Abuse causing amateur football referees to quit

As amateur referees in mid Wales hang up their boots because of abuse, just how bad is the abuse of officials in the beautiful game?

From the local park to the country's biggest stadiums, referees are shouted at by players, managers and fans alike.

The abuse is causing referees to walk away, and more and more games are being cancelled because there is no-one available to officiate matches.

'I feared for my safety'

Gareth Webb played football until the age of 35, when injury forced him to stop

Gareth Webb has been a referee in the Welsh National League in Wrexham for the last three years.

He said the abuse of referees, including himself, was a "common theme".

"We [referees] are going to get abused every single game. I can recall the one game that I did not get abused because it stands out."

He said the majority of the verbal abuse referred to his family or the fact he is bald, which he said is referred to on a "game by game basis".

On one occasion Mr Webb considered giving up refereeing.

"I remember sending two players off," he said, "loads of the players then surrounded me and I feared for my safety.

"I had given up my Saturday afternoon to referee a game but I got home afterwards and wondered what the point was. Just because we are getting paid does not mean we should accept the abuse."

Mr Webb said he was able to put the idea of quitting behind him but understood why others had left.

'A difference between criticism and abuse'

Simon Newport believes his work as a police officer helped him referee

Former referee of 30 years, Simon Newport is responsible for appointing officials to games in the Welsh Alliance Football League in north east Wales.

He has noticed a "dramatic decrease" in the number of officials available for games.

Mr Newport said: "Last season, 95% of games had officials but at the end of the season many officials left. Of course some moved away or retired, but some were sick and tired of the abuse.

"This season we can officiate between 20% and 25% less games. There are countless games in the lower leagues of the Welsh Alliance pyramid that are now being cancelled."

Football relies on referees as much as referees rely on football, a fact Mr Newport believes most do not recognise.

"It is simple, if there are no referees there is no football.

"We all like some banter but there is a difference between criticism and abuse, some of which borders on criminal abuse."

'Scared to talk'

Ref Support develops referees who come from under represented groups

The charity Ref Support was founded in September by Martin Cassidy in response to the recent spike in referee abuse.

A report by the Football Association revealed there were 111 cases of confirmed referee abuse across the United Kingdom last season.

Mr Cassidy said: "On the face of it, the figure appears to be very low. However it's the equivalent of over two per week, and if it's just during football season months it is over three.

"The figure does not include cases which were not proven, nor the hundreds of incidents where abuse was not reported."

Since the charity opened the country's first ever helpline for referees in September, they have received 70 calls.

"We have had phone calls from referees all over the country," said Mr Cassidy.

"These have included cases of assault and threats of violence by fans, players and managers.

"We are finding that referees are scared to talk because they believe if they report abuse they are less likely to be given games to officiate in the future.

"What is clear from the calls is referees do not know what to do when they are abused."