Douglas Higginbottom wrote:King Kev wrote:Sister of fu wrote:So looking at that above it seems he swore at Mikel. How many times a game do players swear at refs?? If they really are complaining over Clattenburg swearing at a player they really do need to give their heads a good wobble.
If a player swears at a Ref he gets warned or punished (unless it's Rooney) so why should Refs get away with it?
But isnt the problem that players swear at refs all the time and don't get warned or punished so IF it's only about swearing Chelski are being pathetic imo.
I think you have a point, but I don't think it's as simple as that. Firstly, there was quite a big thing made of the "Respect" campaign ... at least for 1 season or so, and that was fine. Players should not be able to freely abuse the officials ... which is totally a different thing than an athlete yelling "oh fuck off!" after a decision against him ... that's just a common expression of frustration across many different professions.
The official however, has to be held to an almost impeccable standard, or as close to it as possible. Make the calls as you see them, and try to be unbiased ... but no matter what you cannot get pulled down to a personal level with the players. Swearing at a player is not a function of the profession, and so it is a personal action. Refs cannot be individual figures, as individuals have bias and play favorites by nature, and that means the objectivity of a match is totally thrown out the window.
If you are the main representative of the FA on the field, then any action you take is an extension of them ... and swearing at players is just not an option. There's too much at risk nowadays, and everyone already thinks the refs are bent, giving them a reason to truly believe is the worst thing you could possibly do.
It's not a man's game anymore ... it's a game of money, and that means that it will be scrutinized by high powered people from every angle. It's sad but true.
Clattenberg is a victim of his own arrogance here, because he does make the games about about him and, in my opinion, refs from a personal POV ... which is wrong and he deserves to be brought up on it.
I don't know if this particular case is true or not, and I have no idea what was said, or if anything was said ... I'll wait for the facts to come out. I think Chelsea must feel they have a strong case as they've gone ahead with the complaint after seeking advisement. Very interested to see how it turns out, but if it is true and it leads to the demolishing of reffing by ego, then I think it's great.