Question Number: 24372

Character, Attitude and Control 11/23/2010

RE: pro Adult

patrick baah of accra-legon, Accra Ghana asks...

1.Why does a referee who commits several unpardonable mistakes in one match is not punished but allowed to officiate the next game. for example is Referee Howard Webb in England.
2.How do i pursue a Refereeing course either in Ghana or online.please help me now.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Patrick
Referees are human and make mistakes like everyone else including players and officials. They don't make them intentionally and they make a decision based on what they see from their viewpoint. The don't have the luxury of action replay, freeze frame, different viewing angles etc. So yes mistakes are made and that is part of the game.
I might also point out that at every game the referee, at the highest level, is evaluated and marked by an assessor. That person will point out errors that were made and perhaps how situations could be handled differently. If a referee has a series of poor performances/scores he is usually given games at a lower level until his performances improve again. Always remember that referees can have an off day, be troubled by an injury/illness, find two teams that are difficult to referee etc. I can assure you that to get to the top of this profession one has to have gone through a significant amount of assessments, training, coaching etc and that the referee will have significant refereeing ability to reach these levels
As regards your second question I suggest that you contact the Ghana FA and ask them to put you in contact with the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG)
http://www.ghanafa.org/contactus/

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

'Unpardonable mistakes' are in the eye of the beholder. That person often has a bias in what was seen - he believes the referee is harsher on his team, while the opponents deserve whatever the ref calls and then some. That's not anything bad, it's just human nature.

As Ref McHugh points out, a referee in a top-level professional league is evaluated by neutral assessors at every game. These assessors do not have a fan-based bias, but look at the decisions the referee made according to the Laws. The goal is not to punish a referee who may have had a bad day, but to allow for improvement.