Football referees face extinction for the good of the game

In Charles Robert Darwin’s milieu of natural selection, the fittest is endowed with a survival advantage which is rendered to their progenies preserving species that are increasingly competent in the act of survival, while weak links are severed off. The referees in modern football are easily the weak links, illustrated clearly by the increasing number of omissions and outright gaffes, some bitterly costly like Thierry Henry’s handball in last year’s crucial FIFA 2010 world cup qualifier in Paris. The present disparity in the physical abilities between referees and professional players is perhaps the widest the game has ever seen. Unaided, the men in black are poised for extinction, if football is to preserve its sense of fairness. Twenty players slugging it out on their own is approaching a more attractive alternative, because it is simply unfair to have a seemingly unbiased arbitrator who in critical instances promotes unfair decisions.

From the inception of professional football, referees have been disadvantaged, but this has become more obvious and costly due to the rapid increase in the fitness of professional players who have enjoyed beneficial inputs from the scientific environment in nutrition and training techniques. It cannot be overstated that the physical effort put in by referees is comparable to that of the players as they cover on the average a distance of approximately 10 km, but significantly they are 15 – 20 years older and naturally cannot be substituted in a game, except in rare instances. The faster pace of the game coupled with highly prevalent antics employed by players to con referees puts a damaging strain on their cognitive and decision making abilities throughout the duration of the match. You have probably observed the lines man missing an offside position because he is struggling to keep pace with the players’ movements.

Since the referee’s role is centred round making decisions, credible ones that endear the game to everyone as a competitive sport that is fair and which enhance the flow and feel of the beautiful game, there is an urgent need to address the inherent shortcomings in football officiating. There appears to be an evolutionary pressure, age related though, which cannot be bridged by encouraging younger referees, as they are still classed as semi-professionals worldwide. A decent option would be for the referees to cover the same distance they already do, but have a broader view of the unfolding game. This is achievable by introducing video technology, which is perhaps more urgent than is general accepted in the corridors of football’s power houses. A repeat of Henry’s handball antics at the world cup would invariably elicit an endearing feeling of an orchestrated bias by the football governing bodies in favour of pre-determined choices. This suggestion has been on for ages, but denying the use of a technology that enhances fairness only accentuates the discontent.