Tackling the Ongoing Problem of Dissent

Dave Johnstone

Not since a highly gifted dwarf claimed interference from God himself, has English football been rocked by the actions of just one Argentine. Or at least that’s what you would believe if the press’s reaction to Javier Mascherano’s red card for dissent was anything to go by.

Reactions to the dismissal appear to have gone slightly over the top. Indeed The Sun Sport backpage leads with “We will be watching YOU…you’ve been warned”, a title which only further highlighted the mass hypocrisy surrounding the issue of dissent. Let us not forget that this is the same British Press that held referee Urs Meier up as the Devil incarnate after England’s poor showing in Euro 2004.

With the bandwagon gaining pace at an alarming rate, under fire managers and pundits alike sparred no time in jumping on. The lunacy of this best encapsulated by the fact Roy Keane, of all people, spoke as the voice of reason calling for managers and ex-pros to take a look at their own actions before choosing to chastise every player who’s pounded the turf in frustration.

Whilst Super Sunday was always going to be packed with some sort of controversy, perhaps highlighting the issue of dissent in the game was the most influential outcome.

Stepping away from the incident and looking at the issue, maybe the ‘blame’ for the outbursts of players such as Cole and Mascherano could be laid at the door steps of the highest authority itself, namely FIFA.

It should not be forgotten that the issue of dissent is nothing new; in fact rules had been introduced to curb a surge in the sport of ref harassing, namely the 10-yard dissent rule. A rule that was only to be dropped soon after, no doubt in favour of more pressing issues such as Gibraltar’s petition to qualify for the World Cup. Premiership referees’ chief Keith Hackett had previously stated that the rule, whereby play is moved forward ten yards if players contest the referee’s decision,  “did have an impact on the behaviour of players," and furthermore "The referees over here found it acted as a deterrent." Surely proof, if it was ever needed, that President Blatter and FIFA consider facts to be something that should neither be seen nor heard in the same ilk as a drunken uncle at a wedding.

Other FA experiments have seen referees wearing microphones and thus being able to record all abuse. However, as Tony Adams and ex-ref David Ellery will tell you, with their famous conversation regularly appearing on countless football gaff DVDs, this often serves as more entertainment rather than a credible deterrent.

The latest effort from the FA was unveiled last month with £200 million being pumped into grass roots football as part of a new respect campaign. Yet it seems somewhat baffling to expect children and grown men to treat officials any differently to how they see their pampered heroes do every Saturday. In fact you could say this initiative smacks of slamming the stable door shut well after the horse has bolted.

With FIFA and the FA seemingly choosing to draw a blank on the issue, pundits, managers and well meaning journalists alike have been left to speculate as to the possible solution.  One idea that never fails to rear its head is treating referees in the same way their rugby counterparts are treated, namely like the school master you wouldn’t dare mutter an ill directed word at. Reading manager Steve Coppell even sees this way of officiating as not only resolving football’s age old problem but something that would have a “compound interest effect throughout society.” Whilst the respect shown to the referee in rugby clearly benefits the game, it would seem slightly naive of Coppell and other rugby sympathisers to expect the rules for a game where stamping, eye gauging and elbow dropping are no more than polite ways to introduce yourself, to have anything more than a disruptive effect on what has long been called ‘the beautiful game’.

Other ideas proposed as beacons to guide football to a similar level of gentlemanly conduct as rugby includes the use of temporary sin bins for acts   of small discretion such as dissent. Again proposals such as this seem to somewhat overlook the fact that football games are immeasurably better contests when they remain eleven vs. eleven. Take a look at the Mascherano incident and consider that the comfortable United victory could have been anything but had Liverpool held on to their main disruptive midfield force.

In terms of proposals where rugby is taken as a precedent, personally I would rather see Ashley Cole sulking like a pampered child than so readily accept examples set by a sport that has, and will always be, the complete opposite of football.

With our own governing bodies looking elsewhere for examples set in other sports and coming up short, is it not time we looked inwards for solutions?

Take a look at England and the rest of the world’s best referees over the last decade and you will find one thing in common; they were willing to give just as good as they got. Who can forget Paul Durkin pushing the aforementioned Roy Keane away in a way Paulo Di Canio himself would have been proud of? Durkin went on to be England’s only representative at the 1998 World Cup in France. Even the untouchable Pierluigi Collina, will be mostly remembered for his crazed staring down of some of football’s most outspoken players. Dare I also mention England’s last World Cup referee, Graham Poll. Whilst Poll’s performance at the last World Cup will leave him remembered as the man who handed out more cards than your grandmother at Christmas, his rise to world class consideration was evidently boosted by his willingness to communicate with players.

Take these previous pillars of refereeing into consideration when looking at Steve Bennett’s handling of the Mascherano affair. At no time did his lips utter anything more than the repetitive mantra ‘go away’. Had he seen fit to simply meet Mascherano half way, or even liased with Liverpool’s captain fantastic Steven Gerrard perhaps we would have seen a far more evenly contested ‘Super Sunday’. More importantly, football fans around the world may have been able to enjoy their Monday morning cornflakes without hearing the media once again sharpening their knives against every player currently making the Premiership the most watched league in the world.