UMPIRES AND REFS TURN A BLIND EAR!

There is little more dispiriting than having your own supporters criticising decisions that you make on a field of play. Football is notoriously verbal and the crowd apparently can shout as much abuse at the player, coach or officials without any rebuke. Cricket is getting the same especially when there is a huge crowd baying around the boundary. But surely, not so at an U13 cricket match, on a peaceful ground, on a Sunday morning where youngsters are easily affected by anything said within the bounds of the game.

I got abuse today from a small gathering whilst umpiring in a good, fair game where I had to make two decisions, both negatively "affecting" my side.  It's not worth going into detail; but their umpire a pleasant young man agreed with my decisions (he would, wouldn't he??) but not so on the "terrace" behind me, made from a few parents and another coach from my club.  I'm not sure the kids noticed what was being muttered; my oppo umpire and some of the parents certainly did!

Football matches have sometimes been abandoned by referees who could take no more abuse from players or crowds. The "sending off" of players for foul and/or abusive language in football was introduced in 1927. What happened before? 
In 1997 the wording was changed to "offensive, insulting or abusive language". How do you measure that? I guess it is much down to the sensitivity of the person the tirade is being aimed at. Also I guess it depends where you  are geographically (or socially?) that "thickness of skin" may vary. In local football, there are around 16% of sendings off caused by verbal abuse. Research tells me that in the higher echelon of football, the % is less. Professionals are more thick skinned?

In the top flight, officials have heard it all before as the referee of the 1878 FA Cup can testify; his name was Mr Segar Bastard. In 2005 the Witney and District Youth League proposed to send off any child whose parents crossed the verbal line. This was proven to be impractical.

In a Staffordshire Cup Final the referee spoke to an abusive spectator and said "I've been watching you for some time". The spectator replied that "He could see that because the ref clearly hadn't been watching the game!".

In 1966 when the Argentine, Rattin, was sent off in the World Cup quarter-final against England at Wembley, the referee stated that "it was the look on the player's face" that convinced the official. By the way this game stimulated the use of the Red and Yellow cards!

Lee Todd playing for Cross Farm Park Celtic in a Taunton Sunday League fixture, was dismissed after a few seconds when the referee blew his whistle so hard, that poor old Lee covered his ears and shouted  " F*** me that was loud!". Off he went!

Crawley Town FC manager Francis Vines was cautioned by the local police for using threatening language at Woking in February 2005. You see it could get worse.

So there we are.....Finally, when Portugal played England in 2004 Urs Meier received more that 16,000 emails including death threats. David Elleray installed a panic button in his home after his decision making during a Manchester United-Liverpool match at Anfield in 1999. His decisions allowed the game to end 2-2 after United had been two up. This nearly affected United's title bid. He also asked not to officiate at Old Trafford for a couple of years after that.