The irony was not lost that 24 hours after one of Merseyside’s most prominent junior leagues sanctioned the cancellation of every single of one of their fixtures to raise awareness of the abuse their referees receive, that two of football’s best and most high-profile managers were caught behaving far from perfectly in English football’s most high-profile match.
The Merseyside Youth Football League took the ‘drastic action’ following what they called ‘multiple incidents of inappropriate and threatening behaviour’. It left hundreds and hundreds of young footballers, playing for teams ranging from under-7s through to under-17s, without a game on Saturday.
It was a decision the league did not take lightly but, in the words of secretary Stacey Savage, “we want people to take a look at themselves and make them realise that they caused this”.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola should look at themselves, too, after how they behaved during the dramatic Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday.
With passions running high at Anfield, Klopp was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor 10 minutes after Mohamed Salah scored what proved to be the winner.
The Liverpool boss was ordered from the touchline after furiously confronting the fourth official Andy Madley for the failure to give what was a free kick after Bernardo Silva fouled Salah.
The footage, both in real time and still, was unedifying. But, after being dismissed for the first time since taking over the Reds, Klopp did have the grace to apologise for his actions, saying: “So red card, my fault, I went over the top in the moment. I don’t think I was disrespectful to anybody but if you look at the pictures… I know myself, I am 55 and the way I look at that moment is already worth a red card.”
Klopp’s opposite number, Guardiola, remained on the touchline, but he did not cover himself in glory either, completely losing his cool, and reportedly screaming ‘This is Anfield’ to the Liverpool supporters as referee Taylor went over to the pitch-side monitor, on the advice of VAR, before eventually and correctly ruling out Phil Foden’s ‘goal’ because of a foul made by Erling Haaland on Fabinho in the build-up.
All just part of the drama? Well, a former Premier League referee disagrees. Peter Walton, writing in The Times, said: "Why this is so important, why we need to change the way managers and players behave, is because what happens in the Premier League has a huge influence on what happens in the amateur game Only last week the FA revealed that 380 players and coaches were banned for attacking or threatening referees and match officials in English grassroots football last season.
"While I refereed in the Premier League I made a point of refereeing at grassroots level as well and I could see the copying effect. What players and managers did on TV on a Saturday afternoon would be repeated on a Sunday morning. Because of this the professional game owes a duty of care to the amateur one."
Walton has got a point. In my years involved in grassroots football - the last five at junior level - there have been occasions when remonstrations to referees - the majority of whom, at junior level, are under 18 and, like the players they are officiating, still making their way in the game - have gone over the top. Just as Klopp and Guardiola did on Sunday.
Fortunately, I’ve never come across an incident as serious as the ones that have clearly blighted the Merseyside Youth Football League. But young footballers do emulate their heroes - be it for the good things, like skills, goals and celebrations, but, sadly, also the bad things, like diving, and like complaining to referees.
However, something Frank Lampard said at his pre-match press conference got me thinking. When asked about Klopp’s reaction to the missed foul on Sunday and his subsequent sending off, the Everton boss said: “We have a responsibility, I understand that. But there's also a microscope on managers in the modern day, where we're in high pressurised jobs. It's easy for me to sit here in a calm moment and say, 'we should be better' and all these things, but the amount of pressure we come under and sometimes the decisions that go against you can throw you.
“We all know that situation. If you're trying to draw a line with that to someone on a Sunday league game and physical reaction, that's just a personal responsibility as it would be if they did it on the street. I don't draw that line. I see manager's handling themselves in high pressure situations 99% of the time well.
"I remember (Thomas) Tuchel and (Antonio) Conte having it out earlier in the season. Everyone was like, 'this is great, this is what the Premier League is all about, seeing passion'. You can't have everything in one go."
Like Walton, Lampard’s got a point. While I would let myself and the club I represent down if I behaved in similar ways, I’d be a hypocrite if I said I wasn’t one of those people who enjoyed Tuchel’s and Conte’s set-to earlier this season - or that I wasn’t engrossed by the drama both on and off the field at Anfield at the weekend. And to further back up Lampard's point, it is the biggest cop out to suggest the reason you feel it’s okay to abuse a referee during a grassroots game at a weekend is because you’ve seen a Premier League manager do it on the TV. We have our own minds.
While football is not more important than life and death, to paraphrase a legendary Liverpool manager, it is, in the words of a decorated former Everton boss, the most important of the less important things in the world. So I can understand, if not condone, the way Klopp and Guardiola behaved on Sunday, particularly when the atmosphere was a white-hot as it was at Anfield. And while it may be a world away from a match-up between two of the top teams in the world, try telling the people involved in grassroots football up and down the country that their weekend game is not important and is not the centrepiece of their week. But it isn't Liverpool v Manchester City and, without referees, those same games would not be taking place and, particularly at junior level, anyone found to be abusing officials should have no place in this sport.
That’s why you have to applaud the Merseyside Youth Football League for the stand they have taken. And that’s why Walton is right to say that managers and players at the top level found to be behaving badly to referees should also be severely punished because, whatever mitigating circumstances there may be, there has to be a top-down approach taken for the good of the game. Everyone has got a part to play and, while no-one’s perfect and there has to be an acceptance that we'll make mistakes, which we try to learn from, we’re the adults here, and actually, we can all do better.
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