It’s long been an established fact that there are good referees and bad ones. Well, over the past week or so we have had shining examples from both sides of the divide.

Surely a momentous occasion like scoring on your debut at the age of 15 merits a small exception

Last Saturday, Wycombe Wanderers gave a debut to their very promising 15-year-old striker Jordan Ibe in their match against Sheffield Wednesday.

The young lad played exceptionally well and rounded off his performance with a stunning goal curled into the top corner from the edge of the area. The stuff that childhood dreams are made of.

Now, being 15, what would be the first thing you would do when scoring a goal on your professional debut? Celebrate wildly, right? Well, Ibe did just that, running over to the stands to share the moment with his incredibly proud family.

Referee Christopher Sarginson, obviously sensing an opportunity to get his name in the newspapers, joined in with the spirit of the occasion by waiting until Ibe had calmed down a little and promptly showed him a yellow card.

How extraordinarily pathetic.

I understand the rules say you aren’t supposed to celebrate in that way. But surely a momentous occasion like scoring on your debut at the age of 15 merits a small exception.

Maybe Sarginson was trying to teach the kid the young kid a lesson. But he will have plenty of time over the next 15 years or so to learn the correct way to celebrate a goal.

Some may argue that age is no excuse for breaking the rules. And generally I would agree. But this wasn’t a two-footed tackle, deliberate handball or a professional foul. This was a young boy sharing the most incredible moment of his life with his mum and dad.

And that, in my book, deserves a little bit of special refereeing.

Meanwhile, a few days later in the match between Doncaster Rovers and Middlesbrough, the other side of refereeing came out.

This was a game played against a backdrop of tragedy that really puts football back into perspective.

Doncaster striker Billy Sharp turned out in the match at his own request despite the death of his two-day-old son just a few days earlier.

The emotion of the occasion was immense as both teams and their fans joined in a minute’s applause before kick-off as a tribute to little Luey. Sharp himself shed more than a few tears as the stadium united in support.

The scene was then set for the forward to score. And he did just that barely 14 minutes into the game, striking a first-time volley over the goalkeeper that would have made Lionel Messi proud.

As he celebrated, he looked up at the sky and lifted his top to reveal a message on the T-shirt underneath: “That’s for you son”.

This is where referee Darren Deadman comes in to the story.

The rules say that any player who lifts his shirt to reveal any sort of printed message should get an automatic booking. No questions asked. But Deadman kept his cards very much to himself.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what being a referee is all about. Not being a jobsworth who follows the rules blindly and without thought. But allowing yourself to bend those rules on the rare occasion when a sense of humanity and common sense dictates you should.

For Sharp, that was a moment of pure grief and emotional release. And for young Ibe it was a moment of joy few will ever live through.

Although the circumstances surrounding the two players and their respective goals were utterly different, the reality is they both deserved specialised refereeing.

One man rightly got it, one boy unfortunately didn’t.

Are Arsenal on the rebound?

Typical, isn’t it? No sooner have I declared the Premiership a three-horse race than a fourth horse comes along and gives one of those other three a jolly good spanking. It’s almost uncanny the way I write something only for the opposite to happen.

Having said that, I stick by my theory that this year’s title will be between the two Manchester teams and Chelsea.

Arsenal’s stunning 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge did little to change my mind, simply because it was one of those games that could have gone in absolutely any direction.

I certainly wouldn’t have been overly surprised, for example, if it had ended up 5-3 to the home team. Or 7-7 for that matter.

But while it may not have changed my mind about the destination of the crown, it did bring home just what a good job Arsene Wenger is doing of rebuilding his team’s season.

They are now six games unbeaten, with five of those wins. And that’s a very good way to answer those people who, like me, wrote them off as a completely lost cause for the season.

There is still far too much ground for them to make up to even think about a title challenge, and fourth place is still the best they can realistically hope for.

But after the first few games of the season you would have been forgiven for wondering if a relegation battle might not have been more likely than a Champions League place.

So that’s most certainly progress.

Your say

“By the weekend, many of us football fanatics are high on internet reports, have had many a Facebook forum discussion and bickered over a pint (or two)... then we read your column on Sunday morning.

“It must be hard for you to keep it fresh, but your infamous predictions and humorous views on the English national team make it a good read.

“I thank you for finally acknowledging that Manchester City are title contenders together with Manchester United and Chelsea. This makes me very, very nervous, since, true to form, this inspired convincing displays by Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool last weekend.

“Therefore, since your predictions, often uncomfortably, have such a contrary effect on proceedings, City must be due a slump so I would appreciate it if you would kindly stick to being very negative when it comes to my team.” Hugh von Brockdorff, e-mail.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade