SATURDAY SPORTS SPOT POWER-KEEN REFS
Want trouble? All you have to do
is whistle for it
By I. M. MacTAVISH
Who would be a reforce?
It seems that the guiding angel of those courageous gentle.
men who take it upon themselves
to
control and ad-
judicate in sporting contests has either gone or taken a very untimely holiday.
on strike
How else can one account for the sudden chapter of incidents
which has suddenly befallen the refereeing clan?
Soccer Iras not been the only game involved in these affairs but in each base it has been the 'man-in-the-middle" wito hon been the centre of the contro- verkies.
One rather
smusing in-. cident to reported from Haly
the players have where reputation for dramatis Go-
of monstrations on the field play.
Needed spectacles
A
At the end of a recent game in Trieste the home goalkeeper approached the referee after the Anal whistle and, with twinkle in his eye, handed han a chialogue of spectacles, adding In quiet confidential tones that it was about time the referee had his eyes tested.
Goalkeeper Crossa was sub- sequently suspended for weeks!
four
WAR
However, the malter did not end there. The goalkeeper and
It his club appealed. pointed out to the ruling body that in everyday life Crossa was a professional optician. He had seen the referee blinking constantly during the game and was genuinely convinced that
ed spectacles.
intentes very clearly fit there may well be very Important change in this attitude.
Bliter
raged controversy around vertsin decisions made by the referes who had charge first of the recent Scottish
between division malelt Rangers and 61 Mliren, The situation which are out of the post-game indignation ex-
ploded to such purpose that the SFA held a meeting and ap- parently decided that the time had come when referres, as well As players, should be subject to disciplinary action.
The
appropriate Referees' Committee has now reviewed the happening in the game and as a result the official concerned has been ofefdly 'restcl' from refereeing for a month,
This is, as far as I can find out, an action without precedent and seems to indicate that if a re- feree is considered to have marie glaring mistakes he will be brought before the Referees' Committee ir exactly the same way as a player.
Quite humán!»
for any measure aimed at clean- ing up football when necessary.
However, it seems that the last has not been heard of the
there are Incident for football folks who feel that by backing
the roferco' up setlon the FA has set a pre- erdent which might be both Hlegs?' and embarrassing.
One school of thought points
to the injustice which mags punishment causes to those players in the game who were in no way involved in any irregularities,
Validity
apparently
Another group of football people consider that a new and excessively powerful weapon has been handed to the re- feree who can now
threaten" to stop a game and order all the players from the feld
as a result of the mis- minarily of demeanours of a those involved,
According to some reports it seems that the validity of both the original action of the referee and finding of the FA may yet he the subsequent legally tested and strenuously
Winter sports for horses
At Arosa, Switzerland, horse races take place on the Hard now-hero San Michael wins in a flurry of flakes from his rivals in the mèoling's Biggest event, the Prix des Floteliers-London Express photo.
Indeed
who would be al
to be congratulated" on bill of Astio fare they have prepared.
the
still bristling with dis- cussion on the strong re-referee? primand handed out by
the British Boxing Board
of Control to star referee It will be a sporting tragedy Eugene Henderson for his control of the Cooper- Erskine British heavy- weight championship con- jesi,
After a thorough investiga- tion the Stewards of the BBBC caune to the conclusion that Mr
Britain's
most Henderson, famous third man' had falled to administer the rules as in- structed and as a result he had placed one of the contestants at a disadvantage.
Cause for regret
Great cause
if the Southorn Play- With local names Like Henry ground is not packed to Wong, Fong Kl-keng, Eddle the limits of its capacity Woo, and the Tsang boys from this evening for the big the Police leading the way there should be adequate incentive charity programme which for the ones enthusiastic mem- the Hongkong Amaleur bars of the local population to Boxing Association is make a special point of being at staging in aid of the the Southern Playground when World Refugee Year fund.
card
the first bell rings.
Their effort will be well re- warded, and the money they
In other words, and I quote the man with the whistle need-Jack Harkness, one of Scotland's
able boxers from the services" To make the story complete top soccer writers, "the SFA will It remains only to report that now acknowledge that a referee contested. the appeal was successful is, after all, quite human. goalkeeper and referce shook hands and Mr Crossa found himself a new custo-
mer,
Now
the crring referee, like the err
The possible developments
hading player, may get a reprimand will be most interesting.
Surprising outcome
However, the incident, WOR E not finished. The Referees' Association concerned in the case thought over the matter and eventually ordered all oc-
their list tive referees
to The
have their eyes tested. surprising outcome proved the wisdom of many morsels of advies shouted from the stands ... 03 per cent of the refs needed were tested
who speça!!!
་
There is nothing humorous about the next incident
has and.... ak
licen
or a short term of suspension."
* ☆
It is always cause for regret when a great public figure like Eugene Henderson gets involved in a controversy of this nature but it is unfortunately one of the hazards which anyone who takes up refereeing has .10 acetpt.
It is easy to be popular when going well but all that is soon forgotten when
ket of i
Boxing has of course shared
the 'dimlight' as far as re-things are ferecing trouble has been something happens to look deeper into
concerned and Britain is the rails.
