The secret world of football's dark arts...



Jose Mourinho is the master of the mind games, even if they did not work for him against Barcelona. But he is not alone. I can give you an insight into the ways some players — and clubs — behave towards elite referees in and around big games. Some of these examples are just big clubs behaving with style; offering free gifts, comfort and hospitality. Others may be considered more sinister, especially on the field. I’ll let you decide for yourself which of these are football’s ‘dark arts'.

Shake, rattled and droll: Jose Mourinho applauds sarcastically after he is sent to the stands by Wolfgang Stark on Wednesday as the fourth official shows him the way

OFF THE FIELD

1. Leave nothing to chance

Jose Mourinho, after joining Chelsea, invited me to the training ground to speak to his team. He introduced me as ‘the No 1 referee, not just in England but in Europe’ (I had refereed his Porto team twice and they had won both home games). The next weekend I refereed his first league match, at home to Manchester United.

Chelsea won 1-0 and he asked me if there was anything I needed. I said, tongue in cheek, that the referees’ dressing room was not up to much. When I returned in the October it had been fully refurbished, flat-screen TV, freshly tiled new showers and complimentary expensive toiletries.

2. Do clubs influence refereeing appointments?

My favourite venue to referee at was the Nou Camp, Barcelona. However, I only got to referee there once, in a Champions League quarter-final second leg which they lost to Juventus. No controversy, they just lost and over the next five seasons I was not invited to go back. Strange, that.

3. Know the ref’s family

At one major European club they provide replica shirts in the correct sizes for all of the match officials’ children — just a friendly, hospitable gesture, of course.



Mixed feelings: Graham Poll shakes then Chelsea manager Mourinho’s hand (left) and tries to quieten him down



4. Watch out for Real...

Real Madrid always present their referee with a beautiful watch after every game — a memento with a discreet Real Madrid crest on it, so you remember where it came from. The Spanish federation do the same after an international game, where a lady waits for the officials to change before making the presentation.

5. No visa required

On a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, we were greeted off the plane and escorted directly to our hotels. No security check required. After the game, which Finland won 1-0, we were dumped at the entrance to the airport and had to pay airport officials cash to allow us out of the country as we had not got the entry documents we required.

6. Don’t mess with the biggest teams — the Chairman says so

One referee was officiating in Turin and sent two Juventus players off. Not just any players but Edgar Davids and Zinedine Zidane! As he went up the tunnel the club president approached him and told him that not only would he never referee his club again but that he would never referee in Italy again.

7. What’s in the bag?

After refereeing Paraguay v Colombia in Asuncion the away team representative gave us a gift of some powder. One assistant was so worried about it that he declared it to customs. After a full search, he was told: ‘Enjoy your coffee, sir.’

8. Riot alert

Wolfgang Stark left the field under riot shields on Wednesday night; I have had the same in Spain and Turkey, where it’s also customary to be protected when entering the field. As if to say, ‘You’ve been warned’.

Police escort: Stark (left) is sheltered as he departs the Bernabeu pitch

9. Dinner is served

The officials were once promised a lavish post-match feast, until the home team lost and we were taken to a grubby taverna, instead.

10. Take the museum tour

The most successful club in European club history (Real Madrid) always invite you to take the museum tour. A nice gesture which leaves you in no doubt as to how big and powerful they are.



11. How much do you want?

Most clubs give you a replica shirt and pin badge, which a lot of referees collect. Borussia Dortmund used to send you around their club store with a shopping trolley to fill.

12. Staff discount

English clubs were well known for being straight or mean-spirited. The only example of a referee being ‘treated’ was a Liverpool official who would advise on a ‘staff discount’ in the club shop.



ONFIELD ANTICS

1. Machine gunning or team fouling

Many teams plan strategic fouling where players take it in turns to foul and then highlight it is their ‘first offence’. Often they foul the most skilful opponent to take him out of the game. You’ve seen this when Cristiano Ronaldo was playing for Manchester United and now Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

2. Mass dissent — to protect

After a referee has given a foul, rather than just one player complaining to the referee who can then easily caution him, teams will deploy a group of players to pressurise the hapless official, safe in the knowledge he will not issue four or five yellows at one time. The player who commits the initial foul will then sneak off to save him getting a yellow card. The best example was when Roy Keane and friends hounded Andy D’Urso when he gave a penalty at Old Trafford. Jaap Stam escaped a card in the mayhem.

Mob rule: Manchester United - led by Roy Keane - complain to Andy D'Urso after awarding Middlesbrough a penalty following Jaap Stam's foul on Juninho

3. Mass dissent — to gain

Players will crowd a referee and exaggerate how incensed they are at an opponent’s foul to encourage the referee to dismiss him. Barcelona were guilty and successful when Pepe fouled Daniel Alves on Wednesday.



4. Mass dissent — to intimidate

This is far darker and more subtle as teams will go over the top in their protest when a minor free-kick has been awarded against them. First, it undermines a referee’s confidence that he is getting things right and, second, it says to him: ‘This is what you get when you give an insignificant free-kick against us... can you imagine what you’ll get if you give a penalty?’



5. Tunnel comments

UEFA has worked hard to try and eradicate this with deployment of their delegates in the tunnel area but the Premier League has not. All too often a manager will make a strong but often polite point to you to plant a seed of doubt — and it works. Claiming the opposing centre forward is backing in to their players all the time when you have given free-kicks for pushes results in a free-kick early in the second half for backing in. Simple but effective.



6. Crowd intimidation