Save the Ref: Why our campaign is crucial

Sep 18 2008 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

FOOTBALL is our nation's most popular sport.

It is a game where for most parts of a season we love to follow our local club. And, when international fixtures come around, similarly, we like to support our country.

For these reasons we need to remember if Huddersfield's referee crisis deepens – or worse, spreads to other areas – it could have a detrimental affect on the future of football.

Please, let's not allow such a scenario to occur!

Speaking to The Examiner in February this year, John Ennis, the referees' appointments secretary for Huddersfield FA, expressed his deep concern about the falling number of officials.

He said: "If the numbers continue to reduce they will drop so low that we will be off the page on the graphs I have drawn up representing the decline.

"We've got to do something pretty much straight away to hold our ground – we need a quick-fix.

"For my graphs to move in the right direction changes have to be made sooner rather than later. We can't wait for three years down the line."

It is because of the crisis with the recruitment and the retention of referees in Huddersfield football that the Examiner has launched this campaign.

I am a journalist – in a profession where, ordinarily, I have to be impartial. But, where this issue is concerned, this rule is certainly tested to its limit.

For the sake of our game, we all must be somewhat biased in trying to remedy this terrible situation. We must work together to end this crisis!