While FROST football followers will at Arst glance welcome the move to delach the g of infallibility' from the man with the whistle, those who such things will wonder at the Consoquentcs, or possible con- sequences, of such a revola- tionary measure.
future
What would be the
referee who Was status of a known to have been suspended for what was really after all Ineficiency? Would he ever be able to live-it-down' with the fans or would he ever again have the full respeel and con- fidence of the clube and their players?
widely suggested since It, The third incident which
was made known
It
looks like blowing up into a bitter feud is the one in which an English referee ordered two full teams from the field during a recent Southern League match.
may change the whole attitude towards what has been variously termed the "the Infallibilly of referee', 'the referee enn do no wrong, and "the divine right of referees'. For better or for worse (1 has dways been held that officially at least, the referee could not make a mistake but the Scot- also be many ordinary follow- tish Football Association has ers of the game who will ap- Just acted in a manner which plaud the referee and the FA
THE
LET ME) DQ IT
NO, DON'T DISTURB YOURSELF
The referee has now had the initial satisfaction of knowing has the Football Association backed up his action. There will
GAMBOLS.
I'M QUITE CAPABLE
OF GEWING A BUTTON,
ON MY COAT
The matchmakers have done leave at the box office will bo a fine job of pairing the con used to help a great cause which testants. The
has been hos important significance right bulit up
and here in our own Colony. on imaginatly attractive fines. The best avail- will be seen in action and, as meny of them will be meeting ... and finally a few the best known boys from the talewaggers. Chinese community, thero should be enough healthy The Peruvian crica promises rivalry to encourage the boxing to be a grand occasion and starved fons back to the ring-would provide excellent con- side.
trast in our football affairs the MacTavish suggestion that Boxing interest has been at Stanley Matthews might come a low cbb fer much too tour to Hongkong stems to be de- and the HKABA oficials are veloping very well
Go-Kart racing craze
spreading in Britain
is
.. the frisky Sing Tao Tigers are having the time of their young and some lives these days groody eyes are already taking on a 'green for envy' look the basic essentials of report ing on any sporting occasion is being there
we started this weeit with stories about referees so it might be timely to finish with the passing com- ment that there is every in- dication of a justinod domestle Fullt, A meeting is being driver who cannot afford blow-up among the men who arranged for April 9, within Indulge in motor raclig,
blow the whistle in our soccer easy reach of Landon, prob-
the .. and lastly to ably at Dunstable or Leighton The first of new British-mahu ganiza
factured machines, kilowany Chinese readers of this Buzzard.
Kong Hei Fat The charm of Go-Kart
as the Trokart, were demon-column
you all strated to the Royal Air Choy-here's wishing
'Rattle of you wish yoursolves. Force on the old
Achter rulaway
ai Biggin HD,
racing in the remarkable low infila) cost.
be A Go-Kart cas bought for as little as 200.
The Royal Automobile Club, which is to control Go-Kart racing in Britain, anticipate that 1.500 clubs will be form- ed this
the year. Already sport has caught on in York shire, where 12,000 people flocked to see a demonstra- Cition Aerodrome. The crowd was ten times big- ger than the promoters ex- pected and there were not It is nothing more than a minia- enough admission tlekets to cater for all of them, Go-Kart
tion at
drivers can compete on any kind of track-grast, cinder, macadam or congrele and to meet the Петала
tracks
being
numerous
are
60 mph
#
ture open-framed racing 'car powered by
two-stroke motor cycle or industrial en- fine of up to 200 ac capacity, But it can reach a speed of and that's up to 60 mp.h. what appeals most to the en- thusiastic atnaleur racing
By Barry Appleby
Britain
and
There has been a provisional
agreement that all race. demonstration tracks shall be designed
straight with no stretches exceeding 150 yards,
Case Do since the whole
new kport wi manoeuvrability
corners-Banews
th
and vice.
AIR-INDIA
WHY DON'T YOU TAKE YOUR COAT OFF?
I'VE GERN THE BUTTON
TO MY VEGT
of
In berda
Ser-
MUST BE CURBED
By STAN CULLIS
Manager of Wolves
| Referees are assuming too much authority. They are becoming "power conscious." That is my firm impression of present-day League foot- ball, and I cannot possibly agree with the view recently put forward by Stanley Matthews that officials thould have more power and authority.
I am convirted many refereer 1 would need a boller, öngu- have misinterpreted the FA ment than that to convince me! memorandum on "GameDAN- ship" and are wielding a heavy stick on the floid.
The worst feature of our present day referees - the torno leaning towards the teams. And finemmen are not Floriélén in this respect.
The FA memorandum did not confer on referees, any now powers. It merely reminded them of the authority they had
niwnys possessed to eliminate party acts of gamesmanship which were bringing Soccer into The disrepute.
Remind em
ERITIO „jordstick of
Judgment should apply to both
Since the circulation of the aides, memo,
I have been most cát- Players who make ungentle- scloun of a spate of Onger-manly remarks are quite rightly wagging and boole-waving.
ticked off. Yet now players
I must relterate; League foot frequently complain
| bail is cleaner and played in a
better spirit these days,
of im- proper remarks` addressed them by referees,
If the Foolball
to
Association
But I feel the professionst players of today are subjected and Football, Lengue are going
on players refraining making I regard as Fatimidation than from
ungentlemanly recall in retarka on at any time I can
the field they the 25 years I have been con- should remind referees that the nected with football,
Įsame applies to them.
The quiet way in which top- Unfortunately, more often class officials like Arthur Ellis, than not visiting players have Reg Leafe, and Jack Kelly give to bear the brunt of the players a few words of wisdom cautions and orderings from could well be atudied. and the field.
copied by many referees. When I asked a League TC- The ref who basis of the feree why there should be more number of players ho has penalties nwarded to home booked can be reasonably, cor- clubs, he suggested that possibly tain that the authorities do not were in-rend the samo significance into the visiting players clined to play in a more his reports that ht may desperate fashion than, home imagine. Louston Express players.
¡Service,
to a greater degree of what to twist
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FEB. 15
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