Page 31 - Brislington FC v Bristol Telephones 251123

Another Week, Another Deluge

Almost every game I’ve watched this season a player has been punished by a referee, a er what is
o en a reac on to a refereeing mistake. Mistakes by a referee who is human is understandable and
o en subjec ve, and should be accepted with a level of tolerance but maybe in many cases they’re
going a bit to far with this new sin bin direc ve. Punishing somebody twice just causes a feeling of
injus ce and ruins what are o en interes ng and compe ve games.
I am more in favour of players and officials coming together as both are needed, without it there is
no game, and let’s be clear, there should be no place for abuse of officials!
However interpreta on of dissent simply being ‘by word or ac on’ is vague, meaning a simple roll of
the eyes could be interpreted as dissent, and with the way it’s being used of course being subjec ve,
it looks to be crea ng more resentment between management, players and officials. As we see
benign ac ons punished severely when other more serious misdemeanours are missed or ignored
it‘s now possibly driving the wedge deeper s ll.
I can remember when playing a good referee communicated well and was strong enough to show
humility and explain decisions occasionally admi ng they might have missed something, instead of
gas ligh ng me by saying that I didn’t see what I just saw. Respect should to go both ways, but it
seems that That the FA direc ves to get tough are driving in one direc on. I can hear the cries ‘look
at Rugby Union’, and it’s a compelling case, so let’s hope this direc ve has the desired results. But it
would probably help if there was more of a collabora ve approach running alongside, and more me
was spent bringing officials and players together because the end result as it stands seems to be
nega ve for anybody who has paid to watch the game and what looks to be greater dissa sfac on
from players and officials alike. It’s easy to vilify but never seemingly taken into account.
Let’s not forget how much voluntary me and effort is spent pu ng teams together, it’s not
inconsiderable! It can be soul destroying when an important decision goes against you.
Incidentally I would welcome the chance to publish a piece from a referee’s perspec ve should
anyone wish to contact me.
Back to the game, the home side were unable to capitalise on the numerical advantage. In fact the
game became scrappy, with lots of errors on both sides, farcical is probably a tad strong, but certainly
not much of a spectacle for an onlooker.
Jay Malpas was brought on for Egan bringing the Foxes back up to ten then eventually Griffiths
returned, with McLennan making way for Tobin pushing Williams further forward. This saw a
turning of the de as Heath looked to consolidate their lead dropping deeper as the Foxes
looked to regain some pride and try to salvage some dignity. With Tobin and Williams
combining well on the le in par cular. Asa White was replaced by Jude McCarthy who
started to add more going forward on the right hand side, but it was the le where the
pressure was paying off.
On 79 minutes this paid dividends, Scadding ge ng the final touch on an mis handled
cross from Williams, no more than their pressure deserved. 79’ Cadbury Heath 3
Brislington 2.
The final 15 minutes saw wave a er wave of a acks from the visitors but the home side
held firm despite the onslaught, holding on to take all three points and li ing them two
places to 10th.
Brislington stay third, but lose ground on league leaders Por shead who triumphed with a
98th minute winner against Bradford.
Brislington have another 10 day wait for redemp on when they play Bishop Su on in the
Somerset Premier cup on Tuesday 7th of November.