Football history
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16o FOOTBALL
through the drudgery of watching games, but wish to step in
and act straight off; they know the rules, they probably argue,
and therefore can manage all right; they are, however, dismal
failures.
Again, a referee must be a man of quick determination.
There is nothing so annoying as the man who hesitates and
does not give sharp decisions; his decisions should be given
at once, and must not be altered.
He must also remember to run about ; this is a point that
is often overlooked, many referees apparently being of opinion
that they can do their work perfectly well by strolling about
the ground and giving decisions on matters that take place per-
haps fifty yards away from them. This is, of course, absurd;
a referee should run about nearly as much as a player. For
instance, with regard to the question of off-side, where half a
foot makes often all the difference : he cannot possibly expect
to give a certain decision unless he is more or less on a line
with the forwards. There are, besides this, numberless points
which cannot be satisfactorily settled except by close attention
on the part of the referee.
To sum up, he must be absolutely free from fear ; a timid
referee is a terrible thing, and on all occasions must spoil the
game. Take a few instances. When a referee gives a free
kick for hands near goal he must insist on the offending side
keeping six yards from the ball ; players often refuse to do this,
and get their way in the face of half-hearted opposition. The
referee, then, should insist on his point ; if not obeyed, he
should stop the game.
Again, it is no pleasant task to caution the favourite of
some town or other before a large concourse of his admirers ;
if, however, he resorts to foul tricks he must be spoken to or
he will only proceed to worse. Fear, then, must never be
shown, either of the crowd or of the players ; a referee must
not allow such considerations to bias his opinions for a moment.
It may perhaps seem superfluous to mention this point, but
the timid referee is not so uncommon as men think. We can
through the drudgery of watching games, but wish to step in
and act straight off; they know the rules, they probably argue,
and therefore can manage all right; they are, however, dismal
failures.
Again, a referee must be a man of quick determination.
There is nothing so annoying as the man who hesitates and
does not give sharp decisions; his decisions should be given
at once, and must not be altered.
He must also remember to run about ; this is a point that
is often overlooked, many referees apparently being of opinion
that they can do their work perfectly well by strolling about
the ground and giving decisions on matters that take place per-
haps fifty yards away from them. This is, of course, absurd;
a referee should run about nearly as much as a player. For
instance, with regard to the question of off-side, where half a
foot makes often all the difference : he cannot possibly expect
to give a certain decision unless he is more or less on a line
with the forwards. There are, besides this, numberless points
which cannot be satisfactorily settled except by close attention
on the part of the referee.
To sum up, he must be absolutely free from fear ; a timid
referee is a terrible thing, and on all occasions must spoil the
game. Take a few instances. When a referee gives a free
kick for hands near goal he must insist on the offending side
keeping six yards from the ball ; players often refuse to do this,
and get their way in the face of half-hearted opposition. The
referee, then, should insist on his point ; if not obeyed, he
should stop the game.
Again, it is no pleasant task to caution the favourite of
some town or other before a large concourse of his admirers ;
if, however, he resorts to foul tricks he must be spoken to or
he will only proceed to worse. Fear, then, must never be
shown, either of the crowd or of the players ; a referee must
not allow such considerations to bias his opinions for a moment.
It may perhaps seem superfluous to mention this point, but
the timid referee is not so uncommon as men think. We can
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| Sports publications > Football history > (200) |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/231628607 |
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| Description | The association game by W.J. Oakley and G.O. Smith. The rugby union game by F. Mitchell ... |
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| Shelfmark | NG.1661.d.2 |
| Attribution and copyright: |
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More information
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| Description | More than 230 sports publications from the National Library of Scotland's collections. Featured sports include football, rugby, golf, shinty, athletics, bowls, cricket and hockey. Among the material from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are match programmes, club histories, and handbooks. From the late 20th century are promotional materials to encourage greater diversity in sport. Most items cover sports activities in Scotland. There are also publications relating to the Olympics and international matches. |
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