After a week in which two well-known Premiership players made the headlines for their outbursts against referees, it was very nice to see one of our local officials, Simon Todd, honoured by the West Riding County FA for his 25 years of long service.
Todd, who dearly loves life out on the local football pitches, said it is only a small minority of players or managers who end up spoiling a game with their poor behaviour towards match officials.
However it is this small minority who end up making the headlines.
Chelsea's Ashley Cole turned his back on a match official - hard to believe he only got a yellow card!
Liverpool's Javier Mascherano persistent badgering of a match official deservedly earned him a red card. However he could and should receive a longer ban for not leaving the pitch in a timely fashion.
These incidents from players looked upon as role models by our younger generation do not make it easy for people like Simon at grass roots level.
Stephen Rhodes, referee development officer for the West Riding County FA, said most people who criticise referees wouldn't even think about doing the job! Maybe they should, at least then they would understand the responsibilities involved.
What it comes down to for me is that referees are human. Sometimes they do make mistakes, but ultimately they should be respected for the job they do.
The FA is trialling a "Respect the Referee" initiative at five local leagues in the UK this season aimed at stamping out poor behaviour and lack of respect to the referee. It will be interesting to see how this works.
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