HAVING discussed and resolved all problems relating to education, the House Education Committee decided to focus its attention on the allegedly, biased refereeing in football matches. We should perhaps not use the word ‘allegedly’ because all deputies who spoke were convinced that certain referees took bribes to fix matches.
“There is no need for these corrupt referees to continue to exercise this profession and poison football,” said Akel deputy, Andreas Mouskallis. Committee chairman, Nicos Tornaritis, took a step towards justifying hooliganism by claiming it was provoked by bad refereeing. “One of the main reasons for violence and hooliganism in football grounds is the behaviour of referees,” he declared. Needless to say, representatives of the big clubs, who attended the meeting, also agreed that crooked refs were to blame.
It is standard practice to blame all the ills of Cyprus football on the hapless referees, who our society expects to be infallible at all times. And when they make a mistake, it is conclusive proof that they are corrupt crooks who took money to poison football. For what other profession do we demand infallibility? Deputies often approve laws that are full of weaknesses and loop-holes, but does anyone ever accuse them of being corrupt and of poisoning politics because of their mistakes and oversights?
If deputies can make mistakes while performing their duties why can’t referees, who are also human beings and therefore fallible? Referees also have mitigating circumstances, as they often have to work in extremely difficult conditions, having to contend with hostile and abusive fans, as well as cheating players constantly trying to fool them. Of course they will make mistakes and bad decisions, but there is no football league in the world in which this does not happen. Refereeing errors are part of the game. Referees are as corrupt as a striker who misses an open goal and a keeper who lets a soft shot fly through his hands into the net.
The irony is that the most abusive critics of the allegedly crooked referees are the club officials. But is it not the club officials who would bribe the ref to fix a match, assuming that match-rigging does take place? If Cyprus football is corrupt we should not be blaming the referees but the people who allegedly pay the briberies and these can only be the club bosses. Unfortunately, we cannot blame the Americans and the British for fixing matches, as we blame them for everything else that happens.
Referees have always been the scapegoats for everything that is wrong with Cyprus football – one wrong decision and everyone accuses them of being corrupt and crooked. Deputies might not have a clue about football, but are club chairmen so foolish they fail to understand that by accusing refs of dishonesty, they are essentially admitting that Cyprus football is corrupt and match-fixing is rife. Unless they seriously expect us to believe that everyone involved in football, apart from the referees, is a paragon of virtue and honesty. In which case it must be the US and Britain who are bribing refs, because they want Apoel to win the league.
