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Aigner's Refereeing Fears
UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner has
warned that the poor conduct shown towards referees at the highest
levels of the game is having a negative effect on the refereeing
sector at grassroots level.
In his annual report on UEFA's
activities in 2002, presented to the XXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress
last week in Rome, Mr Aigner - a former referee himself and a keen
follower of refereeing matters - emphasised that this was one of the
main problems facing European football at present.
Referring to what he described as a
"delicate area," Mr Aigner commented: "The aggressive conduct of
numerous players on the field of play, the open and blatant
criticism against decisions by the referee by players and
technicians and the gamesmanship at televised top matches have had
very negative effects at amateur level, where this behaviour is
copied."
Mr Aigner warned that a problem was
arising at the lower levels of the game as a consequence. Many
countries say that they face difficulties in attracting people to
become match officials because of what they see in Europe's stadiums
and on their television screens.
"This increasing lack of respect for the
rules and for those who are mandated to implement them makes it more
and more difficult for national associations to recruit young
referees for the enormous bulk of matches at amateur level," he
said. The UEFA CEO added that every effort must be made to resolve
the worrying development. "Action is needed to reverse this negative
trend," he stressed. "The [UEFA] Executive Committee is giving
attention to this matter."
Mr Aigner's views have been echoed
recently by such figures as Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, who
took charge of last year's FIFA World Cup final, and UEFA Referees
Committee chairman Volker Roth. "Respect is really a big problem,"
said Mr Roth at the UEFA referees' courses in Corfu in January. "For
me, respect is a question of education, and there is not enough
respect for referees at the moment.
"Around Europe, the most criticism is
for referees," he added. "If a player misses a clear goal, it is
written about less than when a referee makes a human mistake - this
is unfair on referees."
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