By Ibrahim Toure
On January 13 2016, approximately six months after the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup took place, Ted Howard, the federation’s Acting General Secretary, released the Final Report of the Referee Department Review. The report constitutes an attempt to address and inform the audience and participants that the incidents and refereeing decisions that occurred during the competition were purely accidental. Additionally, it makes light of the federation’s intent to make some changes to address the situation.
In July 2015, the 23rd edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup took place in the United States and in Canada, marking the first time ever that the tournament was held in that country. This particular competition raised numerous questions about possible match-fixing and referee bias.
The coverage made reference to officiating decisions in regards to allocating an unjustified amount of minutes at the end of regulation, dubious sending-offs of players, and incorrect penalty calls, with all incidents in favor of the same team.
The release of the CONCACAF’s Referee Report is an attempt by the sport’s governing body to provide all the parties involved with an explanation of what specifically occurred on the field during the competition. The document also serves as a form of self-assessment and an acknowledgment of existing referee-related issues within the game. The recommendations that it contains include four primary objectives to maintain a high standard of integrity, and place referees in the best possible conditions to avoid the reoccurrence of such events.
The findings and recommendations present in the report were obtained based on interviews with referees, officials, and members of the Referee Advisory Group. The referee appointment process and match reports from the competition also served as tools to identify specific issues and provide prospective solutions.
The report announces several key findings and recommendations after in-depth reviews and interviews involving members of the CONCACAF were conducted. The first notable finding addresses the fact that after investigation, the federation found no concrete and persuasive evidence of dishonest activity to make sure that one team wins. The report establishes instead that plausible causes of the inaccurate calls were human mistakes, lack of concentration, and poor positioning.
It also acknowledges that another potential cause of the poor calls was on-going labor disputes involving the referee group, which could have been a distraction. The report does state that the refereeing crew in those particular contests ultimately acknowledged their errors and apologized.
In the second finding, CONCACAF’s report openly admits that its referee and match official appointment process must be adjusted, as it currently differs from the guidelines provided by FIFA. As a result of those differences, the federation has made mistakes and received more criticism.
The third point addressed in the report indicates that the federation identified some specific administrative issues related to planning, and within the structure of the Referee Department. Some specific categories identified in the report are payment and reimbursement issues, as well as compensation policy and new financial terms for match officials and referees.
Ted Howard expresses in the report CONCACAF’s intent to hire a Director of refereeing with the adequate skills and experience to overlook the Referee Department and minimize the occurrence of such incidents in the long run.
Finally, the last important element included in the report pertains to the idea of improving the appointment procedure for referees and officials. In addition to those measures, the report affirms that embracing practices similar to those used by the Federation International de Football Association is important. By following that approach, CONCACAF hopes to ensure that referees are properly equipped, trained and educated to perform their responsibilities both effectively and efficiently, and maintain a high level of integrity within the sport.
In the final paragraph of the three page report, Ted Howard reinforces the importance of referees to CONCACAF’s mission, specifically as it relates to ensuring that the tournaments are properly officiated. He also asserts that the federation is committed to making sure that the Referee Department is in the best position to successfully perform its tasks.
CONCACAF emphasizes that “many of these conclusions and recommendations have already been implemented and the Confederation will continue working to ensure that our Referee Department continues to be strengthened” (p. 2).
Ibrahim Toure is a doctoral student at Florida State University
