‘Communication’ is defined as “The imparting or exchanging of information or news”. Generally the best organisations and businesses require this massively to function well and achieve. And to an extent you can say this about sport using various examples.

Sports such as rugby exclusively show referees communicating with authority and competence, like a teacher to a disruptive school child, and the player responds with respect and obeys the orders.

With football there seems to be a different approach, often a reaction of petulance and offensive back chat. Understandable at times in the heat of a battle but does this stem from the referee failing to be assertive in the first place?

It’s by no means an easy task to be able to command such authority but most referees look like they are carrying out a chore when speaking to players. As if they are two different species, no connection, no understanding.

They have a difficult job and not all referees can be accused of this, and just lately I’ve seen a couple of exceptions. Most notably Phil Dowd and his officiating in the FA Cup replay between Chelsea and Man Utd.

There were numerous occasions during the game where Dowd was seen exchanging smiles with players and also constantly called players by their first names. This may happen more regularly during games I don’t see but I thought it made healthy viewing. It gave the players a sense of security who understood their limits.

It also forges a relationship with them, players know they can talk to the referee and the ref will respond accordingly. Instead of just handing out cards here there and everywhere and trying to command authority in an overly strict way.

Javier Mascherano’s sending off against Man Utd sticks out in my mind. The Argentine was shown a second yellow for descent after saying “Why? Why?” after just seeing his team-mate booked for diving.

Whilst some can say players know their boundaries and it is stupidity on their part especially when booked. The referee could have reasoned with the player, contrary to Dowd who remained assertive but approachable.

The attitude towards managers at local level is also worrying, the abuse they get many who are young, who wants to become a referee after that?

Managers constantly confronting and berating officials at the end of matches at professional level, with the officials feeling the full force whilst trudging towards the tunnel, isolated and in front of TV cameras and spectators.

Management staff coming out and saying how the referee “cost us the game” instead of putting the defeat down to a series of defensive errors or bad miss from a forward.

We always see constant replays of a great goal or piece of play but rarely replay a good refereeing decision. How many fans remember a referee who gave a decision against them? And just how many fans remember a referee who refereed with competence in a game they won? Considerably less than the former I would suggest.

This pressure is probably the main reason why referees fail to come out after games and give interviews as to why they made certain calls. They probably feel intimidated by the football world and their lack of response sticks two fingers up at all those that question their stance.

Others will say that it is the referee's fault they are not up to standard and that they are putting themselves in a position of vulnerability and know what to expect. The general consensus is that certain laws in the game are not agreed upon and this only sparks controversy.

For example a player’s punishment is based on whether the referee saw the incident at the time and not retrospective action after reviewing the incident again which surely make more sense. How Callum McManaman and Sergio Aguero failed to receive bans for the respective challenges on Massimo Haidara and David Luiz verges on lunacy.

Furthermore some will also say that referees are too stubborn and should be a bit more dignified after matches and that their stubbornness only provokes a lack of respect towards them.

People will say that’s the nature of the game, and that debating decisions just adds to the thrill and entertainment of the sport but if that’s the case then why are these decisions so important? And is that right on a human level?

Why should referees be made scapegoats for our own entertainment value? If an official makes a bad decision I doubt he/she sees it like this, it is his/her profession and a mistake will be lurking inside that respective officials head for a considerable amount of time.

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher recently spoke of how he felt hugely upset for weeks after failing to send off Man City’s Ben Thatcher for his reckless challenge on Portsmouth Pedro Mendes.

A challenge such as Thatcher’s was inexcusable but for players I think you also have to appreciate that it is not easy. Their own beliefs are often thrown out of the window and they act subconsciously.

For example Phil Neville who threw himself to the floor during the Everton v Liverpool. Goodison was a cauldron that day, and Neville as captain was the leader of his troops, you do anything to gain an advantage.

Football is a heated game, a player’s goal is to win the game and manager’s jobs are at stake. they share the burden in representing the whole football club. It is their duty to get results and so the levels of anger and frustration are understandably massive.

But the line is often crossed and evolves into a war. Referee Anders Frisk never refereed again after being accused of bias towards Barcelona in their Champions League match by Jose Mourinho, who claimed the Swedish referee, was speaking to Frank Rijkaard at half-time.

This prompted angry Chelsea fans to send death threats towards Frisk which forced him to quit as a professional referee. Another more recent incident, also involving Chelsea, involved Mark Clattenburg who was accused of racially abusing John Obi Mikel in the latter stages of Chelsea’s defeat to Man Utd at Stamford Bridge in October.

Clattenburg denied allegations and the matter was looked at internally by the FA, however no evidence was found and so there appeared to be little substance to the claims.

Why accuse someone of such a thing? Imagine that, you get back from work and realise that somebody’s made a complaint about you which is completely false, subsequently putting your job on the line for no reason other than personal bitterness.

It goes beyond football when someone is accused of such an act when they blatantly were never culpable of it. The scrutiny an innocent Clattenburg was under was deeply wrong with the referee unable to officiate for weeks as investigations were taking place. Just imagine how he felt being labelled a ‘racist’, imagine how his family must have felt.

