IT’S doubtful that Strebre Delovski will buy a lottery ticket today, after a week in which he seems to have become a catalyst for all the issues surrounding referees in the A-League.

Delovski’s error in awarding Sydney FC a penalty last week against Melbourne Victory didn’t just bring a wave of social media bile upon his head, but was also replayed again and again thanks to Seb Ryall’s trial – and acquittal – for diving.

But really this latest controversy just confirms to so many of the game’s stakeholders – from refs, to the A-League bosses, to some of the officials’ most trenchant critics – that the current situation is untenable, and unfair, for all sides.

For while the professional environment and support for referees has become far more sophisticated in recent seasons, they have hit a glass ceiling that stems from their part-time nature. The demands of holding down effectively one and three-quarter jobs is helping no one, least of all the refs.

That’s why at least two referees are believed to have suffered serious relationship pressure in the past year; and why two have lost their full-time jobs.

It’s why referees sometimes travel from one side of the country to another on the day of the game, officiate four hours after landing, then wait for a few hours more at a hotel for a return flight home. Those who make it to the international arena can throw in five days away including travel for a ACL game.

None of which is meant to illicit sympathy for a group of officials who get paid to do a job they love, and for whom accountability – and criticism – should be a given. But it’s the context in which any discussion about improving the refs has to be heard.

“We are constrained by the time we can spend with our guys,” says Ben Wilson, FFA’s director of refereeing. “We have a one-hour teleconference once a week, and they train in groups twice a week. We can’t really ask more from them when they have full-time jobs, families etc.”

Wilson is defensive of his charges, given the loads they have to carry as part-timers. Others are less circumspect about why refs get it in the neck. “The problem runs from junior associations through to the A-League,” says former FIFA referee Matthew Breeze.

“Basically referees are thought about after male and female players, juniors, over-35s, the committees and so on. Refs are the last to be considered. As recently as last year, some A-League refs in Sydney were paying to use a training facility.”

Breeze’s former colleague, Mark Shield, was the FFA’s first director of referees, after quitting elite officiating at just 34 because of the pressure on his young family. “In 2005-06 there was no support at all, now there is formal training, teleconferences, full reviews of performances – but still you can’t get away from the fact that it’s essentially an amateur environment.

“Working full-time, then training, flying, and being expected to get 100% of decisions right? It’s just not achievable.”

media_camera Referee Strebre Delovski gets between the players during last Saturday’s controversial Big Blue.

So the question is how the game addresses this burning issue. One concept has been well-aired, another less so, but both are surely meritorious.

“There’s been a significant outcry for professional refereeing, and that’s something we’re looking at very seriously – it’s something that’s inevitable, the question is the timing,” says Damien DeBohun, the head of the A-League. “But it won’t be too distant in the future.

“That won’t mean that every decision is right. But giving them every chance to focus purely on running matches is an important part of it.

media_camera Communication with players is one of the biggest issues facing A-League referees.

“A lot of our best refs do referee in Asia a lot – that improves their performance. What we ask them to do in the A-League and FFA Cup is challenging, but the real load comes from the international commitments.”

DeBohun calling professionalism “inevitable” is music to the ears of Ben Wilson, not least because it opens up the other concept – encouraging professional players to consider switching to reffing via a fast-track scheme.

“It’s definitely worth considering – professional players can make elite referees, I have no doubt, though it’s by no means automatic. But in the current part-time environment, given their professionalism, it’s almost laughable to some of the players I’ve spoken to.

media_camera FFA says it’s a matter of when, not if, refs become professional.

“Others, though, if it was professional, say they would find it very attractive.”

Some refs find offensive the idea that the skills they learn over 15 years can be picked up by elite players in less than a third that time, but DeBohun confirms it’s very much on the agenda as having two potential benefits – widening the pool, and improving the communication on the pitch.

“Getting decisions right is the most important skill of all, but we are working on the communication and game management – it’s just that some personalities are more suited to that,” says Ben Wilson.

That is some understatement, as players and coaches say that certain officials’ off-hand attitude is what drives them up the wall. Anything that can help to counter that will be welcome – because the current environment is just not sustainable, on either side of the whistle.