The Footie Thread

[Orikoru]

Yeah - the difference between childcare or street level law enforcement and refereeing Premier league football is about £70,000 to £150,000 per year and the potential of actual harm.
And I'm not interested in your view; this doesn't end until you agree that I've won this discussion.

The problem is, if he gets sacked he'll only turn up on Sky Sports in a few years. They'll employ anyone.

 

[RichA]

The problem is, if he gets sacked he'll only turn up on Sky Sports in a few years. They'll employ anyone.

Or Forest will give him a consultancy role.

 

[PaulMdj]

The first video, probably a ban and demotion.

The second video, maybe it’s an age thing or the circles I move in, sacked on the spot if proven it’s an illegal drug, absolutely no sympathy with drug use.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

That's fair. I would still like to see him given a chance to restart his career at a lower level, that's all.

I don’t think many will be willing to employ him

Before the second video he prob would have walked into a job in Saudi or MLS etc

 

[Bunkermagnet]

OK - a different example...
Suppose a £12 per hour childcare assistant at your daughter's pre-school was on video snorting drugs and describing her customers with highly perjorative nouns.
Demotion or sacking and barred from similar employment?
[and I hope you know we're having a light hearted chat, not an argument ]

It seems you can be an alleged under age sex abuser and trafficer but still be given the post of Attourney General by a President elect.....

 

[PJ87]

His point is very valid. If the person in question was an actor/ess or musician/singer the wave of sympathy and empathy would be huge. Because he's a referee he's treated differently.
I am very anti any drugs, but lets be brutally honest...we probably, all of us, have had contact with someone relatively close to us who has done coke, and we don't know about it.
It is as common as dogs mess on the pavement.

100%

I know the main reason I've never done drugs isn't because I'm a angel it's just my job does random drug tests and considering I've been there since I was 16 I've never wanted to risk my career for the sake of drugs

 

[GB72]

From my experience of the legal profession, there are people making much more serious decisions than a referee who do coke and make derogatory comments using strong language.

Depending on the findings, this is a person who needs help and counselling and a chance to rebuild his career, albeit that there are trust barriers to rebuild. It is sadly part of the entitled behaviour of sports fans in general that they feel that they can call for anyone to be sacked and their career destroyed. As I said, the findings of the investigation are vital but if this is a repentant person who has gone off the rails for whatever reason then there should be calls to help and assist and not destroy. Sadly, these videos were released to destroy someone's life and not get them the help they may need and that is pretty depressing to think that someone would do that.

 

[PaulMdj]

From my experience of the legal profession, there are people making much more serious decisions than a referee who do coke and make derogatory comments using strong language.

Depending on the findings, this is a person who needs help and counselling and a chance to rebuild his career, albeit that there are trust barriers to rebuild. It is sadly part of the entitled behaviour of sports fans in general that they feel that they can call for anyone to be sacked and their career destroyed. As I said, the findings of the investigation are vital but if this is a repentant person who has gone off the rails for whatever reason then there should be calls to help and assist and not destroy. Sadly, these videos were released to destroy someone's life and not get them the help they may need and that is pretty depressing to think that someone would do that.

So no responsibility on the individual for doing the drugs and saying what he said?

As I said before, the first video is not sackable for me, but illegal drug taking is, he’s not some kid, he’s a mature responsible bloke who only has himself to blame for putting himself in this position.

It is irrelevant to me him being a Referee, any person in the same situation caught taking drugs should be sacked from their job.

Obviously it needs to be proved it was an illegal drug he snorted and not just making a daft video to wind people up.

 

[GB72]

So no responsibility on the individual for doing the drugs and saying what he said?

As I said before, the first video is not sackable for me, but illegal drug taking is, he’s not some kid, he’s a mature responsible bloke who only has himself to blame for putting himself in this position.

It is irrelevant to me him being a Referee, any person in the same situation caught taking drugs should be sacked from their job.

Obviously it needs to be proved it was an illegal drug he snorted and not just making a daft video to wind people up.

Sadly drug taking is rife in no end high pressure jobs. Understanding and rehabilitation should be the way forward as well as looking at what caused the issue to start in the first place.

 

[PaulMdj]

Sadly drug taking is rife in no end high pressure jobs. Understanding and rehabilitation should be the way forward as well as looking at what caused the issue to start in the first place.

We’ll have to agree to disagree, I don’t doubt what you say, but I would have a zero tolerance policy to drug taking.

The only understanding is what the user will face if they are caught.