With the current fiasco surrounding the referees, has the time now come to implement new measures that will ensure that such a hoo-ha won't occur again? There has always been an extra scrutiny on referees, given their important influence on the matches and measures should be taken to ensure that they are protected yet stay at a level to produce the best decisions they possibly can. Here are 8 possible ways:
1) Place Referees at the Goal Lines
This is actually a measure that has been implemented at some level, with the testing conducted at the Euro 2012 and Europa League. The goal line referee has two main objectives. One, to check whether the goal has crossed the line. Two, to aid in decisions to give penalties or otherwise. It is safe to say that the first objective has been a failure. The most high profile miss of this was from Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai's goal line assistant who missed the ball crossing the line in the Ukraine v England Euro match, causing huge uproar. One problem of this approach is that as the assistant, standing at the goal line, has his view partially blocked by the goal post. For his second role, I feel it is a help but not super necessary, as the main referee usually tend to have a good view. There have been calls for this experiment to stop and I am one of the despondent guys.
2)Press Conferences for Referees
If players and managers are expected to explain their decisions after each match, I don't see why the same principles shouldn't apply to the referees for everyone should have a reasonable explanation for the way they acted. Be it a simple 'I did not see that incident so I can't give it' or a detailed breakdown of his thought process, these press conferences will improve the accountability of the referees and allow angry fans to perhaps understand the situation a bit better.
Possibility of this happening: 7/10
4) Goal Line Technology
This idea has been mooted by various famous football personalities and the calls for it strengthen after each wrong call as to whether the ball had crossed the line. A decision like this can affect the whole match and in such a fast paced game, it is hard for the linesmen and referee to check whether the ball has crossed the line as it tends to get cleared right after crossing. The problem is compounded by parallax error, with the linesmen having to stand level with the last man instead of the goal line. Goal line technology will eradicate this error completely, with sensors placed to determine whether the ball had crossed the line. Simple and not controversial.
Possibility of this happening: 9/10
4) Equip the Referee with a Camera
We will never know
what the referees saw or will we? With today's technology, such a thing
is indeed possible and can be vital to explain the actions of referees.
The main defence put up when a referee gives a wrong decision is that
from his angle he cannot catch the scene properly. With a camera that
records every view of the referee, it can be ascertained whether the
referee truly made a wrong decision or just was in a bad position to
make a good call. Such videos can also be used in referee courses in
future, to teach future referees where to position themselves to have a
better chance of getting the clearest picture.
Possibility of this happening: 4/10
5) Equip the Referee with a Voice Recorder
Following the alleged remarks by Mark Clattenburg to Chelsea players, the authorities must have wished that they had a voice recorder that took down whatever had been said. However, this idea that I bring out will not be for that reason. The main reason will be to make sure that referees are respected by the players. Whenever a decision goes against them, a swamp of players will crowd the referee in protest despite various Respect Referee campaigns. When the referee is disrepected through physical acts, as did Najar(of DC United) by throwing the ball at the referee, it is easy to spot and punish him. The case is less obvious when it is a verbal act as should be pretty common in matches. To truly make sure referees are given the protection they deserve, this behaviour needs to stop and if enough punishments are given out to offending players identified by the voice recorder, it might deter other players from shouting unreasonably or offensively at the referees.
Possibility of this happening: 4/10
6) Review Scope of Post Match Action
Currently, post match action is only taken on incidents that are deemed to have been missed out by the referees during the match. If action is taken by the referee during the match, the offending player usually escapes further punishment. That to me is a let off for the players, especially if the offense is serious. A tweak to this rule will allow the referees to send in reports of what they saw and if video technologies show a more deliberate and serious action by the offending player, can further punish him to make sure that players know that the hands of the law will catch up to them. This measure will be especially good to eradicate the needless violent actions by players such as elbowing and stamps that referees might not always be able to catch and relieve the pressure on the referee to keep his eyes on every single player all the time, which is frankly impossible.
Possibility of this happening: 8/10
7) Reinforce Basics of Refereeing
Watching the soccer matches, what makes me most frustrated is when the referees do not get their basics right. By basics I mean to make consistent decisions. I understand that different referees might have different opinions on what is a yellow card offence and what is not even a foul and it is hard to standardize across the board. The annoying part is when the same referee gives two different kinds of decisions for tackles that look extremely similar and that is where we often see players going up to a referee and pointing to the scene of a previous incident and reminding him what decision he gave. I do feel that the referee committee has the need to ensure that a referee is consistent in his decision giving. At least get the basics right or the rest will fall apart.
Possibility of this happening: 7/10
8) Improve Confidence of Linesmen
The linesmen are trained to perform the duties of a referee too but most of the times, this does not show at all. Once placed on the sides, the linesmen seem unwilling to make calls pertaining to fouls, even if it happens right in front of them. Many times, I have seen obvious fouls on the flanks under the eyes of the linesmen, with the referee too far away to make an accurate call. Yet, the linesmen do not help flag the incident. Some do, but most don't to my dismay. The officials are a team and should work as such. The refereeing committee needs to make it clear that linesmen are there to help the referee, not just to make offside calls and in terms of play close to them, must have the confidence to voice it out. That is the purpose of the mic they hold and they need to use it to communicate what they saw to the referee.
Possibility of this happening: 9/10
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