Twenty-two FIFA badges were presented to Ghanaian referees and assistants based on their performance from the previous year.

Historically, FIFA gives these Referees’ badges for the calendar year to the top ranked referees from the previous year who excel in both local and international matches.

And, owing to the importance of referees not only in sports but other spheres of life, it is important to congratulate them instead of attempting to denigrate the feat.

It is a major feat in every sense of the word. Selecting 22 from a field of hundreds of match officials across the country should tell us that these group of officials have done something good.

The recipients comprised 10 Centre Referees, 10 Assistant Referees, a Futsal Referee, Beach Soccer Referee, and Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Officiating has been one of the most challenging areas in sports in Ghana, especially football and it is a global phenomenon.

In fact, the recent rift between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA) leading to the latter’s split is as a result of ills committed by referees.

Football has not been spared of the controversies associated with officiating with announcement of referees’ sanctions flying around most of the time.

In the Ghana Premier League (GPL), it is a major worry for clubs, especially when they are faced with away matches where some of their calls beats one’s imagination.

A lot of the incidents that have clouded the game’s integrity in controversy have come from referee’s decisions with the unfortunate May 9 Accra Sports Stadium incident.

At the presentation ceremony, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, and General Secretary, Prosper Harrison Addo, congratulated the officials and made statement I found very profound.

“This is not to say that there have not been challenges. Refereeing is an art that has to grow continuously. On that journey of growth, there will be mistakes. On that journey of growth, there will be challenges.

“But when you are very motivated and your eyes are fixed on excellence, you continue to invest in yourself and to challenge yourself towards being much better at every given opportunity. That’s why I’m so happy about the performances you guys have put up on the African continent, especially. We will continue to push and to ask for more opportunities for you. And I hope that when such opportunities come, you will not disappoint us.”

The duo were right in their statements but what they failed to add were the roles expected of them to play in order to ensure that the performances of these referees are improved and make those investment in themselves.

Referees themselves have complained about treatment meted out to them on several platforms. They go for months without being paid their allowances.

In a funny and jovial manner, some shared how they take loans from their wives/partners to enable them travel to match destinations and return on that same money source.

If such a debt hangs around the neck of the referee, how can he get the concentration to interpret the laws of the game on the field of play?

The only way out for such a referee would be to officiate to the gallery of the home team who as host would make every pleasantry available to the referee – accommodation, feeding, money and others.

This is the reason why the FA must put in place the needed measures to ensure that the referees gets the needed support to improve their standards.

In cases when they are found culpable of some of the incidents that mars a game, they must be quickly sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.

By Andrew Nortey