Steve Bennett Scandal Shows Refs Need to Speak Up More

By: Daryl | February 9th, 2009

You’ve probably read about the Steve Bennett scandal in the News of the World by now.

Basically an undercover NotW (for non-UK readers, that’s the Sunday version of The Sun) reporter recorded English Premier League ref Steve Bennett spilling some secret beans about how certain players deliberately get themselves booked in order to miss games they don’t fancy playing in.

Here are some edited highlights of the conversation:

REPORTER: And players do that?

BENNETT: And they go straight through a bloke, to get a yellow card so that they don’t have to play over Christmas.

REPORTER: But as a fan . . .

BENNETT: I know and if they knew that, you’d be absolutely gutted, trust me. XXXXXX certainly said it to me, ‘I ain’t, I don’t want to play against f****** XXXXXX’. And what about XXXXXX’s tackle at XXXXXX?

REPORTER: Did he want Christmas off?

BENNETT: When you watch that. He comes in and you think what the f*****g hell are you making a tackle like that for?

REPORTER: But, as a fan.

BENNETT: He did. It’s Christmas, that’s three games. Absolutely. You don’t realise that. When you think about it now. You watch. Every year.

REPORTER: Cos they want Christmas off with their families.

BENNETT: They want a rest. What p***** off XXXXXX, I know for a fact, so does everybody else, he had a family holiday booked to go to XXXXXX for Christmas, right?

REPORTER: And he didn’t get booked?

BENNETT: Yep, he got sent off against XXXXXX. That’s why he made that tackle right? Right? But the manager says, ‘You ain’t going f*****g walkies. You are staying with the team and you will turn it in, f*****g good job. I was at XXXXXX on XXXXXX and XXXXXX sat in the box. He did not look happy. Between you me and the gatepost.

REPORTER: Mate, I can’t, like, look, as a fan, right, if if anyone . . .

BENNETT: As a fan, they f*****g rip you off. You don’t know half the things that go on. You don’t know half the things that go on.

…

BENNETT: All I’m saying is the foreigner players probably do it more because they are never used to playing games over the Christmas period, because all over Europe there is a three- week, four-week gap.

…

BENNETT: He (unclear) the ball, takes one step, two steps, turns his body and just f*****g launches himself. I mean two XXXXXX players go like that. But they are nowhere near him. If are in the wrong position, you’ve a penalty. So I got into a position and thought, ‘You cheating bastard’. That’s what you say to yourself.”

I’ve got a certain amount of sympathy for players who get booked in order to miss games. It’s not exactly ethical, but there are definitely worse things than making sure you spend Christmas with your family.

The really depressing thing here is the ref’s collusion by silence. Steve Bennett shouldn’t have to be tricked into saying this stuff by an undercover reporter. If he’s so annoyed about it, he should have gone public and let everyone know what was going on.

There’s nothing to stop refs reporting players they believe had gotten themselves deliberately booked, which could then lead to a longer ban (10 games maybe?) Because players telling referees to book them is shows what a joke players think refs are.

So if referees want somme respect – from fans as well as players – they need to start growing some balls and speaking out deliberately. Not just when the tabloids trick you into it.

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Category: World Football

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Dustin Edwards

It's amazing. A referee talks about something that Bad Players are doing and somehow it's STILL the refs Fault? Wayne Farry, Shut up. Imagine if Bennett said something, think he'd get any more games? Probably not. Ridiculing Refs in the EPL is like Kicking a Baby. It's soo fucking easy, and everyone does it, no one stands up and says "Don't kick the baby!"
Scott

I kind of have to agree with Phil.

Their job is to play for our entertainment. Yeah it is a strange job compared to the majority but honestly, that is their job and they should have known what they signed up for. You can't just skirt around your responsibility like that. Let alone screwing your team and fans over by making sure you sit out the next game.

Incredibly selfish behavior.
Phil McThomas

Waaa waaa. I have to work over Christmas. Waa waaa. I have to go into training for 2 hours, or leave after lunch to travel to an away game. Waa waaa. And I only get paid XX,000 pounds a week for this. Waa waaa.

Most days of the week, they're home after lunch and can spend all the time they want to with their kids. The other days, they don't work at all. The rest of us aren't home until 6 or 7 at night, we see our kids for an hour before bedtime, and we work a year for what they get paid in a week.

I'd be interested to know whether the same footballers finagling their way to an easy Christmas are also the same stand-up family guys who are getting arrested outside of nightclubs or driving their sports cars into assorted lamposts, walls, etc.

During my teenage years, my dad worked away from home (he did heavy engineering projects around the UK and even overseas at times). We'd say goodbye on a Sunday night and wouldn't see him again until last thing on Friday.

This isn't a sob story - it's just normal for many families. If my Dad starting throwing sickies to spend a bit more time with his family, they'd kick him out.

So pur-lease, save the sypathy for footballers.
Matt

Not that the Sun is known for its honest, fair journalism but color me a little skeptical of the whole thing. So this undercover reporter decided to talk to a former reporter in the hopes that he just might find something good to write about? I find it hard to believe that the reporter either a)didn't have an inkling on what exactly he was fishing for or b)knew the story he was going to write and took anything he could to support it. Color me skeptical of the whole thing.

Has Bennett had any comments about the article since it came out?
Wayne Farry

Great point really well made Daryl. If Bennett and the rest of the refs feel so strongly about this they should come out and say it. Shows what a coward this guy is, and he's in way more shit now than he would've been if he came out and said it to the press publicly.
workbench

I can understand someone picking up a 5th yellow so they miss away to stoke, but are available to play against germany or brazil or the like... but to have an xmas break. its a shambles.
Bro

I agree entirely with you.. Maybe if this was aired out more, there'd be a greater move toward taking some time of for Christmas, like in the continent. Complain about inflated salaries in football all you want, spending Christmas with your family isn't something your job should be preventing you from doing year in, year out.