Foul play in Nottinghamshire amateur football leagues has referees ‘fearing for safety’

Referees are being bullied out of their roles in local amateur leagues by aggressive players and club officials who leave them in fear for their safety, it is claimed.

Now frustrated officials are calling for action to be taken against those responsible, including increased fines and sanctions against players and clubs. Referees are also being urged to report all incidents so the true extent of the problem can be established.

“Something has to be done,” said Darrell Parkes, the referee’s appointment officer for the Nottinghamshire Senior League and Nottinghamshire Football Association County Cups.

“Referees are getting battered verbally and physically, week in and week out, and a lot of them are sick of it.

“We are just ordinary people trying to keep the beautiful game as the beautiful game but the game is currently broken.

“I am not expecting referees to get the red carpet treatment but I am expecting them to be treated like human beings.

“The main instigators are the behaviours of the management teams. If they were behaving like that in a workplace they would be fired."

Colin Marshall, secretary and treasurer of Derby and South Derbyshire Referees' Association said: "It sickens me that we lose the majority of newly-qualified referees within the first two years of them starting up, because they think why bother?

"Responsible club officials and spectators need to treat this as a cancer. If not stopped it will continue to serve up more games being played without a referee."

Mr Parkes travelled to Kirton Brickworks on Saturday, where the opposition team left the pitch after around 70 minutes over a disputed decision, because he was concerned for the referee, who it was claimed had been subject to abuse as they walked off.

FC Cavaliers have not responded to a request for comment from the Advertiser but manager Horace Francis wrote on Twitter that they were unhappy with the inequalities of decisions, and that the referee was spoken to politely by management.

Mr Parkes, who had previously commended both sides for their good behaviour, said: “The original referee had pulled out so we had to scramble to find a replacement very quickly and subsequently the referee that stepped up to do the job faced such alleged hostility."

In another local match a referee was berated and screamed at by a grown man after being followed back to the changing room.

"The referees are there to apply the laws of the game and have gone through extensive training. Sure, referees can make mistakes, like anyone, they are only human but the vast majority of registered and accredited referees do the job well," said Mr Parkes.

“We don’t tell managers how to manage so why should managers tell referees how to referee?

“We have some fantastic clubs in the league and other clubs should aspire to be more like them.

“Clubs need to look in the mirror when they discover that they cannot get a referee for their games and ask themselves why?

In response to the concerns, the Nottinghamshire FA has appointed Darrell Parkes as the out-of-hours refereeing point of contact with immediate effect to give referees greater support.

Liam Brown, referee development officer for the Nottinghamshire FA, said they were also looking at other options to improve the conditions for referees locally.