LEAD STORY - CLUB SOCCER: Player cries foul over ref bashing

A player is demanding soccer referees should be protected after an acrimonious game in Napier on Saturday.
Windsock Port Hill striker Tim Race made the call after a tempestuous match against Marewa United in the second division competition at Marewa Park.
``The game got way out of hand and Marewa players abused the referee for just about every call he made,'' the 23-year-old Ocean Spa Gym instructor told SportToday after two Marewa defenders, Paul Dalton and Gareth Bradley, received red cards following a culmination of two yellow cards each for dissent.
``Something has to be done about this because they are giving up their voluntary time to control our games,'' said Race, compelled enough to highlight the disgraceful behaviour via the media.
The ref awarded Port Hill two penalties as the hosts went on to win the match 6-3.
``One player told the referee he wasn't going to walk off the park at the end of the game,'' Race said, adding the game deteriorated 10 minutes into the match with crude two-footed tackles from Marewa while Port Hill received no cards.
The referee, he said, told Port Hill after the game that's why officials were rapidly declining in numbers. Race was surprised the whistle blower hadn't simply abandoned the game.
``I've been playing the game since I was 6 years old and I'm 23 now and this ranks as No 1 in the shockers' list.
``We tried to be the bigger team on the day and kept our cool,'' Race said, adding Marewa skipper Richard Jackman did try to calm his players down.
Jackman said the game turned ugly when the ref awarded the second penalty after a Port Hill defender, who he claimed was a classy player, admitted he had taken a dive to milk the spot kick but shrugged his shoulder to say: ``But I'm not the ref.''
``The ref had a nightmare of a game. It was an exciting ding-dong battle which was ruined by the referee,'' said Jackman, claiming the same ref had a shambolic performance in another match Marewa played last season.
``We had then requested we didn't want him controlling any of our matches.''
He did not hear any of his players threaten the ref but revealed his players had declined to have a drink at the Port Hill clubrooms after the final whistle.
``I wouldn't say my players were abusive but they were hacked off. They gave as good as they took things,'' Jackman countered, claiming he had done a ref's course and the man in the middle came up well shy of an acceptable standard.
After Jackman was subbed off, his vice-captain, Trevor White, had disputed a few decisions but the referee told him he couldn't discuss it.
``You've got to let certain things go as a ref. It was slippery at times but he should have let the game flow.'' While acknowledging referee numbers were dwindling, Jackman said his players felt they were paying money to play a game and expected better officials.
``Two of my guys are saying they won't play the game again,'' he revealed, adding red-carded centreback Dalton, an Irishman, was heading back to his country and the sending off had soured his farewell match.
He said the referee was indecisive in awarding the first penalty, which Marewa had no qualms about because their defender was guilty of a poor tackle.
While they had no issues with the Port Hill team, Jackman said the coach didn't come with the ``right attitude'', questioning the credentials of his son, Joseph Jackman, who got his release from the Marist premiership team last week.
He said it didn't help that the two clubs, who treat Marewa Park as their home ground, had ``a bit of history''.
In 2003, Sport Hawke's Bay launched a campaign to eliminate official abuse.
The ``Don't Be A Thug'' campaign targeted soccer, rugby, rugby league and basketball and was geared towards recruiting more officials.
Late last month, a Maycenvale United goalkeeper quit soccer for the rest of the season after he was rushed to hospital for a neck injury during a game against a fellow third division Hibernian side at Flaxmere Park, Hastings.
The game didn't have an official referee, prompting both clubs to emphasise it was a social game and people had to go to work after weekends but they also called for more referees.