Gary Neville And Referees

[Groucho]

Have a butchers at this article;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...es--players-referees-break--GARY-NEVILLE.html

We had the mentality that influencing the referees was part of the game.

Am I being harsh, or does this amount to admitting to being a bit of a cheat? Or is it simply gamesmanship? Where would you draw the line on what is and isn't acceptable?

 

[roydo]

Part of the game. I did it when I played, but in a complimentary way, like saying "good call that ref", etc.

Once we were reffed by a deaf referee. I used my basic sign language training with him that day. Worked a treat!

 

[ijjysmith]

The games the game I'm afraid.

And despite some of that not being very sportsmanlike it's just the way it is.

 

[bluejock]

It's cheating in my eyes but for too long we've tried to be paragons of football morality for too long to our own cost.

 

[Azzurri]

Meh, cheating or no cheating if the other team are doing it and you're not they'll get the decisions.

IMO if you don't do it you're not competitive enough to be playing football or you're an idiot.

 

[toffeejack]

don't see it as cheating, referees should not be employed to do such a high profile job if they get swayed by such things, they should be mentally strong. The fact you regularly see pens get given at the bigger sides over lesser sides who don't orcastrate with the ref as much proves that fact.

we've seen it over many years with gerrard, the people are too weak to do their job, i like he's being honest about it, kind of shows them up, no matter how bad it is.

 

[tonyhorne]

Gordon Strachan always said that referees understand the rules but know nothing about the game. Most of them are too in love with themselves to realise what is happening anyway and the authorities do nothing about it. There is no reason why refereeing in football cannot be as objective and accurate as in, say, rugby league. I can only assume that too many people at the "top" continue to benefit from the way things are for anything to change.

 

[BlueLlama]

There should be legislation about it. The captain can approach the ref to ask for an explanation - anyone else getting in teh refs face gets a yellow. End of problem. Rugby has somethign similar

 

[Azzurri]

There should be legislation about it. The captain can approach the ref to ask for an explanation - anyone else getting in teh refs face gets a yellow. End of problem. Rugby has somethign similar

I agree with this.

It'd be nice if everyone swerved it off, but while other people are doing it you might as well play the game.

 

[toffeejack]

I agree with this.

It'd be nice if everyone swerved it off, but while other people are doing it you might as well play the game.

exactly. but the refs have the power, why do they put up with it. If i knew i made the correct decision and i people like steven gerrard hurling abuse at me, i'd send him off for dissent.

If 5 of them ran up to me shouting orders, i'd tell them to shut up or they'll get booked. One word and bam, get the yellow card out. It's as simple as that, they have the power to do that FFS, why don't they grow the bollocks to do it.

i agree with what strachan says, it's clearly evident that they know the rules but don't understand the game. You see players get yellows for when someone runs at the and they can't move out of the way - they can't become invisible ffs, but it looks like a cynical foul.

good article overall, obviously he was wrong, at least he was big enought to admit it so soon, some of the comments are poor though, being lambasted for it. Most are probably liverpool fans who have supported plenty of players not big enough to come out and admit it. I don't see carragher admit it, he was clearly in the same boat as neville, same when gerrard ultimately becomes a pundit.

i think following the rules of rugby union is a great way to go about it.

 

[bluelife]

One of the less serious things (although those bells that wave imaginary cards at the ref/constantly get right in their face should probably be punished with yellows a little easier)
I stopped playing at under 13s and it still happened all the time. Just a natural reaction.

 

[rascal]

Didn't they try the whole only captains being allowed to approach the referee thing a couple of years back?

 

[Seamus Colemole]

What we should focus on is that the current group of referees in the Premier League, led by Mike Riley, are the best we have had given the scrutiny of more cameras than ever before.

Statistics from last season show they made 171,000 decisions and 94.1 per cent of the major calls were correct. If a player or a team could achieve that success rate, they would be the greatest in history.

Every weekend there will be mistakes — Saturday was no exception with Kevin Friend’s dismissal of Sunderland’s Wes Brown.

But highlighting one isolated incident encourages the myth that standards are declining because I think refereeing standards and players’ behaviour have improved enormously in recent years.

When you’re up on that gantry watching live, you have about 10 seconds to reach a conclusion. And the amount of times my initial reaction at full speed has been wrong has been incredible.
You could argue I am further away from the action than the referee but you quickly have to learn the tricks of the co-commentator, buying time and hoping another replay will shed further light by saying: ‘Oh, I will have to have another look at that’ or ‘Does he catch him there?’ And even after a third viewing you can end up saying: ‘You can see why that’s a difficult one for the referee.

Spot on. And i'd take stats and someone like Nevilles opinion over some idiot who whinges that refs are all **** without realising what a difficult job they have to do.

 

[Elong]

There's ways of doing it you can never control, the refs and umpires of this world are human.

I remember a cricket game a couple of years back, my fellow batsman knicked the ball behind and was given not out. In between overs we were chatting in the middle of the pitch and he admitted to me he hit it but wasn't going to walk as that's the umpire's job (fair enough too like). Unfortunately for him, the umpire overheard this conversation, and gave him run out the next over taking a single

Some are easily swayed, and others have their own egos to live with.

 

[bignev23]

Its part of the game, players always claim for corners, throw in's free kicks ect if they feel they have even the slightest chance of getting the decision, and so do fans.