The Territorial Committee of referees They issued a statement this afternoon to express “concern about the increase in verbal and physical violence our members are experiencing, especially in recent months.”
In the letter they reflect the difficulty of “carrying out our work in a scenario with insults, pressure, threats, and aggression. All this for, perhaps, making arbitration errors in “amateur football” and , what is more serious, in “base football”, categories that by all accounts should be considered recreational and educational.
The statement continues to state that “Clubs and institutions defend the values instilled in football through training, but, nevertheless, we see harassment, threats and attacks on people training, which is the only “crime ” will use their passion as referees, in many cases minor, trying to do their job in the best possible way. “
Referees assume that they are “aware that we make mistakes and we are sorry when they happen, but we have the right to make mistakes. Referees strive to improve, they are forced to pass physical and technical tests and periodically show their knowledge, spend a lot of time preparing to give their best every weekend”.
The refereeing establishment remembers that they, like the clubs, have objectives: “We must not forget that the referees perform the same objectives as the clubs, the possibility of being promoted or relegated at the end of the season. It’s amazing how easily the entire arbitration panel can be disqualified or, worse, the integrity of the entire arbitration panel is called into question.”
But they don’t understand how “violent situations, even normal inexcusable aggressive behaviors, can be repeated. We define the manner in which gross misconduct that violates sportsmanship and the values of sport is justified.”
Reflection of all levels of football
That is why they ask for reflection from all levels of football: “We consider that it is time to think, that all of us who are part of football – athletes, coaches, clubs, managers, fans, media and referees – consider. join forces to end this scourge and take seriously what is happening, and also, we demand the maximum participation of official institutions and our political class regardless of party, because all of this is affects an important asset because this is our sport, so we think the time has come to avoid, for all of us, an incident with an irreversible end”
That is why they analyze all these aggressive attitudes and the people who incite them: “We must censor and prosecute aggressive attitudes, fight to prevent violent people from continuing to be part of sport and stop encouraging hate and violence on social networks and in the media”
Therefore, they demand “that this situation be given the importance it deserves, that work be done to punish this type of situation in an exemplary way and thus achieve the protection in accordance with what a sports judge deserves . It’s time to stop this continuous smear campaign on referees, which only brings into question the integrity and good reputation of the whole group”
All this in order not to “have to regret any more incidents than those that have already happened, which may lead us to adopt drastic and immediate measures that will have a direct impact on our competitions, forcing us not to expose the physical integrity of our referees.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
