THE VOTE Should footballers and managers be allowed to swear at the referee?

Ollie Irish

14th, February 2007

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Dowd_jewell Wigan boss Paul Jewell has announced he will contest a foul and abusive language charge by alleging that referee Phil Dowd is partial to a bit of cursing himself. Jewell will face the FA armed with statements from six of his players claiming that Dowd told them to "F**k off" during the match against Arsenal last Sunday.

Is the solution to these petty disputes to let both parties say what they like on the pitch? I recall Gazza being sent off for swearing at the referee during his time at Middlesbrough and saying he could not see anything wrong with a bit of industrial language between two men at work. Or is maintaining a certain level of respect for match officials the only way to stop incidents spiralling out of control? [Rob Parker]

Posted in Wigan Athletic

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  1. OmegaSupremho says:

    They should be allowed to swear, in the heat of the moment it’s unavoidable. They should however show some restraint in the their critisism of the refs after the match. Mistakes are going to be made, if they want perfect refs they will have to wait along time. And much as I love Big Sam I can’t understand why he can’t comprehend that mistakes will balance themeselves out. Bias is another matter..