Outside Influences
| Gamesmanship outside of the game action itself is a powerful tool. In the late 1990's the successful manager of Manchester United (Alex Ferguson) had a number of public spats with opposing English Premier League managers. One typical encounter resulted in the team-manager of a rival successful team Newcastle United (Mr. Kevin Keegan) - normally a well-behaved manger - sparring in public outbursts against Ferguson on television. The result being that everyone became aware of the war-of-words between the rival managers; and all done to create some sort of advantage to enable one team or the other to have an edge over the other team, as the championship race for number one spot in the league was drawing to a close. |
This example shows that gamesmanship is rife in all areas of the game. The Referee certainly has his work cut out in trying to distance himself from the influences of such gamesmanship.
On arriving at the ground, the Referee has to accept any offers of hospitality at face value. If the Referee is treated like a 'King' by the Home team when he arrives - is this part-gamesmanship on the Home team's part, or is it just good manners? If the following week a different Home team treats the Referee like a 'pauper' - will this effect the way he treats the Home team players on the field of play? One would hope that players from both teams will be treated the same, regardless of the level of treatment received when arriving at the ground. But human nature being what it
is must have some say in this - albeit that it may be subconsciously beyond the control of the Referee.
This emphasizes the subtleties that the Referee must be aware of, to enable him to officiate within what can best
be described as an "invisible impenetrable shield of outside influences". The good ship 'Star Trek Enterprise' may have been able to provide such a thing, but the 'everyday' Referee has no access to such futuristic technology, and has to rely on his own integrity.
How many times on arrival at grounds, have Referees been welcomed with open arms, only to be snubbed and ridiculed after the game by the very same people because their team has lost - and it is the Referee's fault?
The answer to that question is MANY TIMES! And MANY MORE TO COME!
"The measure of true hospitality can only be measured in the face of adversity."
In other words - thankfully there still remain one or two teams that will fulfill their offers of hospitality even if "the Referee had a rubbish game!"
Parents! The bane of many Referees! How should the Referee perform when one youth team's parents make a point of shaking his hand and being 'jolly' before the game and the opposing team parents can only offer open abuse?
Will this influence decision making by the Referee on the field of play? How can it not effect him? How many Referees can honestly say that they have never made a decision influenced by the abuse being received by
parents?
The Referee must distance himself from these types of very strong influences - it would almost be better if he could turn off his hearing, or restrict its limits to the field of play area (and that is abuse enough the Referee to contend with)!
In top-level games, the media hype surrounding important games is utilized to the full by any interested parties. Matches between countries result in gamesmanship headlines being emblazoned across the front pages and the back pages of each respective country's media circus. How about the Cup Final team manger who 'leaks' a story that his top striker is injured, in the hope that the opposing team manager will field a weaker defense, and concentrate on a stronger attack. Then the (so-called) injured player makes a miraculous recovery and is put on the team sheet only hours before the kick-off. All of these are blatant acts of gamesmanship outside the game action itself. But what can the Referee do about these? Can he 'red card' a player because of the antics of the manager before the game has even started. No, of course he cannot. Nevertheless, these are accepted acts of gamesmanship that MUST have some influence on the way the game is perceived and played - but hopefully has
no effect in the way the game is officiated by the Referee. "The Saint of Referees is the Referee himself".
Courtesy Julian Carosi
