Why it's time for a new breed of younger referees who are ex-players, plus Arsene Wenger's U-turn

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Published 23:01 07/03/10

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Arsenal fans were upset with me last week about my remarks that if Arsene Wenger cannot stand the physical nature of English football then he should think about moving to abroad.
My thoughts go out to Ramsey, but Wenger's reaction was over the top  

So it was nice to see the Professor doing a U-turn by saying he does actually like the physical side of the English game after all.

I was beginning to have my doubts after his frequent rants about the treatment of his team from other sides and referees.

It is refreshing to see him back up my observations that English football is as much about physicality as it is about pure football philosophies.

I don’t agree with him still rallying against Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross for the challenge which broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg.

But Wenger clearly does appreciate a well-timed challenge as he built one of the best sides in Premier League history, with plenty of bite in the tackle, when Arsenal went unbeaten to win the 2003/2004 title.

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The time has come for a younger breed of referees to be introduced following another high-profile clanger.

I don’t usually criticise referees but I totally agree with Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill and his strident views on Phil Dowd’s poor handling of the Carling Cup final.

Nemanja Vidic undoubtedly should have been red-carded in the opening few minutes of Manchester United against Villa at Wembley for bringing down Gabriel Agbonlahor.

It would have changed the entire game and I can understand why O’Neill is still livid - especially as Vidic was not even booked.

So I can’t help pondering whether maybe it is time for some younger, fitter referees under 40 years of age who can keep up with play better.

I am possibly talking about ex-pros who have either not made it or have had sterling careers and understand players’ behaviour.

Plenty of ex-players retire well under 30 due to various reasons and I think there could be a consistent train of former players becoming refs.

Some would say they would have their allegiances and I couldn’t referee an Everton game or Birmingham City for example due to my links with their local rivals.

But something needs to be done to address the issue of refereeing as many officials are getting too old and too fat to be perfectly honest.

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