We've all come home from matches cursing refereeing decisions and lambasting officials who, to steal from the popular chant, don't know what they're doing.
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Moreno: Italian nemesis
(TonyMarshall/Empics) |
You know the sort of thing - absolutely certain penalties turned down, dubious, match-changing free-kicks awarded against whoever you support, unfathomable amounts of injury time and strangely-disallowed goals.
Saturday night radio phone-ins are laden with criticism of officials, accusing them of everything from costing a team crucial championship-chasing or relegation-avoiding points to accelerating harmful trends in climate change.
But serial ref-haters in the Premiership, Nationwide Leagues or non-League football should hold their horses. Ecuador appears to have come up with a refereeing story this country just can't match.
Fans of Italy's national team will probably remember a man called Byron Moreno with something well short of affection.
Moreno took charge of the Italians' controversial match against co-hosts South Korea, in which two Italy goals were disallowed and striker Francesco Totti sent off as the Koreans won with a golden goal.
That result and officiating created a huge storm in Italy, with numerous elaborate conspiracy theories doing the rounds and some of the nation's football officials and politicians offering strongly-worded assessments of what had gone on.
Now Byron's back, and this time it's almost unbelievable. Ecuador's football authorities have suspended him for 20 matches and placed him under investigation - and it's all the result of one match last weekend.
Liga de Quito were taking on Barcelona of Guayaquil in the first division, and won the match 4-3.
So what? Well, all this:
He indicated six minutes of injury time but played 13. Liga de Quito, 3-2 down in the 90th minute, struck after 99 and 101 to win 4-3.
Always a showman, he gave not one but two controversial penalties.
A report on the game submitted to Ecuador's refereeing commission allegedly gave false information about the timing of de Quito's third and fourth goals.
What adds spice to the brew is the fact that the ref is a candidate for October elections in which he could win a place on Quito's city council.
That fact wasn't lost on Barcelona of Guayaquil president Leonardo Bohrer, who said: 'It's not ethical for him to continue being a referee - especially in a province in which he is a candidate. The supporters of Liga de Quito are voters in his province.'
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It's not ethical for him to continue being a referee - especially in a province in which he is a candidate. The supporters of Liga de Quito are voters in his province
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Leonardo Bohrer
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The club have now demanded Moreno's indefinite suspension from refereeing following his performance in the match.
And football authorities in Ecuador say they have been inundated with furious e-mails and letters from fans following the controversy.
Ecuadorean Football Federation president Luis Chiriboga confirmed: 'The refereeing and disciplinary commissions decided to suspend Moreno for 20 matches and open a probe to analyse the request to strike him from the register of referees.'
Even the country's media, which backed Moreno to the hilt when he was vilified following that World Cup clash, has turned on him. One newspaper, El
Comercio, sniped: 'He has gone from hero to villain in three months.'
Next time you join in a chant of 'you don't know what you're doing', think 'Byron Moreno' and the chances are you'll be a little more generous to the man in the middle.
What's the worst refereeing you've ever seen? email Chris Borg.
