Remember This About Shirt Swapping?

Back in June 2012, Pierluigi Collina promoted swapping shirts ... even between referees and players. It was a terrible idea then (as mentioned before) and remains a terrible idea to this day.

The upshot? USA World Cup referee Mark Geiger was accused by Morocco player Nordin Amrabat of "asking for Cristiano Ronaldo's shirt". Obviously there are "sour grapes" because Morocco lost to Portugal and subsequently after two matches Morocco are knocked out of the World Cup.

FIFA has released a strong statement that "unequivocally condemns the allegations [by Amrabat]" and that American referee Geiger "has acted in an exemplary and professional manner."

How ironic then that Collina, who is also chairman of the FIFA World Cup Referees, has previously promoted shirt swapping by referees. Collina himself was a collector of players' shirts during his time as a referee.




2 June 2012

Not Convinced About Collina in Respect Campaign

Here's the lead sentence from UEFA's social responsibility programme:

"Swapping shirts at the end of a match is a symbol of respect between opponents."

And here we see a famous Referee swapping shirts with a famous player:

Pierluigi Collina and Karem Benzema. Pic from UEFA.
 

Question 1: Does the Referee regard the player as an 'opponent'?

Question 2: Do Referees really exchange jerseys with players?

I am unconvinced about this latest respect campaign from UEFA.* UEFA claim that "Pierluigi Collina and Karem Bezema exchange jerseys as a mark of Respect". This is an incorrect and illogical claim. Also, Collina has previously admitted to not being able to give away his Referee shirts in exchange for players' shirts because he said Referees are never given enough shirts in the first place.

Instead, UEFA Referees' Chief Pierluigi Collina has a reputation for collecting famous football players' shirts without exchanging his own and even got Graham Poll hooked on this habit. Poll famously wrote in his autobiography about his unabashed attempt at making sure he was standing next to Zinedine Zidane when he blew up for full time, just so that he could be the first to 'claim' the great Zizou's jersey. How pathetic. This makes a mockery of the integrity, credibility and neutrality of Referees. Referees should not be seen to swap shirts with players with whom they are officiating matches with.

This blog admires Collina for his performance and dedication to Refereeing. However, this blog does not agree with some of Collina's practices such as the habit of encouraging Referees to swap shirts with famous players that they have officiated. It is hypocritical of Collina to promote this campaign. Also, it is by definition unethical.

Football Dark Arts

What are the Dark Arts in soccer? This interesting book is the first-ever collection of 80 negative football tricks, traps and tips that are used by mischievous players, coaches and managers.

Here is the book description, which is found on Amazon websites:

How winners in football really win at football.

Football Dark Arts provides detailed knowledge about crafty, deceitful and outrageous gamesmanship that will help you and your team win matches.

For the first time anywhere, 80 tricks, traps and tips in soccer are collected together and presented in this book. These dark arts help give ultra-competitive managers and street-smart players a competitive edge that prevent their opponents from performing at their optimal level.

Masters of the dark arts know how to bend the rules, to deceive, to con, and ultimately to negatively affect their opponents. This book highlights the ugly, unpleasant and unsporting aspects of “The Beautiful Game”.

Whether you are a player, coach, match official, fan, commentator, journalist, medical doctor or club director, your best option is to read this book and understand the dark arts!

Proceeds from this book will go to the Common Goal fund to support football charities around the world.

If players, coaches and managers are using the Dark Arts to help them beat their opponents, then match officials should also be smart enough to be able to recognise and understand these negative actions. This book is an "eyeopener" into the real world of competitive football. Highly recommended.

Rational Ref: Chelsea's masters of the dark arts highlight a win-at-all-costs mentality

Chelsea's masters of the dark arts highlight a win-at-all-costs mentality

Chelsea's siege on Kuipers shows intimidation and bullying are acceptable in quest for glory

• 

Referee Bjorn Kuipers is surrounded by Chelsea players before a red card is issued to PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photo: AP

In sport what is more important: playing the game or playing games? Nowhere else but in soccer is this distinction more apparent, with plenty of cheating and gamesmanship instead of genuine sportsmanship and model behaviour.

Chelsea's siege on Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers during their Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain last week comes as no huge surprise. It is simply the logical consequence of the ugly, unethical and underhanded approach that has been allowed to fester and flourish to alarming levels.

 

The dark arts—comprising cheating, provocation, intimidation, faking injury and childish behaviour—is now so endemic it is considered the main source of entertainment, with media reports barely touching on the final score and team performances.

In one camp, John Terry, Jose Mourinho, Gary Neville and others believe the dark arts are entirely acceptable, whereas the likes of Graeme Souness, Jamie Carragher and most referees prefer a cleaner, honest and straightforward approach. Spectators will probably support whichever camp so long as it benefits their favourite team.



