Some things are best unsaid

When it comes to referee safety, "just joking" isn't going to cut it

I’m confident in saying that Vanni Sartini was joking when he suggested that he would be the leading suspect in the potential murder of MLS referee Tim Ford.

I’ve never dealt with Sartini, but I know people who have and they say that he’s a guy that likes to use humour to defuse an otherwise hot situation. I’m also not someone that can’t appreciate dark humour — I’m a Gen Xer, for god’s sake. My generation is famous for finding laughs in the absurd.

So, I can’t say that I’m personally offended by the statement Sartini made. I don’t think the man had murder in his heart when he said it.

However, he should be severely punished for going there. We are talking about a multiple game suspension to start 2024 and as big a fine as is allowed to be given.

Joke or not, you just can’t go there. The joke isn’t funny because there are far too many people that won’t see it as a joke. There are people who would resort to violence over their frustration with a referee’s call (or non-call, in this case).

Case in point: jj

Referees in all sports have increasingly found themselves the target of violence. In extreme cases, referees have been killed. This is no joke.

Violence towards referees is a significant issue at the grassroots. The threats and violence that referees have experienced have driven many out of the game and have made it difficult to find officials at the local level.

This is a significant problem in our sport and all sports and it’s why we can’t just hand-wave away Sartini’s comments. They contribute to a culture that says it’s OK to be hateful towards and dehumanize officials.

Finally, it doesn’t matter if the referee made a mistake or not (he didn’t in the specific case of not blowing his whistle after contact with the Whitecaps player, as far as I am aware. My understanding is that the referee is to blow the play dead if the ball hits him. Players need to avoid contact with the referee, otherwise. The only fault that can be laid on the official in a case like that is whether he was out of position and I don’t believe he was here. That may seem unfair, but there is a lot about the Laws of the Game that can seem unfair). There are review processes in place that reward and punish referees in an appropriate way (they either get more games or they don’t).

No one is going to be harder on a referee than the referee. They are professionals who truly do want to call the perfect game but understand that calling the perfect game might be impossible. Players, coaches and, especially, fans often don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to the Laws of the Game and, once things have cooled down, you’ll find that the officials are right far more often than they are wrong.

Regardless, Sartini needs to sit out the start of next season and learn that there are times when dark humour isn’t appropriate.

As for the unnamed player that entered the referee’s dressing room? He should probably be looking at a suspension of 10+ games. Personally, I’d go with 17. A message needs to be sent.

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