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[Copa Mundial]

Did eL people in general think that the IL refs let 'hard' tackles go more than those from the eL? Usually Liam Kearney gets about 10-15 fouls per game but wasnt really given too much by them + GO'C got hacked to peices by Portadown in the X without any yellows against him (except for the red that should have been a yellow, but that just goes back to showing how cr@p the ref was).

There seems to have been a slight difference in tolerance levels between refs north and south.If you look at the group games, Cork/Shels and Shels/Cork were refereed by northern officials and Linfield/Glens, Glens/Linfield refereed by southern officials.

In the 2 big games down here,both games were surrounded in controversy,but in both big games up north they went off without a hitch.
Having spoken to an el ref, he informed me that the northern officials were amazed at the level of dissent and abuse they received from players during the games down here.Apparently that level of dissent does not appear up north because players and officials immediately receive severe fines and suspensions.
According to the el ref thats not the case down here as the disciplinary board are to lenient and dont deal with this issue quickly enough or severly enough
I have heard some scandalous abuse directed at refs and no matter how good or bad people may think they are,surely they dont deserve some of that!

[Éanna]

According to the el ref thats not the case down here as the disciplinary board are to lenient and dont deal with this issue quickly enough or severly enough
I have heard some scandalous abuse directed at refs and no matter how good or bad people may think they are,surely they dont deserve some of that!

That much I agree with, but IMO the referees themselves are to blame for that. If dissent is such a problem, all they have to do is start booking people and sending them off for it (which the rules allow them to do) and players will soon get the message

[patsh]

Having spoken to an el ref, he informed me that the northern officials were amazed at the level of dissent and abuse they received from players during the games down here.Apparently that level of dissent does not appear up north because players and officials immediately receive severe fines and suspensions.
According to the el ref thats not the case down here as the disciplinary board are to lenient and dont deal with this issue quickly enough or severly enough
I have heard some scandalous abuse directed at refs and no matter how good or bad people may think they are,surely they dont deserve some of that!

1. If the level of abuse is so bad, (and I believe that certain teams DO try everything to intimidate refs), referees should refuse to officiate at all eL games until a satisfactory method of disciplinary hearings are put in place, with clearly defined sanctions for offences, and most importantly, all sanctions ARE FULLY IMPLEMENTED.

2. Referees themselves must act against this "abuse" and caution and send players off. This might lead to a mass of suspensions initially, but the message would soon get across.

3. Referees must be "punished" for poor levels of officiating, and be publicly seen to be punished for bad games. To see Courtenay "rewarded" by getting to ref the final, even though he had a hugely controversial impact on the tournament, increases fans cynicism that refs are hopelessly imcompetent, yet nothing is done about it.

[Copa Mundial]

That much I agree with, but IMO the referees themselves are to blame for that. If dissent is such a problem, all they have to do is start booking people and sending them off for it (which the rules allow them to do) and players will soon get the message

Eanna, refs book and send off players for dissent and foul and abusive when the situations present themselves.Players dont get the message because a E20 fine for a booking for dissent isnt going to teach them a lesson.I have spoken to el refs an they feel frustrated and undermined by the disciplinary board, although they have said that there seems to be a slight change this season.
I dont want to see players suspended,it takes from the entertainment of the games, but as ive said here plenty of times,refs are an easy target for people to take out there frustrations...even though SOMETIMES they dont help themselves.

The original point that I was trying to make was, if players know that they are going to miss games for silly bookings,they will be less likely to put themselves in a position to pick up pointless red and yellow cards.

[Éanna]

Eanna, refs book and send off players for dissent and foul and abusive when the situations present themselves.

No they don't. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen players run towards referees screaming and shouting and swearing at them, and they rarely get booked. FFS, Owen Heary pushed a referee at Turners Cross two years ago and the ref didn't even book him for it!

I'll give you an example- I was at an U21 league match between City and UL up in limerick about 3 years ago. The ref was a young fella (he's now on the eircom League panel) and about 5 mins into the game, he gave a free against City. One of the City players turned and screamed "you ****ing wánker" at him. He didn't even speak to the guy about it, let alone card him. If referees don't demand respect, then they're less likely to get it.

[Copa Mundial]

No they don't. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen players run towards referees screaming and shouting and swearing at them, and they rarely get booked. FFS, Owen Heary pushed a referee at Turners Cross two years ago and the ref didn't even book him for it!

I'll give you an example- I was at an U21 league match between City and UL up in limerick about 3 years ago. The ref was a young fella (he's now on the eircom League panel) and about 5 mins into the game, he gave a free against City. One of the City players turned and screamed "you ****ing wánker" at him. He didn't even speak to the guy about it, let alone card him. If referees don't demand respect, then they're less likely to get it.

Its not as black and white as that.Everybody can say something in the heat of the moment.I used to referee schoolboy games a few years ago and when I started refereeing i was told to COMMUNICATE with players and thats 3/4 of what refereeing is about.
I take your point about the situation in limerick and its true,if you dont demand respect, you wont get it, but some of the more prominent refs in the league DO have the respect of the players but supporters still dont want to know...they still see abusing a ref as a way to let go of any built up frustration.
Look,I know more often than not im on here defending refs,a) because i was one once upon a time and b) because im familiar with the time,sacrafice and effort that current el refs put into refereeing. These are things that supporters dont see.They only see the person that turns up at the weekend to ref their clubs game(and procedes to upset their weekend )

Im only trying to show 'the other side of the coin'

Maybe the FAI should show supporters how referees are trained and how they prepare for games etc etc...maybe then suppoerters will respect them a little more...or at least make them more understanding!

[pete]

When players are professional & suspension means they'll lose their place in the team plus maybe club fine then they will realise that abusing the referee that results in a yellow card is a serious matter.