Clattenburg given no respect by the FA and Premier League

Clattenburg Given No Respect by the FA and Premier League

Mark Clattenburg has been given no respect by the FA and the Premier League, nor has any other referee asked to run the gauntlet of players each and every game. We talk about mentality for players but think about officials subjected by total disrespect from players trying to cheat and con them every single game.

Last night was a prime example of why I once again wrote an article suggesting we need to back referees and give them the authority they require to do their job properly.

I wrote how Chelsea use surrounding and hounding the referee as a tactic to get him to give more decisions their way. They do it as a team to intimidate and cast a seed of doubt, so next time they get the benefit of doubt.

Cesc Fabregas was going from referee to assistant referee ranting and raving while the referee was surrounded and being hounded, That was just one incident. Players had to get involved all the time in things that had nothing to do with them.

You constantly see a referee asking players to move away or be quiet and rarely do they do as asked. They move two yards at most when the league should issue an instruction that they should move 10 yards away when requested ith only the captain allowed to talk to the referee, as in rugby. You have hardly any controversy, but then perhaps that is what the authorities actually want, as it generates media coverage.

Something has to be done, They are being undermined by allowing sides like Chelsea to continue their surrounding and intimidating policy. It's thug mentality. The game against PSG shows it happens regularly with them, 9 within a couple of metres or yards, depending upon which era you are brought up in.



That is just one game, there are countless incidents so why have the FA and Premier League done nothing about it. Ten yards or its a yellow card.

It is a simple rule change and simple to implement. it gives the referee a status they have to respect. What is the use of running respect campaigns when they can't bring in rules to give the officials respect. If you hand control of the game back to the referee and give him the backing to manage the game properly, with the respect the position deserves, then you continue to undermine their authority in every game.

Lat night just shows how urgently it is needed. Give the referee protection and perhaps he'll have the confidence to make the big calls like issuing a penalty to Manchester United in the last minute. Yes, it would have meant we would have had players sent off last night but if the referee was given authority then the players would have behaved differently.

The Football Association and the Premier League need to get their act together and take their responsibilities to officials more seriously.

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