As coaches it is important to be an example to your players in all situations from practice to games and to arguing a call. The society we live in shows little respect to officials, this type of behavior is seen throughout the media. Time after time in the post-game media interviews the official is brought up for not making a call or making a call that was unfair. The only thing we are not truly looking at is what the official is trying to accomplish. Being an official is a very difficult job and it is very important that officials can be able to react in the split of a second to any situation that might occur. In the long run, we must project the image to society of the referee as a sportsman, including his strengths and weaknesses, who, like everyone else, is trying to succeed in the match, not by scoring or defending goals but by enforcing the rules. And for that we need a better understanding of his job, among other things. Children who start to play football should also learn to referee, not simply to learn the Laws of the Game that they love but also, perhaps unconsciously, to empathize with the situations that confront an official. No doubt many years later, they will have a much truer and more compassionate picture of an official.
The responsibility of an official is much more then what is seen. Considering the importance of officials in all sports somehow they are still considered amateurs. The referee carries the same level of responsibility as the players. Yet when a player misses an easy goal, the fans and media rarely shout as loudly as when the neutral man with the whistle makes a mistake. The bar is often raised for them and perfection is demanded. Mistakes by officials are never overlooked, the pressure to be faultless is enormous. Officials have a reputation of being known as unfair or decide which way the game is going to end. The things the media has been portraying are things that show no respect for officials and the work they do.
