By: Uri Shamir – the site editor
Photo: Sharon Yonatan
Two and a half months before the year 2023 and Israeli football continues to break records of conduct that is far from professional, and no – the successes of the young teams still do not make the overall conduct of Israeli football professional.
We have written about the manpower crisis in the Northern District of the Judges Union in recent weeks, and today we are also reaching the serious consequences. In the last round in the Northern District of the National League, there is only one game that was played without lines – the game that was held at the stadium in Kiryat Yam, where Maccabi Tzur Shalom/Kiryat Bialik hosted Hapoel Herzliya, who won 0:1 with a goal scored by Liav Shabbat in the 45th minute, as seen in the video . The other six league games were officiated by a refereeing team, which included a referee and two linemen. It should be noted that the game in Kiryat Yam was refereed by Or Ben Ami, who received compliments from the people of Herzliya, but this still does not give any reason to normalize such a situation. By the way, this is the only game among The league games in the last round, where the names of the members of the judging team were not mentioned. I wonder why…
We asked the referees’ union to comment on the reasons why the match in Kiryat Yam was held without lines. We also asked, what is the reason that among the round-robin games, this is the only game in which the names of the members of the refereeing staff were not indicated at the bottom of the refereeing report on the Football Association’s website. This is the response we received: “The referee’s name will appear as soon as he finishes the report. We do not control the performance The names on the association’s website – everything is done automatically. When the judge finishes filling out the report, his name appears. Regarding the issue of assistants, the answer is no different from the other cases. Currently, unfortunately, there is not always enough manpower to staff 100% of the games with assistants. We try to slot in as much as possible and do the best we can.”
It’s time for action, enough for stories
“Doing our best”? What does that mean exactly? Opening more courses? Well and…? Is this what will solve the problems? You had months to prepare for this season, so that we do not end up in such a situation of manpower shortage, which causes a delay in the start of games, a failure of referees to show up for games, a situation where referees manage several games a day without lines. What did you do all summer, so that we don’t end up in this situation?
If you don’t open your pocket, it won’t help that you open courses. The salary levels offered do not beckon too many people to come and judge. You can tell us stories until tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, that the trigger does not have to be financial. As with you at the top of the union, there are probably people who work for a considerable salary, also a potential audience of candidates for refereeing are those who will only come when the salary level is high. It is logical and legitimate for referees to judge more than one game a day, games will be played without lines, the level of judging in many cases is low and indicates insufficiently comprehensive training. Unable to bring more budgets? Can’t manage it better? Give to others who are able.
Regarding the omission of the referee’s name from the game in this article: the correspondence with the union’s spokesperson, Yaron Olimi, was made shortly after the match between the youth teams of Hapoel Ra’anana and MS Ashdod ended yesterday afternoon, in which a preliminary refereeing report was entered with the team composition and the names of the refereeing staff. A screenshot from the association’s website was forwarded to the spokesperson. It is interesting that until the moment of writing these lines, the name of the referee from the game held on Friday is not indicated… Details of the lineups, substitutions, bench players, the name of the scorer, technical details of the time and location – have been available since at least Sunday morning. Names of the refereeing team – none. You are there in the referees’ union and the football association, if you think that by omitting details you will be able to pass improper conduct under the radar, you are making a big mistake. Gone are the days when most of the sports media was concentrated in two and a half morning newspapers, with a strict word limit. Today This is a technological age, everywhere there are people with cameras and smart phones, who can transmit information to the whole world with a few easy keystrokes. Instead of hiding details, it is better to look at reality with the eyes and give a professional answer to solve problems. As you know in the WhatsApp groups of the sports reporters, send all kinds of publications, whose purpose is to improve The likeness of the referees in the top leagues, it is appropriate not to hide in cases where you sign an omission.
It is not possible that public bodies, which are budgeted by public bodies and by the clubs, who have taken on the challenge of practical management of soccer in Israel, will not arrive ready for a match season with expanded refereeing teams. Football clubs invest a lot of effort to exist and to have a good youth team in a senior league. Coaches and players invest hours upon hours, to meet the professional and achievement goals they set for themselves, it is impossible that on the threshold of 2023 the bodies that are supposed to take care of the quantity and quality of referees, will allow such a situation to happen. This is far beyond an omission, it is a huge disdain that stems from strength, from disparaging an audience that is seen as a captive audience for you.
For this reason and many other reasons, the next Minister of Culture and Sports of the Israeli government, it is better to let another body manage football here – without harming the public budgets given to the teams affiliated to the football association. The budget of the football association is largely derived from the number of teams affiliated to the association. As soon as this amount decreases, due to the transfer of clubs to a competing body, the clubs will be perceived as customers and not as a captive audience – then we will be much more attentive to the needs of the clubs, a more professional and efficient service in every parameter.
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