Part IV: The abuse of match officials

Football, the game millions love, would not be possible without referees.

So why do they receive so much hate?

A survey completed by the BBC in February 2023, which had more then 900 referees in England respond, saw 293 referees say they had been physically abused by spectators, players, coaches and managers.

‘Some described being punched, headbutted and spat at.

‘Almost all the respondents had experienced some form of verbal abuse.

The Referees’ Association in England distributed the questionnaire to its 7,000 members. The president says, ‘the abuse of match officials is having a significant impact on their mental health and they are only ever “one decision away from a smack in the mouth”.’

‘The Football Association (FA) says a small minority of people abuse referees but such behavior is “completely unacceptable”.’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64584541)

Not everyone agrees with the decisions that a referee makes in a game, but that doesn’t excuse the horrendous abuse they can receive whilst doing their job. Heat of the moment swearing is unfortunately a given with refereeing now, but that is nothing compared to some of the thing's fans can shout at officials, going as far as discriminatory in some cases.

Carl Draper, an official for five years now, although hasn’t been discriminated against personally, has heard discriminatory abuse such as ‘doesn’t have a clue she’s a girl’ and ‘too fat to referee’ being shouted towards other officials.

In a survey conducted by Radio 5 Live with 927 referees, 98% said they'd experienced verbal abuse from either spectators, players, coaches or managers. Any form of abuse, to anyone, can affect their mental health massively.

From the 927 respondents to the BBC survey, ‘Many (778) had been sworn at while officiating, while 375 had received personal abuse about things like their appearance, gender, race or sexual orientation. ‘

Referee for eight years, Connor Daniel, has personally been subjected to abuse whilst refereeing games.

He said, “Yeah on a fair few occasions. A lot of verbal abuse towards my decisions. Some of the time this abuse can become quite personal I.e., comments about my physical appearance.”

A lot of referees receive abuse about their appearances when a set of fans don’t agree with their decisions.

Although the abuse is happening at Northern League level, the source and main problem may actually be coming from Grassroots.

Young referees are getting a lot of abuse whilst refereeing young grassroots, a kid, football game.

What could be done to help tackle this growing issue everywhere.

Matt Gatiss, a former referee in the Northern League for over four years, believes the start of tackling the issues could be with the referees themselves.

He said, “I think the biggest thing with a lot of it is refs need to actually follow through with the red cards etc., as some refs just let it slide and then it gets worse.”.

From grassroots through to Northern League and on, fans will shout at referees for nasty challenges on their team and ‘wrongful’ decisions.

Connor Daniel said, “For me, I think harsher punishments from the FA would solve the problem. I also think clubs themselves have to take some responsibility for their players. At the moment, they're trialing the use of body cams in other parts of the country. I think if this was nationalised, it would give the refs much more protection and help combat the problem.”

The FA are trialing the use of bodycams in adult football to help tackle the growing abuse of referees.

First line of defense: They hope the bodycams will deter supporters of shouting abuse towards the referees.

Second line of defense: If that does not work the bodycams will then be switched on and will have a front-faced camera so that the person that is shouting the abuse will be able to see themselves and hopefully the situation will de-escalate.

Third and final line of defense: If the worst was to occur the camera can document all video and audio from the event, even two minutes prior with the pre-record function.

As described by Reveal, the technology partner for the trials. (https://www.revealmedia.co.uk/referee-safety-cam?)

There are less and less referees turning out every weekend at the moment. Teams are seen scavenging for a referee, so their games go ahead.

The abuse that is happening everywhere and not improving is having a huge impact on games and leagues.

The young referees that are starting out at grassroots are quitting and stopping before they get any further as the abuse at that level is too much for them. That subsequently has a knock-on effect for other leagues and eventually will impact the higher leagues such as Northern League.

‘There were 122 referees aged 17 and under who responded to the questionnaire- more than 100 said they had been verbally abused by coaches/managers (105), spectators (109) or players (102).

Paul Field, President of the Referee Association said ‘Some parents’ behavior on the sidelines was “shocking” while players often imitate the behavior of top-level professionals who question decisions.’ From the BBC survey.

Without these young referees continuing with their refereeing career the Northern League will have no referees for their future.

All three referees gave words of wisdom to referees, especially new, young referees just coming into the game.

Carl: “Stick in, there are plenty of opportunities to and now more than ever with the new Promotion system, there is a real chance of getting to the top.”

Matt: “Don't be worried or scared to flag to a club official if a parent is being disruptive on the sidelines. 

“At Northern League level just follow their gut, don't lower your standards or expectations just for what a club might say.”

Connor: “Be big and be brave. Don't let anybody either on the pitch or around the pitch intimidate you.

“When you step onto the pitch, that's your game. Be confident in your decisions.

“There are plenty of pathways for progression for young referees now and plenty of support networks. Take advantage of the opportunities you have there.”