Pity the poor referee. No wonder
local associations all around the
world are finding it evermore
difficult to persuade people to
take up the noble art of the whistle.
It’s not enough that elite players
set an example of petulance and
deception, not enough that one-eyed
parents and fans scream abuse from
the touchline and threaten physical
violence; referees also have to cope
with the meddling of an organisation
that is supposed to provide them with
a level playing field: the International
Football Association Board (IFAB).
Once upon a time one of the
greatest strengths of association
football was the conservatism of its
lawmakers. Not for them a panic every
year to change the scoring system or
the time of play – the illustrations of
insecurity evident in so many sports
as they chase a TV contract or try to
squeeze into the Olympic programme
every four years.
But that has changed. Remember
the definition of a camel? A horse
designed by a committee. That is
the road down which football has
been galloping ever since IFAB was
swallowed up in FIFA’s reforms.
As an illustration, on March 5, three
days after the latest annual meeting,
IFAB had to publish this clarification:
“Contrary to some incorrect reports in
the media related to the penalty kick
procedure (Law 14), the ball will
remain in play in the event of a penalty
kick rebounding from the goalkeeper,
crossbar or goalposts. The only change
to Law 14 discussed and agreed at the
133rd IFAB Annual General Meeting
last Saturday is that the goalkeeper is
now required to have only one foot on,
or in line with, the goal line when a
penalty kick is taken.”
The fact that IFAB had to deny
a piece of nonsense thrown around
last year in its advisory committees
was a demonstration of the danger
to the game now lurking in the
lawmakers’ corridors of power.
It’s going too far to suggest that
IFAB itself has become a danger tothe game, but it provides little fiddles
and fuddles which undermine the
understanding of the game among
not only the fans but also the players.
Back in the 1860s the core
tenets of association football were
set out by John Charles Thring, a
master at Uppingham School in the
East Midlands, as The Simplest Game.
His 10 footballing commandments on
one sheet of paper were proposed as
“an antidote to the Rugby game which
has unhappily been lately adopted by
many clubs”.
Now the Laws of the Game – with
introduction, interpretations, glossary
and guidelines – run to 211 pages.
Of course, the game’s evolution,
incredible success, stunning worldwideKeir
RADNEDGE
THE INSIDERpopularity and the rapidly changing
demands of a lifestyle and technology
demand that football move with
the times. But there is a difference
between moving with the times and
moving for the sake of the times.
A need to standardise the laws of
the game and their application led
the four British home associations –
England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales- to create IFAB for precisely this
purpose on June 2, 1886.
In 1913, FIFA – then only nine
years old – was awarded a vote and its
influence on behalf of the rest of the
world expanded steadily until 1958
brought the current set-up, with FIFA
awarded four votes to balance the four
British votes. Any decision to change
the laws would demand at least six
votes and that is how it has remained.
Plenty of federations and their
leaders groused at the anachronistic
presence and influence of the four
home nations. But while the real
political power within the game resided
with FIFA’s system of one-FA-one-
vote, no serious objection was ever
raised. IFAB had no role in sharing
out the money and was thus allowed
to exist in comparative peace.
It wasn’t until December 2010 that
IFAB ran into trouble in the fallout
Time for IFAB
to take a break
Change...keepers
will now need only
one foot on the
goalline when a
penalty is takenTough...the referee’s
job is far from easyTHE WORLD THIS MONTH