Brand new car for Best Referee not bad idea, but …

Debates about referee decisions are part of the unique culture of football for both players and supporters alike.

Mistakes as a referee, will always happen; such controversy keeps making football more fun to watch.

Indeed, referees have a split second to make a decision and will never always get it right. Of course, no one is calling for perfection. No one is flawless!

However, some of the referees make such atrocious decisions that make you wonder whether they are even fit enough to handle juvenile football.

Now, we have reached a stage where the centre-men should be given no room to make ‘killer’ mistakes and just walk away, leaving in their trail irreparable damage on the affected teams. 

That is why one was thrilled by the announcement of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that the Best Referee of the 2021/22 Premier League season would swagger away with a brand new car. It is good enough motivation.

According to the GFA, the prize will encourage referees to put their best foot forward in the upcoming league season which kicked off last Friday.

“For the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the best referee for the year will take home a car at the end of the season. I’m very sure that our referees will be happy,” said GFA President Kurt Okraku, during the GPL launch, three days ahead of the opener.

“The whole idea is to encourage our referees to be competitive and deliver top-notch performances over the course of the season,” he added.

About 90 Referees and Assistants were selected by the Referees Committee and underwent various training programmes for the 2021/22 campaign, and one expects to see a credible performance from them to make the game dirt-free and more enjoyable.

For such Nights-of-the-Whistle, they should not only be thinking about the ultimate prize (car), but be concerned about the image they live behind – several years after they had retired from the game.

Sixteen years after ‘hanging his famous whistle,’ Italian former football referee, Pierluigi Collina, is still broadly considered to be the best football referee of all time.

The instantly recognisable Collina, a no-nonsense Italian referee – known for his famous bald head and piercing eyes, remains one of the most respected figures in football, 16 years after handing in his shock resignation from officiating, aged 45.

In a glittering 28-year career of refereeing, he took charge of Champions League, World Cup and UEFA Cup finals but for many, it was Collina’s larger-than-life personality that earned him such a respected stature.

He demanded, and in turn, earned respect from players, managers and fans around the world.

If a player decided to misbehave, the Italian would take action, but he was always fair and reasonable.

“You have to be accepted on the field of play not because you are the referee, but because people trust you,” Collina said after retirement.

“This means you can reach the best result a referee can reach, which is to be accepted even when he is wrong.”

This calm but stern approach to officiating earned him FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” award six consecutive times between 1998 and 2003.

Indeed, he redefined a role that was previously seen by many as dull.

It is the hope of many that our referees would look up to Collina and some of the finest ‘centre-men’ in the business, to carve out their own niche.

As a matter of fact, we do not need referees to be baited with a brand new car to do their own job. It is not fair. Coming to the pitch with a clean intention of being professional and fair-minded to all, in itself, should serve as enough motivation.

Be that as it may, one can only wish the referees well and hope they repay the trust reposed in them by the FA and the football populace. They must endeavour not to be the reason for which many football enthusiasts would swear not to patronize local football. Again, that would be unjust.

Aside from that, referees would be saving themselves from the unwarranted physical attacks they are often subjected too on the field – and the bout of public criticisms, if they perform their duties proficiently.  For now, the ball is in their court to prove us wrong.

PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH