Veteran referee calls for respect

WHILE HE and his colleagues had withdrawn their services for the ISSA schoolboy competitions over the weekend, veteran referee Everton Barrett was present at the Youth Football League (YFL) U-11 Junior Cup eastern regionals on Saturday at the Constant Spring Sports Complex.

Barrett, who has been officiating in Jamaica for over 16 years, said it is especially important for parents to teach their children to respect the match officials from an early age.

He said often, young players learn how to treat the referees by copying the attitudes they see around them at the various games.

He explained if parents are respectful towards referees, then their children will be respectful towards referees as well.

However, if parents show a lack of respect towards the referees and their authority, they will encourage their children to do the same.

“Supporting your kids is good; however, supporting the referees is good as well,” Barrett explained.

“At the end of the day, football wins when you support the players and you support the referees by acknowledging the law and having respect and discipline towards the referees and the calls that they make.”

He continued, “If you have no bad reaction, then the child will say the referee is doing something good, so let’s work with him and cooperate. Those are the things that we’re looking forward to.”

Players banned

Barrett’s comments comes a week after an altercation between players and referees during a daCosta fixture between Dinthill Technical High School and McGrath High School.

Two of the players, Maalick Whyte and Shamair Hutchinson have been banned from ISSA competitions for a year while another player, Tyrese Gowe, was handed a three-match suspension.

ISSA also placed Dinthill Technical on three years’ probation.

Barrett said more emphasis should be placed on youth football as they represent the future of Jamaica’s football.

He believes the best practices should be taught at an early age to ensure as players mature, they will continue to exhibit the best behaviours.

“I think this is really where it should all start. Most emphasis should be here and every football entity should be here and focus on the youth because they are the future. As you can see, the parents are coming in and are so passionate. It is fun being here.”