FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has revealed it is more difficult than ever before to be a football match official due to abuse on the touchline and online – inflamed by conspiracy theories.
With issues from the grassroots to the professional game, Mr Collina is concerned the hatred aimed at referees is the “cancer that could kill football”.
The Italian, who presided over the 2002 World Cup final, is regarded as one of the best referees of all time.
“It was never easy,” he told Sky News. “So I can say that it is worse now than before.”
Mr Collina is now chairman of the referees’ committee at world football’s governing body, helping to formulate changes to the laws of the game.
“The responsibility of making a decision is something important,” he said. “The interest is very big, particularly at the top level. So it’s difficult.”
And what makes it more difficult are clubs and managers casting doubt over the integrity of referees – insinuating bias.
Jose Mourinho, who is now managing at Fenerbahce, received a two-match ban in recent days after “derogatory and offensive statements” about refereeing in Turkey.
Asked generally about those at the top of football setting a bad example, Mr Collina replied: “Unfortunately, this happens, always. There are people looking for conspiracies and finding something dirty even when there is not.”
Online campaigns that can be waged against referees by fans, even clubs at times, make the atmosphere even more volatile and potentially dangerous.
“This probably becomes worse compared to my time when social networks were not existing,” Mr Collina said.
He added: “Different is the matter of the abuse towards referees, particularly in grassroots and youth football. This is something that we need to consider.”
Without referees committing time to youth football, there would be no matches that help to shape the next generation. But there is still abuse hurled at officials on touchlines.
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Major changes to football laws were also announced at the meeting
“I spoke of a cancer that could kill football,” Mr Collina said. “I’m still convinced that it’s not understandable that in youth matches, parents of the boys and girls who are playing football are those who are abusing the referee who is helping.
“They are making the experiences that could be important for the future. Not [only] as a footballer, because probably that 0.0001% will become a professional footballer, but they all become women and men. And that experience they learned as a young footballer may help them in their life.”
The English and Welsh FAs do report an increase in recruitment in referees – with retention now the challenge.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said it is not such a “dark picture” for referees, pointing to improved behaviour in English grassroots games since officials were allowed to wear body cameras.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham at the IFAB meeting.
Pic: PA
Those trials were extended by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which also approved the global use by competitions of a rule only allowing captains to approach referees to discuss decisions after being implemented already in the Premier League.
“We certainly have a responsibility towards the game to make sure that the referees are respected and safe,” FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said after this weekend’s meeting of football lawmakers IFAB near Belfast.
He added: “So all the initiatives that we are currently looking at, we want to support them for the educational part as well. And it needs to trickle down from the professional game to the grassroots game.”
In the professional game, even the introduction of technology has at times inflamed disputes over decision-making as calls are forensically analysed.
But Mr Collina is certain VAR is here to stay despite some grumbling among fans.
“I’m fully convinced that bringing technology into football has been an improvement,” he said. “I don’t think that anyone likes to lose a game or not qualify for an important competition due to an honest mistake committed by the referee, vanishing all the efforts made during a season for a footballer or for the coach.
“So I’m still 100% convinced that the implementation of the technology in football was something very, very positive.
“Can it be improved? Yes. We are working on it. We know there is some room for improvement. And we are very keen to improve it.
“We have already developed technologies that reduce the time needed to make a decision for an on field review as well as for an offside decision.
“We are on this way and we think that we will get better and better in the future.”
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But will the future see artificial intelligence eventually replace referees?
“Technology is a great tool to help us to prepare and also to avoid mistakes being committed,” Mr Collina said. “So we need to use technology but not only in football, in every activity in life.
“I always say that I hope that it will be a human being able to make the final call.”
