Referees are a vital part of a sport. Someone who puts laws into practice and makes fair and impartial judgements. Without referees, a sport's match will be chaotic and there will be no order. It's thus important to protect, respect and accept the calls that they make. Just like everyone else, referees have a breaking point.
It seems that Real Madrid have perhaps gone a bit too far with their complaints. This is because there is chatter of a potential strike among Spanish referees.
Answering a question from a caller, Cope journalist, Isaac Fouto, claimed that some referees in La Liga are in favour of going on strike in response to the accusations. He said: "There are referees from the First Division who believe that they should go on strike."
He added: "The strike is either everyone [or no-one]... some have said they will go but everyone has to go. It is being considered, it is being considered in the environment. If this takes this turn, the competition will stop."
Following the Real Madrid letter, the Spanish FA [RFEF] released a statement backing its officials. The RFEF commented: "The refereeing task, by it's very nature, is subject to review and analysis. "But this cannot lead to generalised accusations that cast doubt on their integrity, as this not only affects the referees themselves, but also erodes the credibility of soccer as a whole."
"It is important to reflect on the consequences of this type of systematic questioning of refereeing. Constantly delegitimising the work of referees outside the established channels generates a climate of mistrust that benefits neither Spanish football nor it's competitions."
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has come out and said that the refereeing is better in the Premier League than La Liga. The Real Madrid manager said: "What league has the best referees? Difficult to say. It's a tough job. "What I can say is referees suffer less pressure in England, so they do their job better." Ancelotti previously managed Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League.
This wouldn't be the first time referees have gone on strike. There have been numerous occasions of this occuring.
Last year, A group of grassroots football referees in Scotland refused to officiate matches in a response to recent reports of abuse. The Cardiff Referees Association said it has, "decided to take action" in the wake of an alleged assault on a referee at a match in Cardiff.
In a statement on social media, the association said their members were concerned about the number of matches being abandoned and "deteriorating behaviour on and off the pitch." Following recent events, the association has decided to take action," it said. "There is no way this behaviour on, and off, the pitch can continue, and it is hoped that this unprecedented action will send a clear message." It said the action will impact matches in the Cardiff and District, Cardiff Combination and Lazarou Cardiff Sunday League leagues on 2 and 3 November.
A spokesperson for the FAW said it was monitoring the situation, does not condone any behaviour that brings the game into disrepute and that all participants should be able to safely take part in football activities at all times.
The South Wales Football Association said it condemned all acts of violence on the pitch and strives to support officials, but that it could not comment on individual cases.
"Police action is still outstanding which is preventing us dealing with the matter through the football disciplinary process, and will work with all football and law enforcement agency's to make football a safe environment for all," the statement said.
Refereeing in Scotland came under intense media attention in 2010 after a controversial incident on 17 October, during an SPL (Scottish Premier League) game between Dundee United and Celtic, which Celtic won 2–1. When the score was level at 1–1, referee, Dougie McDonald, awarded a penalty kick to Celtic. After consulting with assistant referee, Steven Craven, McDonald annulled his initial decision.
Celtic officials heavily criticised the decision to not award a penalty after the game. After Craven resigned on 25 October, it emerged that he and McDonald had lied to his supervisor, Jim McBurney, and to Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, about the decision making process. McDonald had claimed that he had changed his mind after consulting with Craven, when, in fact, he had changed his mind himself before consulting Craven. This revelation prompted an investigation by the SFA, which resulted in McDonald receiving an official warning on 29 October, while also upholding the actual decision.
Both before and after the warning was given, however, there were calls for McDonald to resign. There was also disagreement over the actual version of events between Craven, McDonald and SFA Head of Referee Development, Hugh Dallas. While resisting calls for an independent inquiry into the McDonald incident, SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, launched an inquiry to review how referees are disciplined, suggesting the current method of examination by a panel of mostly former referees was improper.
According to The Telegraph recounting the McDonald incident on the eve of the strike, "the rules do not permit McDonald to be sacked" and having declined to resign as the newspaper alleged some at the SFA felt he should, he subsequently returned to the referees roster. On 28 November, the day after Scottish referees went on strike, McDonald retired.
Following the SPL Old Firm game (Celtic vs. Rangers) of 24 October, Celtic twice wrote to the SFA (Scottish Football Association) to question the decisions made by referee, William Collum, who also received death threats. Denying he was stoking up tension around refereeing decisions, Neil Lennon condemned the threats. He also claimed that the media reaction to his club's recent questioning of referees as having been blown out of proportion and that their actions were not out of the ordinary compared to other clubs.
