Forde: Referees boycott damaging communities

Former Arima Mayor Ashton Forde has condemned the continued boycott of FC Santa Rosa games by local referees. FC Santa Rosa will play Siparia Spurs at the Palo Seco Recreation Ground today but it is yet to be seen if officials will turn up for the encounter.

Referees have decided to boycott FC Santa Rosa’s games after their coach Keith Look Loy and his assistant Jovan Rochford verbally abused female referee Cecile Hinds on November 5 in a match vs Guaya United at the Arima Velodrome. Both coaches have been fined $1,000 and banned for one game each by the Disciplinary Committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Super League but Joseph Taylor, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Referees Association, said referees are not happy with the punishment which they deem too lenient and he could not guarantee they will show up for games played by Look Loy’s club.

Forde, in a Letter to the Editor, said: “The unusual decision by the referees to boycott matches that feature Santa Rosa FC from Arima is wrong. It is wrong because the referees took it upon themselves to control the games on and off the field. They obviously did not take into consideration the damage inflicted not only on the players but the entire community. “For almost two decades I have never seen the crowd at the Arima Velodrome to witness a football game as occurred in matches that feature Santa Rosa FC. What is even more remarkable is the fact that the crowds are in attendance for other teams in the Super league all over the country namely in Guayaguayare, Moruga, Cunupia and Tobago.”

Forde said severe criticism is a part of a referees’ job and that will not change.

“If the referees believe that their actions will bring about an end to criticism of their performance - they are wrong. Let me remind them that we will never forget the referee who officiated in an inter league game in 60’s between an Arima and Port of Spain teams when a tame shot from Eustace Devenish slipped through the legs of Lincoln Philip and crossed the line before the goal keeper pulled back the ball. The next day the newspaper published a picture of the ball over the line. “We will never forget how TT national team in the early 70’s was robbed in Haiti in the qualifying game for the world cup. Our team scored four goals but not one was allowed by the referee. And in cricket we will never forget how Brian Lara was treated by umpires across the globe as a result of their bad decisions.

“And so we will never forget the referee who allowed play to continue when a player was lying down on the field motionless in the game between Santa Rosa FC and Guaya at the Arima Velodrome. We have never heard of any disciplinary action taken against referees and umpires due to their bad decisions. The point is, the referees must understand that emotions will be high depending on their errors and whoever behaves in a manner contrary to the rules and regulations will stand the consequences but the game must never, never suffer.”

Forde joined the Central Football Association, the Veteran Footballers Federation of Trinidad and Tobago and FC Santa Rosa for the intervention of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to end the current impasse.