I honestly never thought I would see the day where a referee uses his common sense against the letter of the footballing law, but last night in Doncaster's 3-1 home reverse against Middlesbrough, Darren Deadman did exactly that. In doing so, he has earned a level of praise never before aimed at a referee; and deservedly so.
The incident I am referring to is unfortunately one of great sadness. On Saturday, Billy Sharp's two-day year-old son tragically died in hospital. It showed great character for the Doncaster legend to even play last night, and when he fittingly scored, he revealed a t-shirt saying, "that's for you son."
What bravery. A true show of courage from a 25-year old who must be feeling incredibly low right now. It kind of makes you think, doesn't it? In a world where football is dominated by what many people believe to be over-paid prima donnas who have no loyalty or respect whatsoever, it is refreshing to see a footballer who truely has passion, desire and courage in what must be the most turbulent few days in his young life. He may not be the best player in the world but his actions last night deserve more plaudits than any 40-yard screamer or world-class save will ever merit.
It must be said I cannot praise the referee in this instance enough. Darren Deadman took into account what had happened to Sharp in the last few days and he showed common decency by not booking the player for revealing such an emotional message.
Removing or part-removing your shirt is, rightly or wrongly, a bookable offence but Deadman used his common sense and showed that referees are human beings. He in effect completely ignored and went against the laws of the game by not showing Sharp a yellow card but can you imagine the uproar if he did book the player? Maybe that's why Mr Deadman chose not to book him, and I'm sure you will agree that he made a correct and noble decision by doing so.
I really hope that Mr Deadman's actions will set a precedent; whereby referees use their common sense and are slightly more understanding to the players they are in charge of. The fact that players are booked for removing their shirt causes massive controversy anyway but surely a rule can be implement where the referee can use his discretion in certain situations. I personally can't see why not.
There have unfortunately been a few incidences in the past where the referee hasn't acted like last night's referee did, which also brings up the common controversy of refereeing consistency. Why can't every referee use his common sense at some point during the game? Is it really necessary to send a goal keeper off when his team are 6-0 down in the 95th minute when a penalty would surely suffice as punishment? And is it necessary for Mike Jones to book Tamir Cohen for revealing a picture of his deceased dad? Needless to say, Billy Sharp's incident will surely make FIFA look at the rules and amend it for the better. Over to you, Mr Blatter....
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