For all the crowd-pulling effect of the star players, one must not forget, to borrow a line from FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, without match officials, there is no football.
Even if a whistle-happy referee could ruin the flow of a game, curtail end-to-end action and deny fans of special moments.
Referees, in the end, are in a perennial battle that they will never win.
While the players and coaches are paid millions and bask in the glow of victory adulation and admiration, the men and the women in the middle are paid peanuts in comparison.
Yet they face the biggest risk of being a subject of verbal, physical, mental and online abuse.
Referees could even trigger a war!
With the advent of Video Assistant Referees (VAR), every incident or error will have TV replays giving angles and perceptions the human eye cannot always see at full speed. They are in fact amplified.
Back to the line by Infantino, he was commenting on the horrific attack on referee Halil Umut Meler in the Turkish Super Lig match in Ankara between Ankaragucu and Rizespor.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw on Monday after the visitors equalised in the last minute of added time.
After the full-time whistle was blown, Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca rushed onto the pitch with a group of men and knocked out Meler with a blow to the left side of his face.
Meler, a respected referee bound to officiate at the Euro 2024 in Germany, was kicked several times in the ensuing melee, which occurred when fans invaded the pitch.
Meler was released from hospital in Ankara on Wednesday after undergoing observation and receiving a phone call from president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hugh Dallas, Turkish Super Lig’s head of referee education, was in the stadium when the incident happened.
Speaking to the BBC, Dallas said: “I think a lot of club presidents, media and others will take a look at themselves today and realise when you whip up that type of mass hysteria regarding refereeing, this is the result,” he told the BBC.
“There has to be legislation and punishments put in place for clubs, players, owners or whoever when they behave in such a manner because it definitely can’t continue.”
Koca, a politician and former parliamentarian, aspiring Ankara mayor and member of Erdogan’s AK Party, has since quit the club.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chief Mehmet Buyukeksi said the sport’s governing body will announce penalties for the altercation, blaming the attack on a culture of contempt towards referees.
Thankfully Malaysia’s notoriety in physically abusing referees has not reached Turkey’s level.
But one of them – Hasrol Amir - was kicked by Jordan international Yazan Al-Arab in a Malaysia Cup quarter-final second leg clash against Terengganu at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya in September.
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) were swift to punish the player, banning the centreback for life from playing in Malaysia.
His employer Selangor were swifter as they terminated his contract on mutual consent immediately after a disciplinary inquiry was done.
Malaysian referees unfortunately continue to be on the receiving end of abuse and assault based on past precedents.
An assistant referee was slapped by a goalkeeper in 1996. Four years later, a referee suffered a cut to his forehead when a furious coach kicked the referees’ changing room door after a match.
A goalkeeper was sentenced to a life ban by FAM in 1997 for having the intention of assaulting a referee.
In 2006, a former national skipper was banned for 12 months for violent outburst against match officials, including the referee in a league match between Perak and Selangor MPPJ.
When referees err, as S. Logeswaran did in the recent Malaysia Cup final between Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Terengganu, there is no divine solution.
They will continue to be abused from all conceivable angles.
Seldom they emerge with any credit. They could end up in a hospital like Meler, God forbid!
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
