By far the most contentious issues of the College Cup 2013 have centred around officiating, be it the failure of teams to provide referees, controversial decisions such as Derwent 1sts ‘phantom goal’ against Vanbrugh 1sts, when a goal was awarded despite the ball clearly not crossing the line, or lacklustre refereeing displays by unenthusiastic officials. None of these faults can be attributed to Halifax’s Joe Lawton, arguably the leading referee at the University, who took the chance to speak to Vision about the issues revolving around refereeing in the College Cup.
Four teams have been deducted points this year for failing to provide referees, and for Derwent 3rds the deduction prevented them from progressing to the Cup quarter-finals. On the matter, Joe said: “I think the system of points deductions works. I don’t see any other way of enforcing the rules, and it should be a big enough deterrent. People have been discussing it, but no-one seems to have come up with a viable alternative.
“I’ve seen the lists of referees and its all there, so teams don’t really have an excuse. I don’t think captains mean not to supply a referee, it’s just a mistake. The number of refs turning up is ok, it’s whether they’re enthusiastic to do it. Often it’s just a captain who is only there so their team doesn’t get deducted points.”
Indeed there have been numerous complaints about the standard of refereeing this year, with many officials appearing uninterested and adopting a lacklustre approach to the role. Joe added: “There’s often not a lot going on in terms of decision making. In reality though, the standard’s never going to be great when you’ve got largely non-qualified referees.”
Another problematic area has been the offside ruling, as the absence of linesmen adds to the challenging task for referees. “It’s almost impossible,” said the second year Halifax student. “If you have a linesman, you can concentrate on the ball and don’t have to worry about someone straying offside 50 yards behind you. If you haven’t then you have to think in a different way, and ask is he going to pass it there, and change your positioning.”
The experience that Joe has garnered over the past years has allowed him to deal with such situations, but for inexperienced referees this added dimension can prove challenging. “If you sound and look like you know what you’re doing, you’re confident and appear 100% sure on decisions, then you’re going to get a lot more leeway,” advised Joe. “If all the players want a goalkick or a corner then give it, don’t make controversy out of nowhere. Give the decision that is easiest to sell.”
Referees can often be easy targets for abuse, and Joe told me: “If a player makes a mistake then it’s quite funny, but if a referee makes an error it can cost a goal, and people aren’t so forgiving. I’m going to get some decisions wrong, but I just smile, get on with it and show that it’s not bothering me. Most people realise that we’re doing our best and can only give what we see, so I can cope with a bit of moaning.”
The College Cup tends to be a more relaxed engagement for Joe in terms of his officiating duties, and he remarked that in comparison to other assignments, “It’s a bit more light-hearted and fun, and in general is not as serious. You don’t get much dissent, or at least I haven’t had much from players, and the fans enjoy it and it’s a big end of year event for everyone.”
When I asked Joe how he believes that the standards of officiating could be improved, he responded: “Get paid. That could raise standards, because if you get paid, then you’re going to want to keep doing it. But you’re only going to get another game if you do well, and therefore there’s an incentive for referees to be more enthusiastic and take a bit of pride. The problem is it’s rather difficult to pay 60 games at ten pounds a go.”
Sadly that seems unlikely to happen, so we’re going to have to put up with controversy, drama and plenty of moaning from bewildered players and fans. Thankfully though, in the form of Joe Lawton, we have one referee who knows what he is doing.