Complaint to the FA re. Tuesdays Ref

[Seenbetter]

I sent an email to the FA complaining about the poor standard of refereeing at the Boston v Retford game on Tuesday It basically said, 'decisions were not made that should have been made. Some decisions made were clearly rediculous and indicated the inability of the ref to demonstrate a knowledge of fouls and violent misconduct. After some tackles it was a toss of a coin which way the decision went. The result was not decided by the ability of the teams but by the ref. It was an absolute disgrace to witness such a performance by an approved official.
The referee was so incompetent at his job that he needs bringing to your attention'.
I asked for a complaints procedure where I would have gone into specifics ie. two footed lunge, elbowing and the dugout incident. I didn't expect a reply but received one today. At least someone read my email.
Can't get the reply on this page so I will condense it and put it on another posting.

[Seenbetter]

Condensed reply to my email from Mr. John Jones, Contributory Leagues Referee Appointments Officer.
"With reguard to your perceptionof this referees performance, he is one of our most experienced officials. The reports received from both clubs seem to contradict your own opinion as they have both been quite positive. I can assure you that when performances do not reach the expected standard, Match Officials are informed that improvements must be made or their status may well be reviewed. We also have a very robust assessment scheme which helps develop referees of all levels. Advice is offered when appropriate".
Am I the only one who thought he was completely inept. I would love to know what the head holding assessor and the two clubs wrote about his performance.  They apparently thought he did ok.
If he was one of the most experienced officials God help the rest. If I can get hold of a match dvd and it substantiates poor refereeing I will send it to Mr. Jones.
I would like to thank him for replying to my email.

[howmanynames2pick]

tbh i thought Ratford were an NFL side.

[Seenbetter]

Thats it then. No point in persuing the matter. If both clubs and the assessor thought he was a positive addition to the game the FA are not going to bother with the views of the supporters. It's not surprising that these "fancy Dress Men" can run around with big smiles and leave the pitch thinking they were masters of the universe for 90+ minutes. They must feel immune to any criticism. Certainly there were alot of people around me who thought he was an absolute joke.
I know that if I was the Contributary Leagues Referees Appointments Officer I wouldn't to want admit some of my referees were inept, after all, I would have probably appointed them.
It reminds me of comments that were often made about the Police. Can they really be trusted to Police themselves.

[Wembley 85]

I sent an email to the FA complaining about the poor standard of refereeing at the Boston v Retford game on Tuesday It basically said, 'decisions were not made that should have been made. Some decisions made were clearly rediculous and indicated the inability of the ref to demonstrate a knowledge of fouls and violent misconduct. After some tackles it was a toss of a coin which way the decision went. The result was not decided by the ability of the teams but by the ref. It was an absolute disgrace to witness such a performance by an approved official.
The referee was so incompetent at his job that he needs bringing to your attention'.

I asked for a complaints procedure where I would have gone into specifics ie. two footed lunge, elbowing and the dugout incident. I didn't expect a reply but received one today. At least someone read my email.
Can't get the reply on this page so I will condense it and put it on another posting.

Ah, but the assessor will have seen that the ref was wearing the requisite kit, and started the game on time, and duly given him 9 out of 10 based on that alone!

Also, given the incident at the dug out, both teams are bound to say that he was great - it might mean that he doesn't mention the aforesaid melee' in his report!!!!!   

[Richie..p]

ever heard the phrase ' closing ranks'

[Seenbetter]

Hello Richie..p. You say"closing ranks", in my email I said the FA appear to be a closed shop. This is a part of the reply I didn't put on here,  "I am disappointed that you feel that the FA is a closed shop especially when we promote football at all levels,are not discriminatory and endeavour to be fair and eqitable at all times". We haven't seen much evidence of the 'non-discriminatory' or fair and equitable' bits at this club over the past 3 or 4 years.
With SnH the problem with the some of the players has been that 6 inches between the ears. With the FA I think it's the sticky out bits on the outside of those six inches thats a problem.

[BostonGoals]

the club probably dont want to complain to the FA too much because as far as theyre concerned they just want to rebuild our reputation.

[jimmystars]

I thought it was the worst refereeing performance of the season and that isnt easy at this level

[Richie..p]

 " Closing ranks" or "closed shop". Both pretty much sum up how the f.a have replied to you seeingbetter.

P.s may want to change that name back, it hasn't brought much luck. lol

[Bostonshire]

" Closing ranks" or "closed shop". Both pretty much sum up how the f.a have replied to you seeingbetter.

P.s may want to change that name back, it hasn't brought much luck. lol

why are we in the bottom 4?

[Richie..p]

whatever. I'm sure seeingbetter changed his name when we were winning and since he chanced it we haven't and have started to look at little toothless. No need to get so touchy bostonshire.

[Seenbetter]

BostonGoals probably got it right and Jimmystars is totally right.
I wanted my name change to reflect how the team was progressing. Perhaps I should change it to 'ThoughtIwasseeingbetterbutgodalmightyhaveyouseenwhathappenedsince'.
BostonGoals would be justified in changing his. Could be an interesting but futile exercise.
Anyway things will change, I'm still optimistic believe it or not because I think SnH are on a learning curve and will get it right. I'll keep my name for now, I don't believe in luck.
Ps. I will be sending another email to the FA tomorrow thanking them for their reply but telling them how totally useless their assessment system is because they don't get the truth.

[dubai camel]

Maybe you can include the government report as testimony that the FA are in fact doing a pretty poor job in many areas and need to get their act together. 

[Seenbetter]

Thanks DC. Googled 'FA. Government Report' and came up with some interesting stuff. Must quote this bit from Guardian.co.uk Tuesday 4th August2009 about rules concerning comments made about match officials.
" Managers have been warned by the FA that post match comments in relation to match officials and incidents are still permitted provided they are NOT personal in there nature,imply bias or attack the integrity of the officials in charge of the match or in any other respect bring the game into disrepute".
Thats what I call a Gagging order. I suppose saying that a ref does not recognise two footed tackles or violent behaviour or regular use of the elbow is a personal attack on the ref because you are questioning his judgement. Now we know why nothing is done about bad referees. Perhaps stopping the 25 million pound funding of the FA by the Government will shake them up a bit. Instead of giving it to the FA they could divert it to the lower leagues where it would be more appreciated and better used.