The Referee’s a C**t

Lying seems to have become part of modern football. If one team doesn’t do it then their opponent’s will. The game now harbours a not-so-hidden subterfuge arms race with each side raising the stakes in turn. Off-side traps, professional fouls, bullying the ref, insults hurled from sidelines. Every stumble is pursued as a misdemenour and every foul contested as an attempt to hoodwink the referee.

Palms are held out in appeal, arms raised in protest. Spittle flicks from mouths as tempers mount. Those protesting innocence are suddenly on the offensive, badgering the referee, chests out, shoulders up. The opposition change tact, calmly and insistently presenting themselves as the misunderstood naif, victims of circumstance framed by a wily opponent. If the referee supports your side then clearly the opposing team are bad losers unwilling to play by the rules of the game, if the opposite happens then you are being victimised, the referee has been biased by outside influences and dark forces are obviously at play.

Whether a foul actually occurred quickly becomes beside the point, secondary to the referee’s opinion. This desultory shouting is no longer about principals, its about politics.