Referees remain without a boss.
The legislation regulating the profession of football referees, approved by the Chamber of Deputies, does not serve purposes that could improve the professional lives of these men in black.
Last week, the Chamber of Deputies voted on legislation concerning the regulation of the football referee profession. However, as is often the case, in Brazilian legislative matters, the laws it approves never reflect the principles of what it was created for.
And this has just happened precisely with the topic that motivated us to work on this issue. It is a well-known fact that for years and years this subject has been the target of constant publications, including those full of criticism, because no common ground has been found on the topic.
Those who have followed our criticisms and clarifications have already been able to feel, absolutely, that our conscience has the exact conception that the referee is the main character in a football spectacle, a truth that is not understood by everyone. A careful thought is enough to reach this conclusion, since few believe in such a relevant thesis. Without a referee, says FIFA, a football match cannot be played.
And the new law that will be applied brings little progress in its defining concept for such an important matter. In short, it revealed everything that was already known, with few added or innovative advancements.
Given the validity of the legislation we are discussing, in the initial stages of interpretation, contrary to expectations, it has not fulfilled the most important purposes for improving the professional lives of the men in black. They remain unaware of the type of employment relationship that involves them, and are also left in the dark regarding who their employer is.
Therefore, football officials, federations, and clubs alike would have to adopt measures to resolve such a complex issue, which could one day cause them a lot of headaches. This is especially important if they pay closer attention to labor law rules that they haven't addressed, despite their availability, because this category of workers is solely focused on the money they receive after officiating football matches.
PS: For the sake of argument only: - what needs to be defined by law is: who will be the referee's employer? What will the referee's hiring system be like? If a referee is unable to perform their duties due to health reasons, how will they be compensated? What criteria will be adopted for referee retirement, since currently FIFA allows them to officiate until the age of 45, and for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there is the prospect of lowering it to 42? What mechanisms will be used to determine whether a referee is fit to be a professional or not? And lastly, who will be responsible for and how will the training of future football referees be conducted?
Valdir Bicudo is a former referee and investigator for the Civil Police in Curitiba/PR.