Men in the middle seek fair ruling

Since Paolo Di Canio's brush with the footballing laws during Sheffield Wednesday's match against Ars enal last weekend, referees and players have had to face up to their often fraught relationship.

While di Canio's cameo role as this week's bete noir may well earn him a fine and a hefty ban, the Italian is not alone. When the red mist descends it does not single out fiery strikers - a large group of competitors, from all sports, make it a weekend speciality to abuse referees, verbally and, occasionally, physically.

Many in the GAA see it as a major problem that referees are frequently intimidated, particularly in club matches, while soccer in Ireland is at crisis point because of the number of volunteers giving up the whistle because of the abuse they receive. Most players take referees for granted and some referees do get paid for their work - but not much. There are no full-time professional soccer referees in Ireland or Britain, despite the fact that the Premiership generates more revenue than any football league in the world. Italy, however, does have full-time professional referees.

In rugby, the southern hemisphere countries have full-time professional referees such as Colin Hawke, a former member of the New Zealand police force, while, in England, the Rugby Football Union yesterday announced they would appoint six full-time referees, with the first three being named this autumn. In Ireland top referees like Bertie Smith, Dave McHugh and Alan Lewis approach the game professionally, but also have day jobs.

The GAA remains totally amateur in this respect. The top referees receive only expenses to cover their costs, although many will say that it actually costs them money to do the job. For love of the game, of course.

Rugby

Alan Lewis

"I can honestly say that during my career I have never been intimidated by a player, ever. I've rarely been in a situation where I've had to take abuse from players. My feeling is that if a player verbally abuses me I say, `You are not going to talk to anybody in society like that and you are certainly not going to talk to me like that. Cheerio, have a long shower'.

"In the southern hemisphere, studies have shown that for a player who is sent off the field for 10 minutes, the opposition score an average of two tries during that period. That is a statistic which should make players think.

"I think player responsibility is extremely important and in rugby I think that by and large it is quite good. Innovations like the white card, where you can send a player off for a limited time, have helped.

"There are basically two things you can do for persistently breaking rules or mouthing to the referee. You can use yardage - that is, move the penalty closer, which can lose a team the match - or you can ask a player to leave the field."

Payment: The International Rugby Board permits payment to referees but the amount is decided by the individual unions. In Ireland contracts have been given to 15 referees in a three-tiered structure.

A referee also receives £100 to officiate an AIL game in division one and two; £200 for an interprovincial match, with the touch judge getting £100; £275 for a European Cup game, progressing up to around £1,000 for the final; £1,500 for a major international game such a Five Nations Championship match.

For a southern hemisphere Bledisloe Cup match or a TriNations game the referee is paid £1,800. The international board nominates referees for international matches and pays accommodation and expenses of £40 a day. At the very top of the Irish structure a referee could expect to earn between £25,000 and £30,000 a year.

Soccer

Tony Lawlor

"Abuse, unfortunately, is normal in soccer in Ireland. As long as we allow people to get way with it the longer they will continue to abuse us. We encourage all of our referees to let us know if they have been physically or verbally abused or assaulted. If it is a serious case we go to the Garda. We also have a solicitor on standby and a legal fund to assist the costs. But we don't have to go down that road very often.

"Our problem now is that we are losing referees because of the amount of abuse they have to face. We're losing them all over the place. We had about 40 new people in this week and if we can keep five of them by next season we will be doing well. The Leinster Senior League lost 15 referees this year and they were seasoned referees. They were just getting fed up with the abuse they were getting.

"It comes at all levels, from players, spectators and even managers. There was a case in Limerick where a guy was sent off for foul and abusive language. He is now taking the referee to court for defamation. The bottom line is that referees now have to take action themselves. No one else is going to do it for them and the rules are there to deal with this problem."

Payment: For a senior National League game a referee is paid £50, with the linesman getting £25. At intermediate level the payment is £16 per game with £6 expenses. A junior match is worth £11 per match plus £6 expenses and for a seven-a-side, the payment is £7.

In the Premiership a referee receives £400 per game. When Premiership clubs come into the FA Cup at the third round referees receive £375 per match. The first and second rounds of the FA Cup are worth £185.

In the Premiership referees very rarely officiate in more than one match a week. They would do between 20 and 25 league matches each season, with the best also involved in European and international matches. There are no fulltime referees in Britain.

Gaelic Games

Paddy Collins

"I'd imagine that a lot of GAA referees would identify with the soccer guys, especially at club level. One of the greatest problems the association has is the fact that players think that they have a right to be abusive to referees. Even at inter-county level this happens. "I think if you surveyed referees and they were entirely truthful they'd tell you they stopped because of the amount of verbal abuse and intimidation they were having to face. Sanctions do exist in the rules. You can penalise a team 13 metres for dissent or send a player off. "But I think abuse is probably a cultural thing more than the rules not being there to prevent it. Abuse didn't wear me down and I'd have to be truthful and say, `No, I wasn't subject to much of it at all from players'. It had no bearing on me stopping.

"I think the primary responsibility for players' behaviour should rest with the people in charge of the team. Unquestionably they are extraordinarily influential and that was exemplified last week in Croke Park in a wonderful game. Referees are always seen as imposing sanctions. If the GAA have a fault I think that it is that they are probably too tolerant of abuse from players and managers."

Payment: County referees receive 30p per mile and a meal allowance of £15. Overnight accommodation when required is also covered. They are not paid a fee to referee matches at any level, as the GAA continue to adhere to a code of amateurism.