Wednesday 26 January 2011

Bandwagon


DSC_4488 Well?
Originally uploaded by Lillput
Yep, I'm sorry, but I'm jumping on one.

What's the difference between these two situations?:

A woman goes to a League 1 football match with two male friends. Two seats are together, one seat is on its own.
Being the visitor, the woman suggests that she's happy to sit in the single seat.
One of the men comments - "no, you sit with M because, you need someone sitting next to you to explain the offside rule in a loud and patronising manner"

and

A pair of professional sports presenters suggest that someone should go and explain the offside rule to one of the assistant referees at a premership match because she's a woman.

Let's face it, they both say the same thing.

But the first was made between close friends and was actually a joke on sexist men everywhere.

The second? Not so much.

With the exception of Rachel Hey-ho-hey-ho, the world seems to have been outraged on Sian Massey's behalf.

The quieter story was that she was subsequently removed from officiating at a match a few days later because of the shitstorm kicked up which was not of her doing. I think this was the one that made me more cross.

I didn't know much about how much training FA referees underwent, nor how much they got paid...so I went and had a look.

It takes at least 20 hours of formal training and countless matches to get to the top tier of FA refereeing. Most, if not all of this, will be done at the person's own expense and remuneration seems to start at tenner a match (rising to £250 for the Football league matches).

I have no doubt that Sian Massey has earned less than a pound for every time the offside rule quip has been made in her hearing. Let's face it, an awful lot worse gets levelled at referees.

I think what's galling when it comes to professional presenters - and especially those with a history of playing the game - is that there's a crisis of qualified officials, especially for women and girls in the game - and without these folk, the matches (certainly those at lower levels) simply wouldn't happen.

Like my grandmother said, I believe:

"I don't mind when you shit on me. I don't even mind when you rub it in. It's when you tell me I stink that I object".





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