On 3 November Celtic striker, Gary Hooper, claimed referees wanted to give decisions against his team. Lennon then received a two match touchline ban after heavily criticising decisions by referee, Craig Thomson and his team during a 2–0 away defeat to Hearts on 10 November. Lennon stated after the game, "I'll seek clarification, but they'll probably have their story ready" and "Craig Thomson's supposed to be one of the best in the country. It doesn't say a lot for the rest if that's the case."
On 30 October, the SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, describing how his first month in the role had been dominated by the issue of refereeing, announced plans to launch a Respect campaign early in 2011. Regan commented that, "This whole handling of referees by managers, players and clubs has got to stop". On the same day, Hearts released a statement calling for refereeing standards to go up significantly, post match statements from officials explaining decisions. The statement also suggested that lower standards could be a "cover for bias and match fixing."
On 16 November, Pete Wishart, a spokesman for the Scottish National Party on sport, stated that all referees in Scotland should be required to declare which team they support, claiming that while he did not doubt their fairness, such a declaration was in keeping with the general rise in the freedom of information culture.
Two days later, the Celtic chairman, John Reid, addressing Celtic's annual general meeting, stated that referee McDonald's position was now completely untenable and called for his resignation. He also stated that Wishart's proposal should be considered as part of the bold and radical action the SFA needed to take to restore their integrity in the wake of the controversy.
On 21 November the Sunday Mail published a story claiming that 80% of Category One officials had failed a 30-question written exam on the Laws of the Game, conducted at a Spanish winter training camp in February and alleged Hugh Dallas had been, "taken aback" by the results and had instituted remedial action.
During a meeting in the afternoon of Sunday, 21 November, the Category One referees voted to strike over the crisis. Media reports suggested all 31 of the 33 Category One referees present at the meeting voted for the strike, supported by all 10 Category Two officials also present. The meeting had followed a regular monthly SFA organised meeting, after which the referees asked to carry on using the room for a meeting of the Scottish Senior Football Referees Association.
Based on the fact that Category Three officials represented by both the SRFA and the Scottish Association of Referees (SAR) had not been represented at the strike meeting, the SSFRA informed them on 23 November that as far as they were concerned, they were at liberty to choose whether or not they accepted appointments for the weekend.
Former Scottish referee, Kenny Clark, said that the reason for the strike was that referees were at "the end of their tether" over the effect criticism of their decisions was having on themselves, their families, and their professional lives. He cited instances of hate email being sent to the workplaces of referees. Fearing rising tension would lead to attacks, according to Clark, the strike was intended to, "put down a marker" and that the comments from Reid had, "put the tin lid on it" in the strike meeting.
Another former Scottish referee, Stuart Dougal, said he believed that the SFA had not "been strong enough to come out in defence of referees" since the McDonald incident, and that while referees accepted criticism, "When there is innuendo, and questioning the referee's integrity, that's when it becomes unacceptable". According to The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Mail story published in the morning the strike meeting was called, "was regarded by many at [the strike] meeting as the last straw."
The referees indicated that the strike would proceed as planned, regardless of negotiations during the week but that they intended to return to officiating afterwards. The consequent negotiations, which were described by the referees as constructive, included the offer from the SFA of a ban on all immediate comment from managers on referees before and after games and stricter sanctions for those who question referees integrity. The referees also sought written assurances from the chairmen of all 42 senior clubs that they respected referees integrity.
After a second meeting on Wednesday 24 November, at midnight the referees reaffirmed the strike would be going ahead, as the action was not intended to be a, "bargaining chip" to produce, "quick fixes or deals." The SFA had set a deadline of Thursday for talks to succeed and the strike to be called off, after which they would be forced to implement contingency plans of seeking foreign, replacement officials.
Referee spokesman, John McKendrick, described how the strike was intended to affect root and branch change in Scottish football and act as both a statement of intent and an opportunity for reflection, stating, "The time for talking about practical steps to improve Scottish refereeing should start from Monday." He expressed doubt that had the strike not gone ahead, the same, "desire for change" which had manifested in the SFA's announcements after the strike was called, would have occurred.
SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, stated his confidence on 28 November that the referees would return to work the following weekend; as he believed that the intention of the referees was to only withdraw service for one weekend of matches. Regan also denied that the foreign officials had been misled by the SFA as to why they had been recruited.
The Daily Record newspaper obtained a copy of the letter sent by the SFA to foreign associations requesting assistance but found inconsistencies between the letter and what foreign officials believed to be the case.
Referee, Dougie McDonald, announced his early retirement following the strike weekend amidst ongoing debate about refereeing standards. A statement from the referees after the strike said, "Dougie retiring caps a sad time for Scottish refereeing. We hope the right people can sit down with referees and play a full part in delivering the real changes required." Adding that they hoped the strike had "allowed everyone connected with Scottish football to have the period of reflection we felt was needed".
Although Celtic made no official comment, Paul McBride, a QC closely linked to the Celtic board of directors, commented that the club felt vindicated by the departures of Dallas and McDonald.
Stirling Albion director, Paul Goodwin, stated on 30 November that he expected the SFL to pursue the SFA for compensation on behalf of the SFL clubs that had matches postponed due to the strike. Goodwin estimated that his club had lost around £10 000 due to the postponement of their match against Partick Thistle.
In April 2011, Kenny Clark expressed his fear that another strike may take place due to the referees' belief that the SFA do not support them sufficiently. His comments were made the day after the SFA fined Rangers defender, Madjid Bougherra, for manhandling referee, Calum Murray, during an Old Firm Scottish Cup tie, instead of potentially suspending the player from matches.
During the 2013–14 season, Dundee United striker, Nadir Çiftçi, was suspended for two matches after he was found guilty of, "placing an open hand on the ... throat" of referee, Gavin Harris. The referees' association criticised the sentence for being too lenient, leading to media speculation that the referees would take industrial action.
Speaking in October 2018, Kenny Clark said that the strike had not brought about an improvement in respect for referees. Clark was commenting in the days after a Livingston vs. Rangers game, where someone in a section of Rangers supporters hit an assistant referee with a coin
The 2024 MLS referee lockout was a labour dispute between the Professional Referee Organisation (PRO), the organisation responsible for assigning and managing referees and other match officials for Major League Soccer and match officials represented by the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), a labour union for professional match officials in Canada and the United States.
On 15 January, the previous collective bargaining agreement was set to expire. The PSRA voted to extend the agreement until 31 January but announced the possibility of a work stoppage if certain outstanding issues were not resolved.
On 22 January, all voting members of the PSRA voted to authorise strike action in the event that they could not negotiate a favourable collective bargaining agreement with PRO. 100% of participating individuals voted in favour of the potential work stoppage.
On 17 February, the PSRA voted to reject a tentative agreement with the PRO, with 95.8% of voting union members voting against ratifying the agreement. The PSRA cited unfair labor practices such as direct dealing, insufficient benefits and compensation, and scheduling issues.
On 18 February, PRO locked out the PSRA match officials and announced that they would assign replacement officials to prevent the postponement of the 2024 Major League Soccer season. The PSRA immediately criticised the decision for being detrimental to the quality of officiating in the league and referenced an alleged increase in officiating errors during a referee lockout in 2014.
On 20 February, the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) made an announcement requesting a quick resolution to the dispute, as well as sharing their concern that the use of replacement officials could be detrimental to the players' health and safety.
They also made a statement that, "all workers deserve a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the ability to collectively bargain in good faith," suggesting that they somewhat supported the PSRA position.
On 21 February, the opening match of the regular season was played between Inter Miami CF and Real Salt Lake, with replacement referee, Cristian Campo Hernandez, taking charge of the match.
On 25 February, in the match between LA Galaxy and Inter Miami, replacement referee, Gabriele Ciampi, controversially sent off (second yellow) Mark Delgado for a foul on Sergio Busquets despite replays showing that it was Busquets who initiated contact with Delgado. While shorthanded, LA conceded a goal in additional time which resulted in a 1–1 draw. The decision was generally considered incorrect, including by Busquets himself who stated in an interview that he did not believe the foul to be worthy of a yellow card.
Much of the blame was attributed to the league using less experienced replacement referees, with Ciampi struggling to maintain control for the entirety of the match. The league retroactively rescinded Delgado's red card after the match following a successful appeal from the LA Galaxy.
On 26 March, the PRO and PSRA announced that they had reached a new collective bargaining agreement that will last until 2030. The PSRA members ratified the agreement by a vote of 72–21. The referees returned to work on March 30. The seven-year agreement is the longest CBA for MLS match officials in MLS history.
Everyone has to be treated with respect. This is especially the case for authority figures. As stated in the introduction, with no authority figures in place, disorder will take place. People shouldn't moan or cry just because they didn't get their way. As illustrated above, there's a high probability that replacements won't be able to handle the pressures that come with the job.