Referees need a low profile in order to be do their jobs properlyThe Easter weekend fixtures saw some truly appalling decisions by referees in the Premier League.
The penalty awarded to Manchester United for a 'foul' which saw QPR's Shaun Derry sent off and Branislav Ivanovic's goal for Chelsea against Wigan which was clearly offside were just two calls made by officials over the past few days.
The spate of errors by officials led to some strong words from Mark Hughes and Roberto Martinez, and now Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish may well have talked himself into an FA charge after using words like "conspiracy" and "integrity" when complaining about recent decisions that have not gone his own team's way.
Dalglish has every right to feel aggrieved at some of the things that have gone against his team over the past couple of weeks, but I do not agree when he suggests that officials should have to come out after games and explain their decisions.
Players and managers are paid substantial amounts of money for what they do, and they get praised and lauded for doing well just as much as they get criticised for performing poorly. Referees, while paid well compared to the average wage, do not have anything like the sort of salary which would compensate for them opening themselves up to being lambasted in public in such a way. A referee would never be interviewed after having an excellent game, they would only be hung out to dry every time they got a split-second decision wrong.
Officials get decisions wrong at every level of professional football, from the Premier League all the way down to the Conference. Arguably, a bad call in a Blue Square Premier match would be more damaging, as it could deny players a much-needed win bonus or facilitate a result that sees a club go out of business altogether. Players in the top flight are almost all guaranteed a great living whether they win, lose or draw.
I can say with a great deal of certainty that the standard of refereeing is much better today than it was during my career. Some of the decisions you used to see were shocking, and they happened on a far more regular basis, but because there was less money riding on every match and fewer cameras and analysts looking in on the action there was far less fuss made.
The advent of professionalism has led to officials being able to practice in reading situations better, improve the way they maintain their authority and train harder to make them able to keep up with play.
It has also encouraged people who were trainees but did not quite make it as players see taking up refereeing as a viable alternative career path. Recruiting such people who have a greater understanding of the game can only be of benefit to it.
So to then force them to go in front of the cameras and be grilled about their decisions would most likely put many of those candidates off the job altogether.
If the public profile of a referee was increased to include them being interviewed regularly, it could lead to them receiving abuse outside of their work too. Some people seem to operate under the notion that if they see someone on their television screens then it makes them fair game in public. Given the fanatical nature of football, you could not blame some officials fearing for their safety if they were put right at the centre of a controversial incident.
Just as in all walks of life, people make mistakes in their place of work from time to time. Referees are not immune, but neither are players or managers. Perhaps they should focus on themselves and their own failings more and not look to blame others at every opportunity.