of what to expect in upcoming Asian competitions and World Cup qualification rounds.
Does the idea have merit?
Could it give our near neighbours a better understanding of our style of play and lead to less controversial refereeing decisions for the Socceroos or the A-League teams in the Asian Champions League?
Conversely, should our referees start cracking down more on the physical play and less on the simulation and play-acting that is more common in Asia, so that our refereeing standards are more closely comparable?
It would have been interesting to see how an experienced J-League (or K-League) referee would’ve handled the A-League grand final and all the Vukovic controversies.
He would have been refereeing without any pre-conceived notions about our game or knowledge about who the trouble makers are and who to look out for.
Would the J-League referee of linesman have seen the handball?
Would the result have been the same?
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