So another season of football has come to end, and we have had no shortage in controversy and talking points. Managers fined for chastising and disrespecting referees, players fined for outbursts on the pitch and on online social media like Twitter. It seems not a game goes by without a storm of controversy. The game is always going to be highly charged and full of passion. But is the mark being overstepped too often? The level of criticism towards refereeing decisions and players and managers conduct in the professional game has been highlighted frequently this season. What does this mean for the Football Association’s Respect campaign? Is the lack of respect in football a far bigger problem than we realise? Has the campaign been a failure?
We are now into the fifth year of the F.A’s widely discussed Respect campaign. The Respect movement was introduced to address unacceptable behaviour on and off the pitch in football. In 2009 it was reported that around 7,000 qualified referees were quitting each season because of the abuse they received from players and from the sidelines. This posed a huge problem for the F.A to confront and deal with. The F.A claim that the Respect programme provides a series of tools leagues, clubs, coaches, referees, players and parents from grassroots to elite football to ensure a safe, positive environment in which to enjoy the game.
Looking at the statistics, the Respect campaign has enjoyed some significant success. On field discipline in the professional game has improved with cautions for dissent across the top four divisions down by nine per cent. Referee recruitment figures are up 7.4 per cent each year. Assaults on referees are down 13 per cent each year.
It is certain that the F.A introduced the Respect campaign with honourable intentions, and according to the stats the campaign is doing good work. However, not everyone has been pleased with its introduction. Former top Premier League referee Graham Poll has openly criticised the campaign saying it is doomed. According to Poll, no referees were asked for their opinions in the build up to the campaign’s launch.
“The FA said they'd researched the opinions of 11,000 people before embarking on the 'Respect' campaign, but they didn't ask one of the top referees for their views before they brought it in. Referees are the spearhead of it, and yet they didn't even get consulted."
The fact that top referees were not asked their opinions on the campaign before it was brought in does seem to undermine the campaign’s intentions. The programme was launched with referees very much in mind, but it seems they were still being ignored.
While one top referee has been critical of the campaign, another first class referee, Howard Webb, has praised the campaign. Webb feels the initiation of the Respect movement has had a positive effect on the game.
“I think that the Respect programme was fully justified and brought in at the right time," he said. "It was needed because we were in the position whereby something like 7,000 referees were walking away from the game each year and that means that something had to be wrong.
“We haven’t seen the surrounding of match officials in the same way that we have before and the common open dissent doesn’t seem to be there. Of course there are some cases and people will be able to point the finger at certain individuals who still behave in that way, but on the whole the interaction with the players I have had has been good and they seem to be aware of the importance of looking after the image of the game."
Webb also praised the campaign for its work at grass-foots level. "The County FAs are all rolling out the Respect campaign to everybody locally and the referees at grass-roots levels are aware of the programme and I think it's really important.”
The Hampshire Premier Football League is one grass-roots league that signed up to the Respect campaign. James Hardy is a footballer who plays in this league for Gosport side Fleetlands. He doesn’t really see any substantial change in behaviour despite the Respect movement.
“The only real difference I feel the Respect campaign has had on our matches in the league I play in is that we have to shake hands with the opposition players before each match. Most players see this as a laugh and a joke rather than an initial show of respect.
“Players, managers and fans still moan at the ref in the Premier League and that still happens in non-league football. I have heard referees verbally abused in nearly every game. It is just part and parcel of the game I’m afraid. I think the Respect campaign is founded on good, solid principles, but I don’t think it is having a real significant impact at non-league level.”
Despite the positive statistics, it could be argued that the Respect campaign is not having a real significant impact in the professional game too. The 2010-2011 season has seen many instances of disrespect towards match officials. Sir Alex Ferguson has been particularly outspoken about referees and their decision-making. In March he was hit with a five-match touchline ban and a £30,000 fine for criticising referee Martin Atkinson after a game at Chelsea.
Ferguson said: “You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway, and we didn't get that. I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared the worst.”
The case of Sir Alex highlights the fact that the Respect campaign is not being considered with the seriousness it should be. We are still seeing the sight of players surrounding and intimidating the referee, questioning his authority with alarming regularity.
Professional Footballers' Association chairman Clarke Carlisle says that players support the guidelines of the Respect campaign, and that incidents involving players intimidating referees are not on the increase and they are being given too much attention.
“The number of incidents where referees are accosted are becoming fewer and fewer. It is just that where incidents are highlighted they now receive massive, global attention.”
The Respect campaign is having some success in changing behaviour in football, but there is a long way to go to stamp it out.
