Although such incidents are at times common around the globe, in the past days we have heard of a number of incidents, even locally, of unruly behaviour and possibly violence in sports.

I guess practically every sport follower discussed what happened in the Milan derby from the quarter finals of the Champions League last week. Thus I do not see it logical to continue to delve into these unfortunate incidents.

However the local sport programme in the past weekend also witnessed some irresponsible incidents. We had the sad incidents last Saturday at the Hibs ground during the First division football derby between St. George’s and Senglea where even one of the assistant referees was manhandled after that some supporters proceeded from their stand both towards the actual field of play and even in the VIP area. This match was eventually abandoned.

Then, the following day, another match was abandoned. This time the sport was basketball and the match between Qormi and Mosta where these two sides were playing the decisive fifth match in the first division semi-final play-offs. Tempers started flaring midway in the second half when Mosta won eight consecutive free-throws and then the problems culminated in the last minute when one of the referees was attacked after one of the players alleged that the same referee had thrown the ball at him.

There was also some incident at the Marsa Horse Racetrack that could have led to far greater problems than what actually occurred.

But what should actually be the referee’s response when faced by any form of attack, especially verbal?

As long as the supporters’ comments to the player/s or referee are not racial or filled with obscenities, the referee should try and avoid the comments. Fans try very hard to break the concentration of the opposing team players by yelling bizarre and sometimes strange comments, such as (not to mention more colourful statements!), “Hey Joe, where did you get that ugly haircut?”

In such instances I believe it is quite beneficial for the game that the referee tries to go near this player named Joe as soon as possible and let him know that it is best to not acknowledge the fans. The player (generally, although this is not always the case due to different mentalities in the sense that I find around certain very aggressive attitudes which jump eagerly on such an occasion as to justify their subsequent reactions) will appreciate that you are helping him out and will likely not react to the derogatory and insulting comments. Past international seminars and technical lectures I have attended in the past years have made me aware that this is an example of very good game management.

The following, unfortunately, might not apply to the local scene (especially in my sport, basketball) as supporters’ control is left to the police to handle. The latter, in my opinion, do not always do an efficient job as certain rowdy characters get away scot free, at times without even a warning. I truly wish that the police (although I cannot generalise as there are some efficient officers who are very serious on their job and let nobody take the mickey out of them and these must surely be complimented and should be a clear example to their colleagues who skive from their responsibility) make use of their authority so as to curb a small number of persons who are unworthy to be called supporters and who may also be leading other true supporters not to continue to attend the games as they cannot stand such behaviour.

However in international games it may be prudent to keep game management officials (in certain arenas these may consist of dozens of persons called gym or game stewards) informed of any early demonstrations of borderline conduct. Past experiences have led referees to be instructed that forewarning management helps to ensure that they will be prepared to help the referee deal with the situation if the conduct further degrades to unsporting fan involvement with the game.

In instances when a spectator crosses the line and uses racial slurs, the referee must immediately contact game management. One should not allow the situation to escalate. There have been several reported incidents where fans from opposing teams grew irate and very angry with each other and caused a scuffle.

My advice is that referees, whether new or experienced, should make every possible effort to stay away from spectators. If possible, avoid making eye contact with a fan who is trying to get under your skin. It is no secret that most supporters find it entertaining to disconcert referees. I think everybody agrees that once referees feel that you are paying attention to them, you are in trouble.

While we live in a society that punishes crime, we do not live in a society that endorses an eye for an eye on an interpersonal basis. Just because a verbal attack happens inside a sport gym or pitch does not give the target of the attack (i.e. the referee in this case) the right to start throwing punches or retaliate in any manner.

One must remember that fans are allowed to complain about, what they term and believe to be, your “bad refereeing.” Although it is not good sportsmanship, it will undoubtedly happen in every game that you referee. In such situations the referee should try as much as possible to let those comments go. As I have already stated many times in this column in the past, the referee must learn to view all such comments as non-personal, even though you will hear some that are borderline criticism of everything about you.

I do not want to end on such a sour and dull note but I tend to believe that we are waiting for the next level of violence in professional sports, basically some sort of shooting. My intention is not to shock you but analysing the happenings in the last years, I think that somewhere it is bound to happen. Near to fatal attacks have already occurred, for example many remember former world number one female tennis player Monica Seles who was stabbed on the court by a rival’s crazy supporter. In this context my thoughts move further and I ask myself, how long will it be before someone tries to take a shot at an athlete or anyone associated with the game?

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