Football hooligans must embrace code of respect

Psychologist Justin Thomas looks at ways to address violence on and off the football pitch.

Russian supporters attack an England fan at the end of a Euro 2016 game.  Thanassis Stavrakis / AP
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On June 30, 2013, Otávio Jordão da Silva, a Brazilian amateur football referee, sent a player off – or at least he tried to. The offending player refused to leave the pitch and a violent altercation erupted. This ugly chapter in footballing history ended with angry spectators dismembering and decapitating da Silva. According to reports of the incident, the lifeless head was placed on a stake in the middle of the pitch.

While most referee abuse is not nearly so barbaric, match officials the world over are regularly ill-treated. Spectators, players and even managers will often express aggression towards referees in an attempt to influence decisions, or just to let off steam. You don’t need to be a competent lip-reader to decipher the expletives often directed at referees during televised games. I can’t think of any other professional group that so routinely endures having their integrity questioned and their decisions criticised. Who on Earth would want such a job?

According to England’s Football Association, in 2008 the number of registered referees had fallen to an all-time low. Hundreds of match officials were quitting the game each season as a result of the abuse and intimidation they experienced both on and off the pitch.

The dire shortage of referees gave rise to an FA initiative called Respect. One of its main aims was to recruit and retain more referees. A broader aim was tackling unacceptable behaviour in football in general. In short, Respect is a systematic and continuing commitment to improve behaviour in football.

Respect declares zero tolerance for assaults against match-officials and demands greater on-field player discipline, particularly with regard to showing dissent towards referees. Under the heading of “harassment and challenging”, players are warned against surrounding the referee, protesting at decisions and using disparaging or derogatory gestures. To spell all this out, the FA introduced specific codes of conduct for players, managers, match officials and spectators. “Break your code, and bear the consequences,” warned the FA.

Respect seems to have been a success in terms of referee recruitment and retention. Within two years of the initiative starting, the number of registered referees in England had increased by 7.4 per cent, and indicators exploring referee job satisfaction and levels of reported abuse also began moving in the right direction.

The one area where progress seems to be lagging is in the behaviour of the fans. Euro 2016, for example, has already produced a long list of incidents. England supporters have been embroiled in violent clashes with Russia fans. Croatia supporters have been reprimanded over the use of fireworks, crowd disturbance and racist behaviour. Turkey fans have been reproached for throwing objects on the pitch. A group of Spain supporters were arrested for carrying neo-Nazi banners. The list of spectator offences continues, as do the arrests.

Part of the spectator’s code of conduct published by the FA reads: “Never engage in, or tolerate, offensive, insulting, or abusive language or behaviour.” Players and managers have to some degree cleaned up their acts. It’s time the spectators did the same. It might only be a tiny minority engaging in unacceptable behaviour, but these few threaten the future of football. In the words of the FA, “lose respect, lose the game”.

The FA’s Respect programme has now spread internationally. It remains highly visible and it has made being a match official a less hellish job. However, if the beautiful game is to remain beautiful, then the ideal of mutual respect needs to carried beyond the stadium and extended to supporters of the opposing team and the population of the host nation.

As the knockout stages of Euro 2016 tournament heat up, let’s hope spectators stay cool.

Dr Justin Thomas is an associate professor at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States

On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas