The Rational Ref | Irresponsible actions soiling soccer's image
The sport is suffering from the actions of immature individuals, including hoodlums hurling smoke bombs and firecrackers
Smoke, mirrors and red herrings took centre stage during last weekend's English Premier League, although such deceptive tactics should not detract from the fact that there are plenty of disrespectful and immature individuals soiling the game's image.
At Villa Park, visiting Spurs supporters hurled a smoke bomb canister that struck a linesman. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho dished up two red herrings; one to distract from why he was sent to the stands and the other to screen Samuel Eto'o's controversial equaliser. What these irresponsible individuals really need are huge mirrors everywhere, not for deflection and misdirection, but for self-reflection.
To his credit, dignity and integrity, linesman David Bryan simply brushed off the smoke bomb as if swatting away a gnat and carried on with his duties. Referee Phil Dowd was satisfied the match could continue. Had a player or ballboy been on the receiving end, we know what the reaction would have been.
The number one objective all match officials are taught is safety. But who watches out for the safety and well-being of match officials? The FA will launch an investigation, and police have questioned two men. Whether anything constructive develops from this incident remains hazy, to say the least. The suspicion is that there would have been a more fervent public outcry calling for stronger action had the victim been a player or bellboy.
The reason for this cynicism is because only a year ago, Hong Kong match officials had to deal with firecrackers and debris thrown onto the pitch during an AFC Champions League match in Iran. They halted the match, ensured safety was paramount, then continued with the match and reported the incident to the competition organisers.
It was a player who had a fortunate escape when he picked up a firecracker that exploded half a second after he tossed it off the pitch. Public concern that a linesman could have been injured was overshadowed in favour of the player's lucky escape. The video quickly went viral with over 252,000 views, whereas last weekend's video has so far grossed 32,000 views.
This disparity reveals a significant difference between the public's perceived concern towards the safety of match officials compared with the safety of players; especially since the EPL is a far more popular competition than the AFC Champions League. Therefore, it is a sad indictment of people's attitudes that a smoke bomb hitting a match official is not considered as serious as an exploding firecracker narrowly missing a player.