Spanish arbitration opens door to strike over rise in “verbal and physical violence”

Spanish arbitration, through a statement released by the Spanish Football Federation, left the door open to calling a strike due to an increase in “verbal and physical violence” that they believe is against the collective.

“Our only goal is not to have to regret any incidents that have already occurred that could lead us to adopt drastic and immediate measures that would have a direct impact on our competitions, forcing us not to expose the physical integrity of our members, ” they conclude in their presentation..

The document opens with the estate expressing its concern “about the increase in verbal and physical violence” members are suffering, which they understand has been accentuated “especially in recent months”.

“It is difficult to do your job in a scenario with insults, pressures, threats and aggression. “All this is due, I guess, to refereeing errors in “amateur football” and, what is more serious, in “grassroots football”, categories that should be considered entertainment and education,” they point out.

“Clubs and institutions defend the values ​​that are instilled in football through training, but despite this, in a large number of cases we can see harassment, threats and attacks on people who train, whose only “crime” is showing their passion as referees. minors, who strive to perform their work in the best possible way”, they add.

The referees state that they are aware of mistakes and regret when they happen, although they defend their right to make mistakes and emphasize the preparation of refereeing matches: “We must not ignore that referees play the same goals as clubs, the possibility of promotion or relegation at the end of the season. It is surprising how easily disqualifies the entire arbitration panel or, worse, calls into question the integrity of the entire arbitration panel.

“Unfortunately, there are repeated situations of violence that even reach the point of normalizing unforgivable aggressive behavior. We are thinking of the way in which very serious offenses are justified that violate the spirit of sportsmanship and the values ​​of sport,” they point out.

For this reason, they call for the reflection of all sectors involved and the joining of forces “to put an end to this scourge”: “Also, we ask for the maximum involvement of official institutions and our political class regardless of party, because all this affects such precious wealth as is our sport, which is why we believe that the time has come to avoid, among all of us, an incident with an irreversible end”.

“We must censor and prosecute aggressive attitudes, fight for bullies to continue to be a part of sports and stop encouraging hatred and violence on social networks and in the media,” they continue.

At the same time, they say: “We ask that this situation be given the importance it deserves, that work be done on exemplary punishment of this situation and thereby achieve protection in accordance with what a sports referee deserves.” It is time to stop this continuous campaign of smearing the referees, which only generates questioning of the integrity and reputation of the whole group.