How was such a local ref allowed to ref us

Jedi boro

Well-known member
How was this allowed as surely Hartlepool is the same FA? Didn’t he ref in the TJFAL.

How did Norwich feel about a ref from about 6 miles away ( over the transporter) as the crow flies allowed to ref us.

I thought refts in such close localities were not used.

I still recall Robbie hart from
Darlington reffing our game with the geordies....
 
I'm sure I can hear Geoff Eltringham giving a massive sigh of relief as the 'bent local ref' spotlight swings away from him ..........................
 
Maybe this is happening more due to covid - they dont want people from different areas moving around so much?
 
How was this allowed as surely Hartlepool is the same FA? Didn’t he ref in the TJFAL.

How did Norwich feel about a ref from about 6 miles away ( over the transporter) as the crow flies allowed to ref us.

I thought refts in such close localities were not used.

I still recall Robbie hart from
Darlington reffing our game with the geordies....
😃 I like your passion. I have the slowest burning fuse going, and I’m progressively getting more and more annoyed as the weekend progresses. It’s a good job we have a midweek game to take my mind off it haha
 
Can’t the club complain if they think he’s conflicted?

I think it’s more likely a ref from a local town will want to show he is not favouring the local team rather than make any decisions because he doesn’t like them! You have to trust the ref will be professional.

I remember Jeff Winter got accused of refereeing in favour of Sunderland once, the opposition manager complained that he knew all the Mackem players by name.
 
The vast majority of Hartlepool supporters i've ever met, have a massive chip on their shoulders with regard to the Boro.
Totally agree. I used to go watch hartlepool when they were playing at home if I couldn't get to a boro away game. And at half time, when they read the scores out, and boro were getting beat they'd cheer. That's why I stopped going
 
How was this allowed as surely Hartlepool is the same FA? Didn’t he ref in the TJFAL.

How did Norwich feel about a ref from about 6 miles away ( over the transporter) as the crow flies allowed to ref us.

I thought refts in such close localities were not used.
That's not how it works. If every ref that was born, lived (or currently lives) in an area with a plausible link to the area that either of the teams comes from, it would be virtually impossible to appoint enough referees on every match day.

Instead, each referee has to declare if they have an affiliation to any club(s) and based on that (and any potential conflict of interest it might raise) referees are judged eligible or ineligible to officiate in a given match.

For instance it's not exactly unheard of for a person to support a team from an area they were not born in, and have never lived in. For instance, would you allow a referee to officiate for a team he is known to support just because he wasn't born in or near their area?

So it goes by "team affiliation" not place of birth or residence.
 
That's not how it works. If every ref that was born, lived (or currently lives) in an area with a plausible link to the area that either of the teams comes from, it would be virtually impossible to appoint enough referees on every match day.

Instead, each referee has to declare if they have an affiliation to any club(s) and based on that (and any potential conflict of interest it might raise) referees are judged eligible or ineligible to officiate in a given match.

For instance it's not exactly unheard of for a person to support a team from an area they were not born in, and have never lived in. For instance, would you allow a referee to officiate for a team he is known to support just because he wasn't born in or near their area?

So it goes by "team affiliation" not place of birth or residence.
Everyone I know from Teesside who doesn’t support Boro absolutely hates us, so I’m not sure it’s a very effective rule.
 
Everyone I know from Teesside who doesn’t support Boro absolutely hates us, so I’m not sure it’s a very effective rule.
What you've stated would have no bearing on the policy. As I've just pointed out, it has nothing to do with where you're from. It's based on each individual referee's declared affiliation(s).
 
I didn’t think the ref got any the decisions wrong deliberately or showed bias to every team

it’s just the old boro fans with chips on their shoulders again
 
What you've stated would have no bearing on the policy. As I've just pointed out, it has nothing to do with where you're from. It's based on each individual referee's declared affiliation(s).
I know. That’s my point. So he says he supports Hartlepool on the form, but he doesn’t say he hates Middlesbrough or whatever. Doesn’t seem very effective to me.

I mean generally, not this specific case.
 
I know. That’s my point. So he says he supports Hartlepool on the form, but he doesn’t say he hates Middlesbrough or whatever. Doesn’t seem very effective to me.

I mean generally, not this specific case.
I think you're making the mistake of thinking that professional referees, who have got where they are by showing a career-long ability to make impartial decisions and remain neutral even under severe provocation, are somehow going around 'hating' particular teams on the basis of geography.

I can assure you, as a former referee even though at a fairly low level myself, that is just not the case.

In any event, in addition to declaring any team affiliation, referees also have to declare any other conflicts of interest they might have. In the unlikely event that a referee has developed some kind of irrational loathing for a team that they feel would affect their performance, they would be duty-bound to declare that also.

If they didn't do so and it came to light later (as the saying goes, "Nothing remains hidden for ever") then their career, at least as a top-level referee, would be over

Although as I say, in my experience that just isn't very likely to be the case.
 
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