Last week’s year-long suspension of referee Howard Stennett which prompted his resignation is a welcome move by the Jamaica Football Referees Association (JFRA) and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).

It is good to see these two bodies finally getting the intestinal fortitude to do what is necessary to start cleaning up this vital area of the game that has suffered for a long time.

Despite Jamaica’s success in having several referees and assistant referees officiate at several international levels including the FIFA World Cup, there is still a lot to be done at the local level to raise the standard of the officials.

Stennett was a prime example of what not to be as a referee, one of those who came to games thinking that the paying patrons came to see him and not the players.

He is not alone in this regard either, as too many of the referees want to be stars.

Western Jamaica is not exempt when it comes to referees who just don’t fit the bill and one can count the number of decent officials on one hand, with fingers left over.

The last time we had a FIFA-certified official from these parts was more than five years ago when one of our assistant referees was recognised by the parent body.

What we have here are a number of people who seem more interested in what they can get out of the game than any serious long-term success.

One does not get the impression that most of our football referees and assistant referees have much ambition to advance to the international stage.

This is a pity since one can make a decent living from football as the game is played year-round here and there are more than ample opportunities for travel in the region as well.

One of the messages sent from last week’s action was that the JFRA is no longer going to shield their members who flout the rules of the profession.

We can only hope those who are still in the field will take heed from this action and realise they are not untouchables.

But I suspect we are still a far way off from this happening as two recent incidents tell me those in charge of our referees are not capable of thinking on their feet.

During the recent daCosta Cup season, the start of a double header at Jarrett Park was held up for more than 45 minutes despite the presence of three qualified referees. The reason we heard for the delay was that the referee who would be in the middle was on his way.

That made no sense as the game could have started with the three referees who were present instead of making the hundreds of fans and the two teams wait around in the boiling sun.

Some years ago the start of the daCosta Cup final between Frome Technical and Glenmuir High was held up for nearly an hour as the officials had met in an accident on their way and had to turn back to change the motor vehicle.

Fifteen minutes into the game, the referee sent off two or three of the Frome players as their tights did not match the colour of their shorts as the FIFA rules state.

The question was then, what exactly was the fourth official doing while they were waiting for the arrival of the other referees? If any of the players had been wearing earrings or necklaces would they be told to remove them?

Interestingly one of the players who was sent off then,

O’Brian Woodbine, played for the Reggae Boyz in a World Cup qualifier against the Bahamas and it was obvious then that once again the colour of his tights and shorts did not match. However, no one sent him off the field to change.

Referees in England and elsewhere in Europe do not waste time on such matters.

Why then are we here majoring in the minor?