 Zlatan Ibrahimovic gestures to the referee after a tackle on Chelsea midfielder Oscar, who appeared badly hurt, but was on his feet moments after a red card was issued. Photo: AFP   


Chelsea captain Terry defended his hounding of referees, saying: "Every other side is as bad as each other."

"It's part of the game. Once they're charging the ref, the only thing we can do is respond. You can't as a group of players let them surround the ref, trying to get our players booked. Once I go [to influence the referee], four or five go with me. It doesn't look good, but that's part of the game."

Mourinho, obviously, backs his captain since he instils this kind of attitude in all the teams he has coached. As a manager, he upholds his reputation as the master of dark arts, with eye gouging a particular speciality.

In contrast, Souness labelled Chelsea players "pathetic" for their antics. Souness, who cemented his reputation at Liverpool as a tough but honest player, harks back to the old-fashioned era when sportsmanship and camaraderie took priority over rivalry and winning at all costs.

However, in the modern era of professional athletes and ludicrous salaries, the game's values have become ridiculously warped.

When Oscar was apparently seriously injured in his clash with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, notice how none of the Chelsea players showed any genuine concern to the well-being of their Brazilian teammate.

Not one of them went to see how Oscar was because they were all focused on pressuring the referee. Oscar was exaggerating the seriousness of his injury and as soon as Ibrahimovic was sent off, he was back on his feet as if nothing had happened.

Suppose you and a friend are involved in a car crash with another driver, what would be the natural reaction? Would you be jumping and screaming at the traffic policeman to reprimand the driver causing the accident or would you be more concerned about your friend?
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, a 'master of the dark arts'? Photo: AP

Chelsea's behaviour reveals the sad, twisted values that have taken over the game, where gaining a favourable decision is more important than the safety of teammates and fellow professionals.

In a match I refereed recently, two players jumped up for the ball and collided in a fair challenge, with one player apparently coming off worse for wear. Because he screamed loudly and made a big fuss about having an injury to his face, I whistled to stop play so he could be checked.

When I told him there was no foul, he became even more animated and miraculously forgot about his so-called "injury".

As a referee, I was more concerned about his safety. However, this player was all about getting a free kick for himself and a card for his opponent.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard summed up the game's warped value systems by saying: "I think it's normal when you play games at that level. Players and managers want to win so much - players will try every trick in the book to try to get over the line and win matches.

"We've all been guilty of it throughout our careers by not always abiding by the rules."

The only way to appreciate this sentiment is that if we have all been taught to value only the destination and not to care about the journey in the "beautiful" game.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Masters of dark arts cast aside integrity

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 19 March, 2015

Comical Referee-Related Captions: Arsene Wenger

"No Arsène, I'm not Tony Adams in disguise. Leave me alone."

Arsène Wenger 'having a word' with AR1

Match: Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan on Tuesday 6 March 2012. The match finished 3—0, with AC Milan advancing to the quarterfinals 3—4 on aggregate.

Arsène Wenger faces the prospect of receiving another UEFA touchline ban, but remains adamant that he was justified in confronting Referee Damir Skomina from Slovenia after Arsenal’s Champions League exit against AC Milan.


Related Posts: UCL: Strange Impressions of FIFA ARs and UEFA EARs and A Slovenly AR


Happy to receive other people's Comical Captions in the comments section (below).

UCL: Strange Impressions of FIFA ARs and UEFA EARs

The following observations derived from the Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan on Tuesday 6 March 2012. The match finished 3—0, with AC Milan advancing to the quarterfinals 3—4 on aggregate.

The match officials, all from Slovenia, appeared to work well although aesthetically and by FIFA standards the actions and impressions given out by one of the Assistant Referees (AR1, SAR or whatever moniker is preferred) was inconsistent with the rest of the team of officials, and appeared odd and unprofessional.


Observation One AR1 Using Right Hand For Flag and Giving Obvious Hand Signal

AR1 is holding the flag in his right hand when running down the line towards the corner flag. This is non-standard technique and looks ugly. It looks ugly because a) it is inconsistent with the correct standard technique, as displayed by AR2, and b) there is jerky flag movement as AR1 runs.


Initially, I thought perhaps AR1 had something wrong with his left hand (an injury?), which could have explained why he was simply using his right hand all the time to hold the flag. However, had AR1 been injured this would have led to the next question about why he did not notify his Referee group and thus be replaced. It is doubtful that AR1 was injured.*


Observation Two EAR1 Actively Assisting and Giving Obvious Hand Signal

First, a tight Offside decision. Despite the likelihood that AR1 was not side-stepping, the decision to give the attacking side the benefit of the doubt is fine (if that is indeed what AR1 gave). Note: An observer can tell whether AR1 allowed this because we have seen that AR1 prefers to use obvious hand signals during onside situations (such as in Observation One and Six).

