The treatment for dissent: Management or Control?

   For years now, the mantra for referees in MLS has been man-management, that ill-defined, supposedly superior method of keeping control without using cards as demonstrations of public discipline and subsequent punishment.  Oh, yes, in the "..best of all possible soccer worlds..", a quiet, polite chat between referee and player when the latter gets out-of-hand, brings order to impending chaos, convinces the player not to be naughty any more, and preserves a sporting game.  But in his satirical novella Candide, Voltaire gloriously knocked the stuffing out of Leibniz's naive philosophy, and the "best of all possible worlds" has never been the same since.

    In soccer, when man-management works, it's brilliant.  To witness Collina doing it, or our own Brian Hall, it's good to watch, very impressive.  We know that those two referees could do it because they walked onto the field with BIG reputations, built upon years of experience.  But take a thirty-year-old with little experience and no reputation, and it is unlikely that elegant man-management will work.  You have to try it, of course, but my experience has been that one unsuccessful try is enough.  Swimming against the current is quickly tiring, peeing into the wind is always messy, and kicking against the pricks is hard and painful.  Here's a great recent example, courtesy of The Daily Telegraph...

    On Sunday, March 23, Manchester United entertained Liverpool at Old Trafford in one of the twelve decisive matches in the Premiership involving the four top teams--Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.  United had to win to retain their position at the top of the table, and Liverpool, currently fourth, had to win to have any chance at all of the title.  What a football feast it ought to have been...

    Instead it became a disputatious contest with Javier Mascherano of Liverpool being sent off for a second caution (the first one for a late tackle; the second for dissen--for thirty-five minutes), and the controversy over the refereeing and player-behavior still going on in newspapers and soccer-sites everywhere, or so it seems.  (By way of context, the Football Association had issued statements about players' disrespect for referees, and the week before, Cole of Chelsea, in a much-publicized display of contempt, walked away from a referee and refused to respond to his requests.)

    What follows is the chronology of the interaction between the referee, Steve Bennett, and Mascherano throughout the first half.  I have condensed it from The Daily Telegraph's account, which also included the images.
   
10 minutes: Javier Mascherano lunges in on Paul Scholes and catches the Man United midfielder with a late tackle. Referee Steve Bennett shows the Argentine a yellow card but the player ... can clearly be seen screaming "f*** off, f*** off" at the official.

11 minutes: Over a minute has passed and Mascherano can still be seen abusing the referee over the yellow card decision, continuously swearing at Bennett. By this time the referee is getting a little tired of the foul-mouthed tirade and responds by putting his fingers to his lips, telling the player to keep quiet.

15 minutes: Still wound up over his booking, Mascherano calls for every United player to be booked if they commit a foul. The player calls for Bennett to caution Brazilian midfielder Anderson for a trip on Steven Gerrard. He pulls an imaginary card from his pocket and waves it at Bennett, who waves him away.

23 minutes: Mascherano gives away a free-kick for obstruction on United winger Ryan Giggs by the touchline. The linesman flags for the foul and once again Mascherano feels hard done by, ...pointing at the official and then his eyes in an effort to suggest that he must be blind.

36 minutes: By this stage Mascherano has clearly lost his cool and continues to badger Bennett whenever a free-kick is given, no matter which side it is for. He carries on waving imaginary cards, asking why Nemanja Vidic is not cautioned after a foul on Fernando Torres.

43 minutes: Enough is enough. Bennett books Torres, who had just been fouled, for back chat and Mascherano cannot help himself. The midfielder runs 20 yards to confront the referee about the booking. Rafa Benitez can be seen shouting from the touch line, telling him to get back, but he doesn't listen. Mascherano is in Bennett's face once again and the red card is shown.

45 minutes: Mascherano will not leave the pitch as he continues to confront Bennett over the dismissal. Eventually, he is dragged down the tunnel by the Liverpool physio after Benitez is forced to hold him still and order him to calm down.

    To my mind, Steve Bennett was attempting "man-management" to bring Mascherano under some kind of control, to reduce the ongoing dissent and disruption.  From about the fifteenth minute, it was clear that man-management was not working, and in my opinion, the last resort that Bennett had at that point was the captain, Steve Gerrard.  Had he gone to him and stated in no ambiguous terms that Mascherano was going to be going for an early bath if he didn't stop, it might have helped.  Perhaps Gerrard should have intervened without being asked.  But either way, Bennett was bound by his obligations to "enforce the laws" and "control the game", and should have been far less tolerant.

    The ridiculous irony in all this mess is that Mascherano is still claiming that he doesn't know why he was sent off!  The fundamental truth in all this mess is that after trying man-management and seeing that it is not working, the referee has no choice but to apply the laws.

   
   
   

Comments

[refthegame]

being a believer in; man management is for players who deserve it and are willing to work to stay in a match and make it better. The line must be drawn in the sand when it comes to certain instances of applying the laws of the game( tackles, dissent). The laws give you examples, but experience allows you to feel the situation. Earning and establishing an on field reputation is defined by these moments

[Omg not again]

Chicago take note.
There have been many instances by the FA in England over this season, including Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal where the teams, players and managers have been fined for "failing to control players", additionally Mascherano now faces further action for his failing to leave the field and I would suspect his ban will be increased. The FA has already sent out thst warning serveral times this year. ZA lower league player had an addded game for just that type of action. If the FA sanction the top draws in the counrty it shows they are more interested in maintaining the sport as a spectator event and not bowing to the pressures of filling the seats with paid attandence. Hum I wonder if the gate reciepts will fall as players get sent off and banned.?

[Dennis Wickham]

Chicago did take note. A year ago, MLS requested at National Camp that referees pay particular attention to the practice of players gesturing for a card to the opponent leading to a March 23, 2007 USSF Memorandum on the subject.

True change, however, may occur only when the MLS owners realize that: (1) it is within their reach to be promoting (and reaping the financial benefits of) world class soccer, and (2) this requires world class officiating standards. We can see glints of that dawn approaching.

[patsmith]

Man Management can only be effective if players are prepared to accept that approach.If they want to do their own thiong,and many do,then give them nothing, and throw the book at them at the first oppurtunity.Many referees are concerned,that being perceived as too strict will reflect on their assignments. If that is what they think ,then perhaps they should go back to officiating recreational soccer.The letter of the law is paramount when it comes to serious transgressions,Dont concern yourself with comsequences do what is right.

[Ruben Faria]

This is non-sense.Macheresmo should have been issued a second caution for dissent immediatly when he told the ref to "fuck off".
The problem with many refs is that they don't have any balls to enforce the laws. A yellow or red card early will save many later on.
They try this non-sense of "man managing" which doesn't work. These spoiled players think they can get away with murder. They try to get away with more and more.
Lets have some balls and enforce the laws the right way.
Remenber if you let a player get away with something he will keep doing it, then the other refs will have to right your wrong. Take care of your job so others won't have to.
One time I went to a clinic in Marin County, California USA, the instructor said he had issued one red card in 3 years and still looses sleep on how he could have avoided this.
This is like a judge sentencing a criminal for commiting a crime and loosing sleep on how he could have avoided this. He could have sent the criminal free so he could victimize a lot of other people.
PLEASE don't victimize your fellow referees. Have the guts to enforce the laws or hang up your whistle.