Eddie Ilderton 'The Little Hitler' 17h SEPEMBER 2010

EDDIE ILDERTON – The little Hitler

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Barclay (there’s a discreet reference to another City fans’ forum there as I’m sure most people will appreciate) because most fans dislike officials I will admit that I have done a fair bit of football refereeing in the past. Although I have now hung up my black kit and whistle the experience has made me perhaps a little more tolerant of officials than most. It is a difficult job and if we are all honest we will recognise that the antics of some players don’t make it any easier.

However, after the Tranmere fiasco last year and having been at The Keepmoat last Tuesday I am bound to comment that Mr. Eddie Ilderton is a truly dreadful football referee and the system which has allowed him to reach the level that he has in our professional game must be called into question.

When I turned to refereeing after a playing career that reached the dizzy heights of semi-professionalism I quickly learned that one of the keys to controlling game was to work with the players. What they hated, I noticed, was any attempt to appear superior to them whether by word, deed or gesture. Observing Mr. Ilderton in action prompts one to think that he has based his entire approach on an opposite line of thinking. What most irritated me at Doncaster (and I’m sure annoyed the players, too) was his body language and what can only be described as ‘arm signals’. His regular indications of goal kicks in particular reminded me of a Hitler salute and his goose-stepping march at set-pieces underlined the impression that he might have right-wing tendencies (and I don’t mean in a football sense!).

Last Tuesday there were a few decisions that didn’t go our way but I don’t think Mr. Ilderton’s incompetence affected the result in the same fashion as his unfortunate performance at Prenton Park last season. He just wasn’t any good. In particular, I thought, he failed to impose any authority on the game, allowing bad challenges to go unpunished and picking up on minor offences – another sure fire way to annoy players.

Another really irritating aspect of the officiating on Tuesday – and I’m sure this is the result of a deliberate policy – was the way that the linesmen (assistant referees) when unsure of which way to award a throw, waited for Herr Ilderton to point one way or the other then raised their flag in agreement to give the fans the false impression that they were in tandem. This happened repeatedly and involved both linos. Pathetic!

Such irritating and quite frankly insulting officiating is guaranteed to attract criticism at a time when referees and their assistants need it least. If last year’s sojourn in League 1 has taught me anything it is that the state of refereeing below the Premiership (and it’s far from perfect there is it Mr. D’Urso?) is pretty desperate and the FA should be doing something about it via some serious investment into training and assessing. If the current system has allowed Adolf Ilderton to reach the Championship then those responsible for assessing his performances need to take a good look at themselves.

Finally on the subject of the Doncaster game, what about that ballboy? His removal from his position directly in front of the visiting supporters after he had deliberately held up the game as we pressed for an equaliser and then goaded us by blowing kisses, was a very sensible piece of work by the stewards.