Lads, do you ACTUALLY know what you're talking about?

Niamh O'Mahony

HOW OFTEN have you left a match wondering - once you cam down -  why anyone would become a referee? 

The level of abuse they can receive is astonishing; when a female assistant referee is on hand, multiply that level of vitriol several times over as, regardless of performance, the issue of gender will inevitably be brought up by supporters, sometimes players and even managers as recent football history shows.

Plenty has been made this week of off air comments by Sky Sports’ Richard Keys and Andy Gray in relation to lineswoman Sian Massey and West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady. Their opinions revealed their own ignorance more than anything - especially in the case of Massey who, at 25, appears to be a bright prospect for English football and went on to have an excellent game. 

The two gentlemen in question will surely reappear on our television sets in the not so distant future, but did they at any stage take a moment to appreciate the work that all assistant referees/referees (men and women) have to put in to reach that level in the game? I doubt it. 

On top of the regular attention officials expect from the crowd, Massey and the handful of her female colleagues will have put up with a lot of additional crap over the years. ‘Stupid b*tch’ and ‘Go back to the dishes’ are some of the milder things I’ve heard. Supporters are capable of being vulgar and even degrading, so I have nothing but admiration for them.

When you see a new assistant referee warming up before kick-off, do you ever presume they don’t know the offside rule - or any other law of the game for that matter?

You see, you guys out there never have to prove your worth from the off when it comes to sport. There’s just a natural acceptance that you’ll know a certain amount and that you’re ‘serious’ about it. Women, on the other hand, have the ‘Do you ACTUALLY know what you’re talking about?’ conversation repeatedly throughout their lives.

I’ve been a League of Ireland supporter since I was old enough to be taken to games and I still get told how to get through a turnstile, usually to the great amusement of whoever I’m going with. 

Presumptions follow right through to the top too. I was asked to interview a senior Ireland and Munster player over the phone a few years back on behalf of a client of the media company I was working for. The deal was that we would get him to say a few nice things about the company and we could then ask some questions for our own use.

The conversation started along the lines of:

Reporter: “So, what do you use your phone for?”

Player: “Eh, to ring people and send text messages.”

Reporter: “Do you mind if we say that you watch video on your phone?”

Player: Brief silence... “Sure”

You get the drift. Eventually...

Reporter: “I might ask you a few rugby questions now if that’s okay?”

Player: “Yeah.”

Reporter: “Felipe Contepomi recently said in an interview that he didn’t think an Irish province would ever win the Heineken Cup (Munster coincidently won their first title later that year) because too many of their players are involved with Ireland and the Six Nations Championship, which means they are physically drained by the time the quarter-finals of the competition come around. Would you agree with that?”

Player: Prolonged silence....

Reporter: (Oh crap... he’s odd I mentioned Contepomi)

Player: “Jeez, you really know your rugby....”

Reporter: “Eh, thanks....*sigh*… so, do you?”

We talked rugby after that and it went as any regular interview would go. I didn’t think he was being particularly rude or sexist at the time, but when you have the likes of Iker Casillas’ girlfriend hanging out behind goal posts and being blamed when he makes a mistake, it’s always going to be tougher to convince people that you want (and can) talk about sport and just have a job to do, even today. The flip side, of course, is that I don’t tend to get told to ‘F**k off’ when I ask someone for five minutes of their time as some of my male colleagues have been over the years...

The player in question did ask where my interest had come from when we finished up. “I was more of a football fan growing up really, but my Mam thinks you’re great.” Cue two sets of laughter...

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/bx9wJkq2MFk/post.aspx

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