Refereeing in the new season

Ghanaian referees are always criticised for non-performance 

The performance of referees in our Premier League came under scrutiny last week when reports emerged that, the Premier League Board (PLB) and the Referees Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) had met to deliberate on how the standard of refereeing could be improved going into the new season.

The GFA’s website termed that meeting as “fruitful” as it pointed out that they touched on many issues, “with the key area focusing on improving officiating” in the 2015/16 season.

At the meeting the PLB urged the Referees Committee to engage referees with proven competence and integrity. The newly appointed Chairman of the Referees Committee, Nii Kormiete Doku assured the PLB of the committee’s commitment to do a good work.

That there was a meeting to discuss how to improve refereeing goes to show that, all hasn’t been well with what we currently have. Refereeing plays an essential part of not just football but many other sporting disciplines. Without referees, there is the likely to be too much chaos in the game of football for instance.

Referees are like judges who adjudicate on cases but of course unlike judges in the courtroom who have ample time – often days, weeks, months and sometimes – years to pass judgement, referees have very limited time to decide on events in the game of football.

This certainly makes their work extremely difficult as they must have high sense of reasoning, impartiality, quick thinking and excellent physical strength to execute their assignment within very limited time or space. Referees must as well know the rules of the game. They must apply those rules flawlessly.

Without question, referees are powerful. They can decide which direction a game should go. That explains why every league competition must have highly competent men and women whose knowledge of the game can be trusted. Having followed our Premier League closely for years now, I have seen both good and bad referees in our competition.

I have seen referees in our league, who without fear or favour, apply the rules. In the same vein, I have seen very terrible referees whose objective for coming into a game, is to ensure that a team loses regardless of how well they perform.  

Such referees are no more than evil-minded individuals who our game certainly doesn’t need. It’s that type of referees the PLB must wish not to have and in fact, allow to handle matches going into the new season. The question may be with how we can ascertain that, this or that referee is or will be bad! It’s not easy to determine that but we must closely monitor and review referees’ performances to ensure that only the best are allowed to handle matches.

I wouldn’t recall past events and even mention names especially when we are opening a completely new chapter in the 2015/16 season. I will leave past events to the past and look ahead to a new things regarding refereeing. I however wish that, referees who will be appointed to handle matches in the new season, will be professional, eschewing things that bring their name and the game into disrepute.

Clubs spend so much preparing their teams in these days of hard economic conditions. It’s simply wicked on the part of referees to overlook the dictates of their profession, perform anyhow to undermine the efforts of club owners and managers.

I’m not one of those who will allege bribery and corruption in our game without substantial proof or evidence. But I am also not naïve to ignore the fact that, the issue of bribery in our domestic league relative to refereeing remains an undisputable perception. It’s a perception because apart suspicion, it’s hard coming up with anything to back one’s claims.

It should however be noted that, whether real or imagined, bribery if allowed to permeate refereeing and for that matter our football, will only ruin its beauty. Let’s have fair officiating in the new season so we can the strenuous efforts clubs make every day to purchase players, hire coaches, nurture and train players will not be made useless. Let our referees go into the new season resolving to give their best to make the game worth following.