Aigner's refereeing fears
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
Article summary
The UEFA CEO has warned that behaviour towards top referees is harming grassroots football.
Article body
Annual report
In his annual report on UEFA's activities in 2002, presented to the XXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress last week in Rome, Mr Aigner - a former referee himself and a keen follower of refereeing matters - emphasised that this was one of the main problems facing European football at present.
Delicate area
Referring to what he described as a "delicate area," Mr Aigner commented: "The aggressive conduct of numerous players on the field of play, the open and blatant criticism against decisions by the referee by players and technicians and the gamesmanship at televised top matches have had very negative effects at amateur level, where this behaviour is copied."
Problem arising
Mr Aigner warned that a problem was arising at the lower levels of the game as a consequence. Many countries say that they face difficulties in attracting people to become match officials because of what they see in Europe's stadiums and on their television screens.
Lack of respect
"This increasing lack of respect for the rules and for those who are mandated to implement them makes it more and more difficult for national associations to recruit young referees for the enormous bulk of matches at amateur level," he said. The UEFA CEO added that every effort must be made to resolve the worrying development. "Action is needed to reverse this negative trend," he stressed. "The [UEFA] Executive Committee is giving attention to this matter."
Similar views
Mr Aigner's views have been echoed recently by such figures as Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, who took charge of last year's FIFA World Cup final, and UEFA Referees Committee chairman Volker Roth. "Respect is really a big problem," said Mr Roth at the UEFA referees' courses in Corfu in January. "For me, respect is a question of education, and there is not enough respect for referees at the moment.
Unfair on referees
"Around Europe, the most criticism is for referees," he added. "If a player misses a clear goal, it is written about less than when a referee makes a human mistake - this is unfair on referees."
