Avoiding the Drop

Does this say "sorry" to you?

As all married men out there know, apologizing is a bit of an art form. As the Harvard Business School points out:

“Done right, an apology can enhance both reputations and relationships. Done wrong, an apology can compound the original mistake, sometimes to disastrous consequences.”

Which brings us to our first apology of the day: Sir Alex Ferguson’s apology to referee Alan Wiley.

As you probably remember, the initial incident stems from the Manchester United-Sunderland 2-2 draw. Following the draw (and a rather abject performance by United), Ferguson decided that the result wasn’t his team or keeper’s fault, nor Sunderland’s skill: it was all Alan Wiley. His exact comments:

“I was disappointed with the referee. He didn’t add on any time for the goal. He played four minutes and two seconds.”

“He was also walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest. He was not fit enough for a game of that standard.

“The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It is an indictment of our game.

“You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher’s dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn’t fit.

“He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous.”

Just reading that, you can tell that there’s a lot going on there. For one thing, Fergie’s mad about the “extra time” he should’ve gotten at Old Trafford (bear in mind, Manchester United still drew level with Sunderland in extra time). Walking back to the center circle isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially since the players were likely all humping each other after their goal celebration; there’s no rush to get back. And on top of all that, butcher’s dogs are probably not even really fit.

Regardless of his poor canine simile, the FA was incensed that Fergie had “went there” and talked smack about Wiley’s fitness. In truth, it was a pretty low blow, and the kind of thing Ferguson’s been warned about before. So Sir Alex put forth an apology this weekend:

“I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused and to The FA for going public with my views. In retrospect, I accept that this could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate forum.”

“It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media attention on Mr Wiley. I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas during this international break.

“I would wish it to be noted that I have always respected Mr Wiley’s integrity and that I did not state or imply: that Mr Wiley is a bad referee; that he was in any way biased; that decision-making generally during the game was poor, or that he missed any key incident during the game.

“My only intention in speaking publicly, was to highlight what I believe to be a serious and important issue in the game, namely that the fitness levels of referees must match the ever increasing demands of the modern game, which I hope will now be properly addressed through the appropriate formal channels.”

And that, folks, is where there’s an issue. See, that apology is all well and good provided you ignore the fact that HE DOESN’T ACTUALLY APOLOGIZE. He’s not sorry for the remarks, he’s sorry for the embarassment they caused. He never intended to single out Wiley, he just thinks that all referees have crappy fitness. Oh, and he never said Wiley was a bad ref, just that he was too out of shape to be good. And anyways, even if people did get hurt, he was simply trying to highlight a a serious and important issue in the game; don’t kill the messenger, Mr. FA Disciplinarian!

Alan Leighton, the head of the referee’s union, agrees:

“I think it’s a half-hearted apology at best really, and it probably exacerbates the position, rather than resolving it.

“He clearly hasn’t retracted the statement about Alan being unfit so it’s not an apology for the main offence caused – and then he widens it to question the fitness of other referees, so he seems to be opening another can of worms which I don’t think is very helpful at all.

“Referees are very fit…they have sports scientists who test them regularly throughout the season. They don’t just pass a fitness test at the start of the season. Their body fats and BMI are regularly monitored, there are get-togethers every two or three weeks where they are put through extensive training and testing.

“I think the punishment should be a UEFA-type coaching ban, which is rather more than a touchline ban. Referees always accept decisions are going to be pored over – they have no problem with legitimate criticism.

“What’s problematic is when the integrity and key components of refereeing are being questioned in a totally unwarranted and unfounded way – and we will defend our members when they are.”

And Leighton is 100% right.

See, here’s the thing. A lot is made about the favoritism towards Ferguson at Old Trafford, especially when it comes to penalty kicks and injury time. In my mind, however, it isn’t about favoritism; it’s about avoiding conflict. Referees are paid somewhere between £60,000-70,000 a year, which is pretty good money. It’s not enough money, however, to be publicly pilloried in the national media for doing your job. See, nobody’s saying that Wiley had a bad match here; in fact, most reports have stated he did a pretty good job. Imagine coming to work, doing everything you’re supposed to do, and then being called out afterwards because you didn’t do something exactly the way your anal retentive coworker thinks you should have done it. That’d suck, right?

So what ends up happening is this: on a 50/50 call, at Old Trafford, you’re going to go United’s way. It’s not because you favor United; you probably hate them, actually. It’s because you don’t need your name and face plastered on the cover of every tabloid in the free world, with fans and pundits and managers and players all calling you an incompetent idiot, regardless of whether or not you did something wrong. It’s better for you if United wins than it is if United loses, because it’s going to be you thrown under the bus when they lose (because Ferguson never, ever thinks his players are to blame).

Meanwhile, Ferguson could give a shit about Alan Wiley’s fitness; he’s simply taking the heat off of his poorly performing players (who make in a week what Wiley makes in a year) and throwing it right on the officials. Which means he can’t backtrack from his stance; he needs to make these ridiculous statements so that he can cover up for his player’s inadequacies. If United has a bad year this year, you’d better believe that Ferguson is going to be making these kinds of statements ALL THE TIME.

Which is why the UEFA-style ban is a good idea. Ferguson is bullying refs; this is only the latest example of that kind of behavior, and his apology really shows absolutely no regret or contrition. Refs have a hard enough job as it is without Ferguson attacking them when they haven’t done anything wrong.