We are only five rounds into the current A-League season and fans are already exasperated with the inconsistent and incompetent displays from the whistleblowers.
Last weekend, the A-League witnessed two referees interpret and apply the rules of the game in two completely different ways. Ben Williams in the match between Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar sent off Victory defender, Matt Foschini, after he deemed his reckless scything challenge on Thomas Broich as a red card offence.
The consensus among the football community considered Foschini’s indiscretion a yellow card offence and thought he was harshly done by. To make matters worse, Ben Williams did himself no favours by his aloof demeanour and incorrectly over-ruling the linesman on few occasions.
Meanwhile, over at the match between the Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, Strebe Delovski confirmed his reputation for keeping his cards close to his chest when he refused to send off Glory hitman Shane Smeltz.
The consensus among the football community was that Smeltz should have been given a straight red card for his dangerous tackle with trailing leg on young Jet’s defender Taylor Regan. If that was not enough to send Smeltz off, Delovski was given another opportunity when an incensed Regan confronted Smeltz.
The two players clashed heads, with Smeltz also raising his hands to Regan’s head. Delovski intervened in his familiar low key style and diffused the situation by giving both players yellow cards.
Two referees with two different refereeing styles.
You can imagine what would’ve happened if they had traded matches on the weekend. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that Foschini would have stayed on and Smeltz would have walked off.
But the ramifications of these different interpretations are serious.
Foschini, courtesy of Victory’s “frivolous” appeal, has been suspended for 2 matches. Smeltz, on the other hand, will be lining up this Sunday against Sydney FC.
The two examples I have presented are examples where referees have seen a transgression and applied a punishment according to their interpretation of the rules of football.
This is the bread and butter of football arguments around the world. Every league in the world has their fair share of refereeing controversies.
But what A-League fans also need to consider and what the FFA should have promoted more explicitly at the start of the season are the key guidelines A-League referees must follow.
When Mark Shield was appointed the new FFA Director of Referees, only last September, it heralded a new era on the development and assessment of A-League referees.
It also saw the welcome return of match assessor at A-League grounds. You might find it hard to believe, but last season, all the match assessments where done by one man via video.
This season, A-League referees have been told to concentrate on Three Target Areas – Protecting player welfare, protecting the image of the game and better offside interpretation.
In regards to player safety, the key performance indicator for referees is to issue a red card when a player is deemed to have used excessive force or speed (with no consideration for intent) or was brutal in the tackle with little regard for player safety.
Referees are also expected to issue a red card when a player has used an elbow with force.
Over the last few days, Mark Shield has publicly defended Ben Williams in regards to his decision to send Foschini off for a dangerous tackle. According to him, Williams interpreted the rules of the game correctly and followed the guideline set in regards to player safety.
We can also deduce that, according to Strebre Delovski,the illegal tackle by Shane Smeltz on Taylor Regan did not fit the criteria to warrant a red card.
The match assessor and the newly appointed Elite Coach Video Match Reviewer, Barry Such, might see it differently.
Football fans and clubs have an innate ability to absorb the odd controversy or difference of interpretation like the Foschini incident, but what they have less patience for, and understandably so, are obvious errors.
The most important perception the FFA and Mark Shield will trying erase is the common refrain doing the rounds at the moment, “A-League Seven with A-League One referees”.
When it comes to protecting the image of the game the number one priority for Mark Shield will be reducing the already high number of embarrassing errors made by the officials this season.
Blunders like the obvious missed penalty in Melbourne Heart’s opening game of the season against Newcastle or Archie Thompson’s onside goal against Wellington, which along with the Great Wall of China could have been seen from the moon, are worryingly all too common at the moment.
And, the last thing we need is a repeat of Matthew Gillett’s unfortunate performance when he incredulously sent off two Wellington Phoenix players in Round 2. No wonder we have not seen him officiate an A-League since because he was not clearly up to the task and needs further development.
It’s not surprising then that fans who watch A-League games now think like Forrest Gump – where referees are like a box of chocolates and they don’t know what they are going to get.
But all they yearn for is a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate.
Chris
Guest
While I agree it was a red card, the ban didn;t get extended because of how bad it was. The ban was extended because the Victory's appeal was baseless. Basically an extra week for wasting the MRP's time...
Crimpy
Guest
Worst call ever - Calling a player offside from a thow in the jets game last year. Even 14 year olds know the rules better than that!
Justin
Guest
Foschini's tackle should have been a red card. He was late with studs showing and is red card almost all the time. Victory are only whining because they already had another man sent off. Foschini's suspension did get extended to 2 weeks because of how bad the tackle was! Smeltz should have also been red carded for his incident and he is lucky he is playing this week
Pete #205
Guest
It's a legal term that doesn't need a definition in this context. MV went for a claim of "obvious error", the test for which Lyall says is that "...the incident was not one that no referee would have even given a yellow card for...". That is, MV implicitly went in with the claim that it should not have been a card of any colour. They knew that was wrong, the appeal was impossible to win, therefore, it's frivolous. The penalty for a frivolous appeal is clearly stated.
