The Distribution of Power through a Media Campaign: The Respect Program, Referees, and Abuse in Association Football

ABSTRACT

The launch of the Respect Program in 2008 was intended to improve the working environment for referees at all levels of the game. However, eight years since the launch, this article has identified significant issues with the organization and management of the campaign and the verbal and physical abuse to which referees are subjected. Findings are concerned with the experiences of 2056 referees across England, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey, who responded to an online questionnaire, and given the emergent themes from the data are linked to a figurational framework through location within Norbert Elias's Civilizing Process. Findings identify a disenfranchised workforce, an uneven distribution of power and wider issues connected with the very structure of the game itself within England. The article concludes with specific recommendations designed to review and reinvigorate the Respect Program and as a consequence the working conditions for referees.

年开展的“尊重计划”旨在改善各级英式足球比赛中裁判的工作环境。然而, 自计划开展8年来, 竞赛的组织和管理存在重大问题, 裁判遭受到言语和身体上的虐待。本文就此进行论述。本文借鉴诺贝特·埃利亚斯的文明进程理论的形态框架, 结合来自英国、曼岛、泽西岛及根西岛的 2056 名裁判的亲身经历及对他们进行的网上调查问卷数据, 从而得出主旨观点。调查结果显示出裁判被剥夺权利的问题, 权力分配不均的问题以及英国足球项目本身各种结构的问题。本文最后提出一些针对性建议以回顾并复兴“尊重计划”, 从而改善裁判的工作条件。

KEYWORDS:

• Referees
• abuse
• association football
• civilizing process
• figuration

关键词:

• 裁判
• 虐待
• 英式足球
• 文明进程
• 形态

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tom Webb

Tom Webb (PhD, University of Portsmouth) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science in Sports Management and Development at the University of Portsmouth. He has conducted consultancy research for the Premier League (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) and published extensively in the subject area of match officiating in sport. His latest book, Elite Soccer Referees: Officiating in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A (Routledge, 2017) will be published in 2017.

Jamie Cleland

Jamie Cleland (PhD, University of Liverpool) is a senior lecturer in management in the School of Management at the University of South Australia. He writes widely on the sociology of football and his latest books include A Sociology of Football in a Global Context (Routledge, 2015) and Football's Dark Side: Corruption, Homophobia, Violence and Racism in the Beautiful Game (Palgrave, 2014).

Jimmy O'Gorman

Jimmy O'Gorman (PhD, Loughborough University) is a senior lecturer in sport management, development and coaching at Edge Hill University. He has conducted evaluation research for a number of sports organizations including the Football Association and International Cricket Council of Europe. His main research interests include the implementation and enactment of sport policy, and the workplace cultures and practices of sports workers in elite and community contexts.