Refs favour the Cloughie approach

10:54am Monday 25th February 2008

Hounslow referee Reuben Simon volunteers opinions on this page that every football lover should read.

Football referees getting abuse is nothing new.

The choice terrace song of the 80s when a referee was having a perceived off-day tended to question his parentage.

These days, the preferred chorus of "you don't know what you're doing" maybe more genteel, but is no less misplaced.

The man (or woman) in the middle usually does have a pretty good idea of what they are up to - they just aren't wearing red or blue-tinted spectacles while they do it.

Referees justifiably value their impartiality above all else, but maybe sometimes that is part of the problem.

Reuben asks whether referees subconsciously favoured Nottingham Forest in Brian Clough's heyday because of the respect they showed to officials.

I would venture go as far as to suggest that referees should deliberately favour the best-behaved teams.

It would give other managers no choice but to demand their players followed suit.

Apart from Stuart Pearce in his time at Manchester City, I cannot recall a top-level manager since Clough who has taken positive action to prevent the growing undermining of referees.

There were some great examples of what officials have to put up with in Monday's televised match at Bristol City, when the hosts scored an equaliser against Crystal Palace beyond the four minutes injury time that had been signalled.

After the match, Palace boss Neil Warnock joked' that referee Richard Beeby had punched the air when the Robins equalised.

But why would Mr Beeby have favoured Bristol City? There is nothing to suggest the referee did anything other than officiate to the best of his ability.

At times Palace players tried to stop him. Standing over and delaying free-kicks and interminably slow substitutions were among their time-wasting tactics.

Worst of all, though, was the way every decision against Palace saw him met by an angry delegation of their players - Shaun Derry, in particular, shouting in his face on more than one occasion.

If, under those circumstances, a referee gives the other side a decision too many, they are doing football at every level a favour.

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