The truth was that Chelsea were angered by his decisions during the match and used him as an excuse as to why they lost such a key game. Though it is within their right to dispute a decision, why couldn’t they come out and say that Ivanovic got on the wrong side of Javier Hernandez and that his poor positioning prompted the sending off, which was the main reason they ended up losing the match.

So what exactly can be done to improve the connection between referees and players? One idea that I feel should be given deep thought is the suggestion that referees should be invited to every football club within their levels of officiating.

For example if a certain referees refereeing is based in npower Football League then pre-season gives them time to meet the club's management and playing staff.

They can use this as an opportunity to talk with players about new rules being implemented for the coming season and clarify any grey areas within the game.

That way everyone is warned and therefore have no excuse if they are sent off for a two-footed tackle, neither can they debate an offside decision. The amount of time spent at a club can only has to be a couple of hours just go through game-like situations or slideshows and maybe coach a refereeing session to players, if only for some kind of camaraderie.

Alternatively, perhaps only captains being allowed to talk to referees could help defuse a situation and eases the pressure on referees. In the most recent North-East derby we saw referee Howard Webb ask Steven Taylor to bring over Jonas Guiterrez after he bemoaned his decision which meant Taylor then instructed his team-mate to keep his cool.

The main flaw with this though is that the players will say are entitled to questioning a decision and that this takes away that right, and only lessens the communication aspect further.

I suppose there may never be a line drawn, there is generally an acceptance that the relationships between players and officials are just an aspect of football, and all the indecency and dishonesty only leads to making football a bigger spectacle, but just a few words, the odd joke and a smile can go a long way.

Pessimistic added 16:36 - Apr 18 Personally I think ref's getting too friendly with players is part of the problem. A bit like a teacher who is addressed too informally and I think the need to keep ones distance is vital to ensure impartiality and trust. Part of the disease of the beautiful game is that it has been contaminated by players who swear freely at referee's and it is seen as all part of the game and the players don't even get booked for it! Compare this with rugby for example and there is clearly a lesson to be learned. Respect starts on the field and as football players fall to the ground in agony at the first sight of a challenge, rugby players battle on with broken noses and damaged limbs, adhering to the wishes of referee and more importantly accepting their eventual fate, whatever it may be.

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BuckieBlue added 21:48 - Apr 18 High profile celebrity players to deal with, the speed of the modern game and the ever watchful eye of the TV cameras- who'd be a ref!? Mind you a mate of mine refs at amateur level and player behaviour is even worse!
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BlueBadger added 07:17 - Apr 19 A red card for 'descent'? Blimey, that must have been one HELL of a dive.
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Blue041273 added 13:20 - Apr 19 Football is a wonderful game and as someone who has long since had to abandon the pleasure of playing the game, I can see the huge improvements in all aspects of the playing side of the game in both technical and physical terms. Unfortunately such advances in the playing side of the game have not been matched by the refereeing side. For me, the FA, who are ultimately responsible for the health of the sport, fail miserably when it comes to supporting the interpretation and enforcement of the rules of the game. At its highest level in the Premiership referees are routinely disrespected by players and managers alike and while top referees seem happy enough to accept the lack of respect, I believe that a 'low tolerance' approach by the FA to such lack of respect is needed. The cancer of foul mouthed dissent is copied by players at all levels in the game and it means that referees and linesmen across the board have to suffer dogs abuse just to keep the games going. There is simply no incentive for individuals to improve. Despite the amounts of cash sloshing around at the top end of the English game precious little of it seems to go into creating improved standards of excellence in this crucial area of the game. Meanwhile we are fed a weekly diet of vicious abuse of referees from 'cheated' managers and discontented players while the pubs, TV and Radio analytical programmes, not to mention vitriolic message boards and social networks spread the message of not just simple incompetence but also diabolical mischief at the hands of match officials. What we need is stronger effective action by the FA, not just in terms of fines but also in terms of suspensions. The FA should have the power to enforce the licensing of managers and coaches and be able to withdraw those licences when abuses occur.

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Edmunds5 added 14:45 - Apr 19 Pessmistic- I agree but not entirely, I think players should be able to dispute decisions but too often this is done in an abusive and confrontational way. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing and asking the ref why he made a certain call. But its when 2,3,4 get in the refs face and start swearing and harassing him, thats what I don't like, remember Roy Keane and 5 or 6 others for Man Utd corner the ref that time? I can't remember the exact game. I think perhaps being more friendly and approachabe asa referee almost soothes the players because they respect the ref more, not doing this infuriates players and the game has a chance of boiling over. Blues041273- You make some good points, the abuse is almost natural and acceptable nowadays, managers disgreeing doesn't help though its impossible for a referee because a manager or player will always stand up for their team and you cannot please everyone, more honesty would really help. The FA should do more but I think they feel intimidated themselves. They would never give Fergie a ban because of who he is, remember the way he attacked the ref at half-time when Man Utd beat Newcastle 4-3 around Christmas time, not even punished and it happens so frequently now that the FA have basically surrended.

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