Excessive appealing and verbal abuse of officials is hurting the standard of football in the Digicel Pro League, says female referee Shane De Silva.
De Silva, one of the more highly-rated local referees, feels that players get distracted by what they see as mistakes by officials, causing a breakdown in play. That, she says, has contributed to the decline in the level of play.
The experienced referee, the only local representative to officiate in the 2010 Women’s Under-17 World Cup held in Trinidad and Tobago in September, admitted that officials are “human and subject to (sometimes) making mistakes”.
But she feels reactions from players and team officials are being overdone.
De Silva said not all teams are guilty of such behaviour and singled out San Juan Jabloteh head coach Terry Fenwick. She stated that Fenwick is quite quick to blame the referee’s decision every time his team loses, but he is not heard when they win.
She recalled a recent Pro League encounter between Jabloteh and Joe Public, which she hailed as “one of the most enjoyable games that I’ve ever done”.
“I had to put off (midfielder) Marvin Oliver from Jabloteh because he used some expletives (towards) me. Within a few minutes after, I had to caution one of (Fenwick’s) players again for a reckless challenge. It was a series of incidents that occurred and I guess with all of that, it was really looking like I was against Jabloteh.
“But if Jabloteh was challenging recklessly, I have to deal with it. I cannot allow it to pass. (If) Joe Public do it, I (would) do it again. It’s not as though I was supporting Joe Public. I don’t think any official would pack their bags and leave their home to thief for any team in Trinidad.”
Since her time on the FIFA international referee’s panel, De Silva, T&T’s most prominent female match official, says she has seen the level of women’s football rise to its peak, while the standard of men’s play has fallen.
“If I bring (the) Germany (women’s team) here to play a T&T Pro League team, I’m sure they are going to beat that Pro League team,” De Silva said.
“When I officiate with these (international) teams, and then I come to the Pro League, these guys behave like women. It’s always ‘ref, ref, ref, ref, ref!’ …I don’t get this type of reaction from women’s football. It’s skillful and enjoyable and you’re refereeing and you feel like you can just go, go, go, go, go.”
De Silva, who has a reputation for strict on-field discipline, said when teams can accept the decisions made by officials instead of consistently interrupting the match unnecessarily, it makes for a better game.
She hopes Pro League officials will look at clamping down on teams that behave this way.
“I admire North East Stars, the last game they played; I thought ‘this is how football's supposed to (be) played’. North East Stars and Defence Force played (at the Larry Gomes Stadium) last week Tuesday. Both teams played a professional game.
“If I said three, four players argued with the referee, you can say I’m lying. That is how football’s supposed to be.”