Crap at cricket and who'd be a referee?

IS it any wonder us referees at junior level are abused from pillar to post when the management of Manchester United behave as they did at the weekend?

To listen to Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlos Quiroz as I did on the radio on Saturday evening I thought their match referee Martin Atkinson had ruled out three good goals, failed to give United several penalties and handed Portsmouth a soft one in return.

Instead Atkinson denied United one spot-kick which was far from nailed on and.� well that was about it. Hardly worthy of the embarrassing rants I endured and if there is any justice the book will be thrown at two grown men who behaved like petulant children.

But then they lost and that colours the opinion of managers, players at fans at every level, including the one at which I operate.

I won't bore you with the juicy details from my own Sunday morning, but I witnessed face-slapping, various bouts of verbal abuse, physical threats, petulant and ill-advised technical offences and the sort of behaviour that had it been perpetrated by my kids they wouldn't be allowed to leave their room for a week.

I didn't commit any of the above offences, but some would have you believe that I ruined the game. Predictably in Ferguson's rant, he didn't include mention of Wayne Rooney's moronic challenge which could easily have led to serious injury.

Until clubs at all levels force some sort of discipline on their own players I fear they will soon be refereeing their own games in the future.

They then might have the lawless matches they seem to desire.

PETERBOROUGH TODAY 13/03/2008