SCOTTISH football referees can face severe intimidation from the sidelines on a routine basis – even in the youth ranks.
It’s not acceptable – and former Class 1 referee Steve Conroy has opened up on an occasion when he came through the ranks when he faced a severe threat just for doing his job
Kenny Ramsay – The Sun GlasgowSteve Conroy with then Celtic boss Gordon Strachan and Killie counterpart Jim Jefferies[/caption]
Conroy, who was a Class 5 ref at the time, told Grosvenor Sport: “I was promised a slashing when a Class 5 ref, by someone on the coaching side.
“Just because I told the team that they hadn’t done a substitution properly.
“Over at the side of the pitch, I was told: ‘That’s it, ref, you’re getting a slashing after this’.
“Would you believe, at a youth game. The worst thing of all is that I actually believed it.
“I know it sounds blasé but I just had to get on with it.
“I could put it to the back of my mind quickly enough but that was because I’d an escape route planned in my mind if anything were to happen.
“It was very obvious to me that the away side were on edge as well.
“So I knew fine if anything happened, I’d be going to that side of things.
“After the game, it was straight into the changing room and off. I remember that day being awful from beginning to end.”
“I was thinking: This isn’t worth it.
“Depending where the game is, you could be away all day away from home.
“I did games with pitches stuck in the middle of the high flats where the changing room and, I’m sure it’s an exaggeration, feels like a mile away.
“I’m planning my route of getting out if something happens.
“I remember one time a crowd coming round with their cargo, surrounding the pitch.
“They were absolutely steaming, flinging bottles about, smashing glass on the side of the pitch.
“That’s bad enough but not anywhere near some of the things that are quoted.
“Thankfully, I was a late starter, getting into it a bit older than others.
“So I came through it quickly enough, was pushed a bit and, once I got to the higher levels of the game, I never had a moment’s fear.
“If I’d been a year delayed, if I was younger then I couldn’t have put up with more of those incidents.
“A lot of guys must think: Bugger this.”
Parents also have a responsibility to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner on the sidelines – and Conroy’s ref colleague Des Roache pulled up former Celtic hero Chris Sutton after he admitted he himself had walked onto the pitch to confront a referee after his son was injured on the pitch.
Roache said: “I can’t believe that adults can act in that manner and think it’s acceptable.
“I’d like to think when that adult is driving home they have a word with themselves and think: ‘What have I just done?’
“Chris Sutton himself admitted he just walked on to approach a referee because one of his sons was injured on a pitch. It’s not acceptable.
“The ref is there to do a job. Just like the player, they want to do the best they can.
“They don’t go out there looking to make an error. And they make less errors than the players over the course of a game.
“Being subjected to threats of violence is absolutely horrendous. The levels of abuse are shocking. It must be an awful feeling.
“It’s ridiculous and it’s got to be stamped out. More has to be done from above, with sanctions on clubs and supporters, to protect the referees.”
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