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Angry bosses target Hackett
Marco Giacomelli, Sports Correspondent11 Nov 2008
Referees' chief Keith Hackett will be urged to quit by the League Managers' Association if he does not meet their demands at a gathering next week, it is claimed.
The bosses want a representative on the board of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited because they have lost confidence in Hackett's leadership.
By having a former manager on the officials' body the LMA believe they can influence key refereeing issues and if they do not get their way then they will call for Hackett and his chairman Peter Heard to resign.
Managers raised their concerns at their meeting at Coventry's Ricoh Stadium yesterday and it came in the wake of the Football Association calling for talks with bosses to try to get their 'Respect' campaign back on track.
The FA are unhappy by the latest outbursts against referees which have seen Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson charged with improper conduct last week for remonstrating with match official Mike Dean, while Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear is likely to face similar action after labelling Martin Atkinson "a Mickey Mouse referee" on Sunday.
FA director of governance Jonathan Hall said: "The FA will seek to meet with the LMA and individual managers regarding the Respect programme as soon as possible and offer them a further opportunity to raise any concerns. The LMA were fully involved in pre-season consultation and we welcome their continued support for the programme."
Hall said managers needed to be more understanding of match officials.
He added: "We accept that it can be very frustrating for managers when an incorrect decision is taken but no referee does so deliberately, just as players and managers do not deliberately make mistakes."
Reader views (4)
I disagree with Brian form Wiltshire, the majority of referees and their assistants have been a disgrace this season, they are getting far too many decisions wrong, and i dont mean decisions that can be picked up in slow motion replays, I mean blatently obvious or common sense decisions happening in real time! The modern game has moved on, players are much fitter, the pace of the game is much much quicker, its a multi million pound industry, technology is looming closer! mark my words
- Paxton, N17, 12/11/2008 01:05
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ever been a referee? Thought not. It's the hardest job in the world, if the abuse doesn;t get to you, the violence will. The pro ref has got to happen, the ex-pro managers are all around us and have played the game and know all the dodges, someone should let the referees in on it.
- Stevie, Liverpool, 11/11/2008 21:09
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The big managers have certainly influenced referees on a consistant basis for years as have their players. The only way to stop this is video technology which works well in cricket, rugby, tennis, swimming etc. Clearly the only reason for not bringing this technology into football is that the big clubs oppose it presumably because, somehow, they get the big dubious decisions going their way. All the time.
- Roger, Peckham, 11/11/2008 18:19
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Football managers are a disgrace, referees do a tough job and mostly get the decisions right, but sometimes they show there human side and make mistakes, so what, thats always been part of football and we all have to live with it.
The problem these idiot people like Ferguson, Kinnear, Wenger are causing copy cat outbursts by managers at refs even in kids games, it has become like morons following morons, grow up you clowns and take it on the chin.
- Brian, Wiltshire, 11/11/2008 15:49
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