FA ask Ferguson to explain Wiley comments

SOCCER NEWS ROUND-UP:ALEX FERGUSON may have claimed Alan Wiley was unfit but the referee almost certainly covered as much ground as many Manchester United players on Saturday. Nobody involved in top level refereeing would speak on the record yesterday and Ferguson has been asked by the Football Association to explain his comments, which may lead to the Manchester United manager being charged with improper conduct.

With the issue in effect sub judice the refereeing fraternity had been told to keep quiet but was privately seething at what most interpreted as an ageist attack by a manager of pensionable age who has long railed at colleagues being deemed past their “sell by dates”.

When the distance Premier League referees ran during a match was measured recently Wiley’s median was recorded as 11.5km. That was the average reading for elite officials with only two covering greater distances and a few managing somewhat less. Wiley is 49 and refereeing at this level due to European legislation introduced in 2006 which prevents employers forcing employees to resign on grounds of age. In 2008 Peter Walton – a top level referee and due to celebrate his 50th birthday on Saturday – used this piece of European law to stop the Professional Game Match Officials Board making him step down once he passed 48.

Whatever his age Wiley would not still be one of the 18-strong select group of referees blowing his whistle at England’s leading clubs were he not extremely fit, as well as able. Leading referees have their performances subjected to sometimes excruciatingly detailed analysis by Prozone and Wiley’s stats are said to be impressive.

Premier League referees are now full-time professionals earning salaries of between €65,240-€76,113 a year and they devote large chunks of their week to follow personalised fitness programmes with the help of personal trainers. It is hard to cheat the system as once a week they must use heart monitors, which record their exercise output. Officials are required to hurdle through several figurative hoops – the most nerve wracking is their annual fitness test. Referees must undergo an annual test before they are allowed to officiate matches.

The candidates must complete six 40-metre sprints in a minimum of 6.2 seconds per sprint with a recovery time of 90 seconds between each run. Then they have to run 150 metres 20 times in swift succession in a maximum time of 30 seconds on each occasion. Again a 90-second ceiling is placed on the interval recovery periods.

Should a referee be injured for four weeks or more they must repeat the test. They also face repeated mid-season fitness assessments. Quite apart from their running ability referees have their blood pressure and iron levels monitored with cholesterol levels and body fat ratios. Body fat content in excess of 20 per cent is seriously frowned upon. Allied to constant assessments which can see them discreetly dropped from the elite list, most officials typically tend to retire when niggling injuries and increased recovery times begin taking their toll.

Former referee Jeff Winter believes the criticism of Wiley was designed to deflect attention from United’s poor performance but that it will have long-term consequences for the referee’s career. “It was a cowardly attack – Sir Alex wouldn’t have said it to Alan Wiley’s face,” insisted Winter.

“Every game Alan Wiley takes charge of now where he makes a decision which upsets some fans is going to result in chants of ‘You’re not fit to referee’, he’s going to be known as the ‘unfit ref’. Sir Alex won’t care though. He’s a knight of the realm and he thinks he’s untouchable, bullet proof.”

GuardianService