Refs in short supply

Sam Mizuno (middle) referees an MMSL match between Sons of Italy and St. James United. Schedules have been affected by the ref shortage. JESSE JOHNSTON Sun

Refs in short supply
Attacks from players part of problem
By KEN WIEBE, STAFF REPORTER

The Manitoba Major Soccer League had a problem and the only way to solve it was to shorten its schedule.

Teams in the MMSL used to play 22 games, plus playoffs, but the numbers this season have been capped at 18 maximum per team.

Where does the problem stem from?

A shortage of qualified referees, caused at least partly by an increase in abusive situations toward the officials.

A quick glance at the discipline section of the Manitoba Soccer Association website shows a laundry list of incidents that had to be penalized -- and many of them harshly.

The two categories of offences include physical assault of the referee and threatening the referee with physical harm.

Some of the players are eligible to return later this summer, but Northwest player Matt Cabral's suspension runs until 2021.

COULDN'T FILL SCHEDULE

"About four or five years ago, we told the league that something needs to be done," said Larry Eloy, a long-time member of the referee fraternity. "Nobody really took it (the shortage) seriously. Basically, last year there were times we couldn't fill the schedule. That's when it really hit the fan."

In November of 2005, the Manitoba Soccer Association put a task force for referee development in place to try and remedy the problem, with Eloy serving as the chairperson.

While it's a little early to gauge the results, most believe the task force is a step in the right direction.

"Every year we get 30 to 40 people who take the referee's course but by the end of the summer, we've got three to five who stick around to (referee) and that's not a very good retention rate," said Eloy, noting burnout is another factor leading to referees stepping aside. "For our part, the referee development went downhill as well because all the instructors and assessors were referees as well and we didn't have time to look at these new guys and give them pointers and help them out. We had to fill the gaps (in the schedule) and referee games."

This year, a point was made to ensure assessors were getting out to help the new referees rather than just filling out the schedule.

"Our short-term goal was to slow the bleeding down for this year," said Eloy, noting the referee shortage is a global problem rather than a local one. "We've got to achieve some long-term goals for five years down the road. You don't just become a referee overnight, not a good one. It probably takes five years to know if somebody is going to be good. On average, you get 100 referees and you hope to keep 30 of them and probably only three of them will be superstars. The rest will be mid-grade guys who treat it as a hobby."

Brent Boulton, a vice-president for MMSL, is concerned about the shortage of officials.

"A lot of people are retiring and they're not being replaced by younger officials," said Boulton, noting the old adage of having to suffer through short-term pain for long-term gain has surfaced. "That situation will get worse before it gets better and we've got to be prepared for it. We've made a long-term decision that we cannot sustain 22 games anymore. We have had a game or two canceled because we didn't have referees for it. It's been tricky to do the schedule and keep it down to 10 games per day.

"The league will continue to be strong, it's in good shape."

As for the abuse Boulton hopes incidents can eventually be eliminated.

"We don't approve of it at any time," said Boulton. "(Offenders) will be dealt with severely.