Roger
Guest
I remember the day of the hacking. The only team playing football that day was Melbourne Victory. Didn't remember it was Strebre though. He just made 'the list'.
Roon
Guest
There's no definition of 'definition' or 'regulation' in the regulations. MV knew and accepted the risk of further suspension should their application be rejected. Just remember serial 'pest' litigants can be permanantly banned by the courts from bringing frivolous or vexatious proceedings. Not only does it stop applicants with deep pockets from bringing actions designed to frustrate less affluent respondants, but also nutjobs who come to court with wacky cases that have no merit. The MRP was not specific about which category MV's appeal belonged to...
Eddie
Guest
I actually referred to people on "the forums", not once did i refer to the ref, ffa or the mrp as having a potential for an anti-mvfc bias, next time i will be sure to make that clear on my initial comment
TomC
Guest
Well, for the first time I've read what the A-league regulations have to say on this matter, having read that article. Worth noting that there is no definition for 'frivolous' in the A-league regulations. Melbourne Victory had no idea what a 'frivolous' appeal was right up until they were told their appeal was one.
Axelv
Guest
Agree fully.
B.A
Guest
The problem is that the drama around the red cards issued by Williams masked his other obvious flaws. Like Kewell gets his jersey grabbed and goes down (easily mind you), then moments later the same thing happens at the other end, he issues a yellow card and the Roar score a goal. He also over ruled the linesman several times on goal kick/corner decisions and then there was his general smugness that he oozed, the constant laughing and smiling is not a good look for an impartial official.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Great article. I would have expected a red card for both feet flying in. One foot? Well, it looked bad the first time you saw it, then breaking it down with the slo-mo reply didn't seem that bad. Others got yellow. Sometimes players get a few goes at missing the ball and not the player before the yellow is shown. Refs are human and consistency is a hard thing with individuals interpreting the situation first hand, with their own philosophy on what colour card they will whip out. So consistency itself might be coloured by the individual refs themselves, but it still should be something the FFA are working on, reviewing each refs game and rating performance and decision making. Do the refs watch other games and give their opinion on what the interpretation should be? We can only assume the FFA's refs are finetuning their craft to the benefit for all. Given the official word was that it was a red card offense, it is just a shame that it was the Victory's second of the night. If it was the first and only of the night, wouldn't be as much an issue. To me, punishing the player is punishing the club - Foschini can't play, and so the Victory are down a player for team selection.
Axelv
Guest
To answer your question, at a guess I'd say he had a positive reputation before that match, and after. Most MV fans probably aren't aware or forgot who officiated that match, and seeing how long ago that was, they have forgotten how the match unfolded. Not me though, my bitterness remains strong! :) I recall you, who was an MV fan at the time, also wrote an article and comments about it! I think most A-League fans are use to AFL/NRL tough guy approach, and past A-League seasons and have had the attitude of she'll be right, let play flow, 50/50, he was going for the ball etc but that's not how the game is played! That Delovski doesn't believe in cards play well for many fans but at the same time he doesn't uphold the laws of the game or protect the players safety. Cynical fouls that prevent attacks and goals should not go unpunished all game! Otherwise it goes on forever and the game becomes stale and predictable.
Bondy
Dobetter, I enjoy art's reads thank you .
Lyall Gorman has his say on the Foschini incident. You can read it here. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/gorman-opinion-display/Nothing-frivolous-about-Review-Panel/42475
That's an interesting observation on Strebre, Wolfie.
Wolfie
Guest
FIFA and the AFC inspectors frown on Strebre's style of refereeing. Wonder if he'll change his style to progress in FIFA ranks.
Yes Bondy, modern football is pretty bonkers these days. Eto'o and his team mate don't live in strife torn Dagestan, but are flown in on match days to play their home games in front of people who on average earn less than $100 a week.
Roger
Guest
Was it correct? That appears to be in the eye of the beholder. Although, I would assert that given that every non-FFA expert has pretty much said it was harsh, it was probably a bit harsh. But anyway, maybe that's just me? I found the MRP reaction to be bizarre to say the least. Adding an extra week on because it deemed the appeal frivolous? I guess they felt they needed to prove a point, but it came across as a tantrum. If you’re going to penalise a club for making an appeal – penalise the club, not the player. And Chris - are you saying your opinion is more valid than the commentators, who's life it is to comment and review this type of thing? You could probably say the same about me and the MRP, but the difference between the MRP and the commentators is that the MRP have an inherent bias to protect the decisions made by their referees. Finally, there is reaction to this decision because it was OUT OF STEP with the other decisions, and therefore in the spotlight.
Roger
Guest
Consistency Chris. It's all about the consistency.
Roger
Guest
MRP upholding the ref's decision is hardly vindication. The appeals bar has been set so high that it is almost impossible to win.