“IT’S been a week like that where (refereeing) decisions have been all over the shop”. SIMON HILL asks what is it going to take to stop the hysteria.

IT was the words of Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper, Paul Izzo, which proved to be the most instructive of the weekend.

Interviewed on Fox Sports, Izzo searched for a reason to explain why his team hadn’t managed to hang onto its one-goal lead in the F3 derby, and instinctively, he played the game of follow-my-leader by saying “It’s been a week like that where (refereeing) decisions have been all over the shop”.

That quote isn’t intended to throw Izzo under a bus specifically - his view is merely a symptom of a greater malaise currently at play in the A-League. But it’s worth repeating, because Izzo had literally just walked off the field, and couldn’t possibly have seen a replay of Liam Rose’s offence which ended with him (rightly) being sent from the field by Jonathan Barreiro for a second booking.

Lost a point or two? Blame the ref! That’s what everyone does!

‘Why A-League refs are actually best ever’

Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque talks to the referee. Source: Getty Images

Round Seven saw yet more displays of petulance against referees - including a fan being charged for throwing an object at Chris Beath following the Western Sydney Wanderers-Melbourne City encounter, and Gui Amor being sent to the stands for pushing the fourth official in Perth.

All this comes after a period during which Kevin Muscat, Tony Popovic and Kenny Lowe were reprimanded for comments made about refereeing decisions.

Where will it end? How long before someone actually throws a punch at a match official?

Do we really believe slamming refs every week is going to make them better at their job?

Ange Postecoglou went public recently, demanding a more high-brow debate around the game - how about we start by insisting on a little more respect towards officialdom, and perhaps, as John Kosmina has suggested, getting everyone around the table to find a way forward?

No one doubts refs make mistakes. Sometimes their decisions are confusing, or just plain wrong, but as I’ve pointed out before in these columns, they are human, and no referee goes into a game with the explicit intent of making errors. Nor are they partial to one team or another - which is why Popovic got into hot water, regarding the Wanderers having only won “one out of 11 with Jarred Gillett as ref - maybe it’s a coincidence.”

Many seem to truly believe that refs here are several levels below those in other countries. Problem is, the Asian Football Confederation disagrees - if they didn’t, then why would they regularly choose Aussie refs to take charge of some of their biggest games?

How do they stack up against European refs? Well, that’s a matter of opinion, but a quick check of the weekend’s Premier League match reports suggests fans are no happier with their officials there than here, with Andre Marriner the latest to run the gauntlet of hate for his non-award of a penalty in the Man United-Arsenal game. I covered the Premier League for a decade in England, and this weekly witch hunt never stopped. It’s pathetic.

It’s high time FFA implemented a “respect” campaign, to remind clubs, (who continue to ramp up the rhetoric by accusing refs of being incompetent, or bent, or both), of their responsibilities. There’s nothing wrong with a coach disagreeing with a decision of course, but too many cross the line into accusations of “bias” (that word again) - setting a bad example for fans, who need little encouragement to let their conspiracy theories run riot.

Michael Theo of the Roar given a yellow card by referee Alan Milliner. Source: Getty Images

Coaches must stop accusing refs of “costing them points” - it’s rarely true anyway. Kevin Muscat complained about Chris Beath’s failure to spot David Carney’s handball in the Big Blue, but what about Marco Rojas’s open goal miss? Or Besart Berisha’s skied penalty? Both were at least equally culpable for Victory’s loss.

Gui Amor meantime, reasoned that his actions in grabbing fourth official Adam Fielding could be excused by his struggles with speaking English. Sorry Gui, but I’m sure touching officials is against the rules in Spain too.

The major incidents of the weekend weren’t as clear cut as people would have you believe. Sure, Rostyn Griffiths challenge on Eugene Galekovic would be called a foul 9 times out of 10, but you can see why Jarred Gillett allowed it to stand - even if another ref probably wouldn’t. That may be maddening for the Reds, but their poor start to the season has, at its root, the loss of half a dozen key players from last years Grand Final - not a refereeing decision.

As we later learned in the Brisbane-Sydney game, Alan Milliner didn’t actually show Rhyan Grant a yellow card for his first challenge on Thomas Broich - and replays proved that to be the correct decision. He may well have confused the issue by taking his card out of his pocket, but he’s within his rights to do that too.

The only decision that was plainly incorrect was the offside decision against Kerem Bulut.

That’s one blatantly wrong call that potentially affected a result, out of four games. One too many, but still - and I don’t remember Wanderers complaining when Jack Clisby and Brendon Santalab escaped full censure for horrendous tackles in Adelaide. Do you?

Two wrongs don’t make a right however, and it’s impossible to stop supporters criticising refs - as a football fan myself, I know the passion involved when you’re in the stands, and the one-eyed partisanship tends to take over when viewing decisions that affect your team.

Those within the game however, could do with being a little more circumspect. When club chairmen start getting in on the act and demanding referees be barred from officiating “their” games, you know we’re close to having the ‘lunatics running the asylum’.

FFA has tried to alleviate concerns over refereeing standards by introducing full-time refs. Later this season, we’ll have video replays to help the officials try to get things right more often.

But do you honestly think that’ll stop the abuse? Fat chance. This is a cultural issue within our game, and it needs to be tackled. Urgently. Before someone sustains more damage to his person than just hurt feelings.

Cue fifty responses berating referees - thus entirely missing the point.