This attacking move by Arsenal (red) led immediately to the following situation ...

No offside given

Second, Arsenal's Robin van Persie (red) slides into AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati (orange). EAR1 reacts by raising his arms and giving an obvious signal to the Referee that it is a foul.

EAR1 is actively assisting the Referee

Observation Three AR2 and Standard Technique

Looking at AR2, there appears to be no outward problems.


Observation Four Penalty. Who called?

When required, EAR1 has actively assisted the Referee (as in Observation Two) but this time EAR1 does not do anything even though his position is nearest to where the foul was committed. Did the Referee make the call himself, with no assistance from his AR and EAR?

During the penalty kick, what is EAR1 doing? Can he see whether the goalkeeper is standing on the goal line, and moves off his goal line at the moment the ball is kicked? Is this the standard UEFA technique for EARs?


Observation Five Good Advantage, Fitness and Positioning

There is a foul in the middle of the park but Referee Skomina plays a good advantage.**

The advantage plays out with the Referee continuing his run into the penalty area and putting himself in a good position.


Observation Six AR1 Using Right Hand For Flag and Obvious Hand Signal

AR1 has two non-offside decisions to make in the following sequence:

AC Milan (black) not offside: phase 1

AC Milan (black) not offside: phase 2

Observation Seven R gives IFK?

We know AR1 regularly (and inexplicably) gives an obvious hand signal to indicate "no offside". Therefore, it is a puzzle why Referee Damir Skomina raised his arm to indicate an IFK. Why? It cannot be for offside since AR1 has not raised his flag.

Referee Skomina raises his arm. Does he indicate an IFK?

The Arsenal goalkeeper (grey) gained possession of the ball and carried on, so there was no stop in play. What was the Refereeing signalling?


Observation Eight Arsenal's Arsene Wenger Complains

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger vents his frustration at AR1.**

The 4th Official (blue, left) tries unsuccessfully to stop Arsenal's Arsene Wenger (blue, right) from approaching AR1

*Note 1: Notice how at the end of the match AR1 is now holding the flag with his left hand. His left hand is therefore not injured.
Also notice the flag quality. The AR's flag handle does not appear to be a beep-buzzer type, so the match officials are probably all communicating with the Referee via CommLinks. However, the "magic" wands used by the EARs appear to be standard-issue beep-buzzer types. What's going on?

Look at AR1's Flag Handle

**Note 2: Arsene Wenger complained about the match officials. He said :

"I was not happy with the referee tonight because I felt he gave many free-kicks in the middle of the park. Every time they went down a free-kick was given for them, and they sensed that very quickly and they used it very well."

If there appears to be an advantage to play on, then the Referee appeared to give it (as in Observation Five). If not, then there is no problem to give a free kick. The Referee also played 3 minutes of stoppage time in the second half. There were 4 substitutions and 4 bookings in the second half, so at least 3 to 4 minutes of stoppage time is about right.

If all Arsene Wenger is 'unhappy' about is the time-wasting aspect of the match, then he doesn't have much to complain about. It is a natural part of the game, and if the situation were reversed his team would no doubt do all they could within the Laws to slow down the match. His Arsenal team played magnificently and had they scored the crucial fourth goal following the Referee's good advantage play (Observation Five), then perhaps Wenger would not be complaining.


SUMMARY
No major problems. However, from a Referee Observer's view, the actions of AR1 and EAR1 appeared strange. Regarding AR1, such non-standard actions of FIFA match officials can be observed in all football confederations around the world. By being either disrespectful of the basic required standards, ignorant of the latest expectations passed on during UEFA- or FIFA-sponsored retreats, or just plain arrogant and complacent, these match officials do themselves, their colleagues and their Refereeing Departments a huge disservice.

This does not mean that coaches like Arsene Wenger can "have a go" at match officials like AR1 (as in Observation Eight). Nevertheless, AR1's non-standard techniques do not, and should not, excuse him from ignoring his professional responsibilities and image.

I will mention the actions of UEFA's EARs in a future post, since I do not believe there is a consensus amongst match officials (and within UEFA) about the responsibilities and performance of EARs.


This post has a Part 2 and a related comical post.

The match officials were :
Referee
Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant referees
Primož Arhar (SVN), Marko Stančin (SVN)
Fourth official
Mitja Žganec (SVN)
Additional assistant referees
Matej Jug (SVN), Slavko Vinčić (SVN)


Follow Up
UEFA Charge Arsene Wenger for improper conduct noting his complaints about the match officials.