The government is set to give the green light to the outsourcing of football match officials in England and Scotland to private security contractor G4S.
The news is likely to provoke an outcry from critics, amid concerns over the corporatisation of the game and its implications for referee impartiality and competence.
A spokesman for G4S said on Newsnight that the company was perfectly capable of supplying professional-quality referees and line officials, and would under no circumstances be colluding with bookmakers or looking to appease shareholders at certain football clubs.
However, independent football watchdog Offside UK has raised questions about the standard of refereeing G4S will offer, after it emerged that their registered match officials include disgraced former MP Neil Hamilton and wife Christine, 'Shoe Bomber' Richard Reid and Mark Thatcher, who tasered a 74 year-old defender to death by mistake in a charity match.
No comments:
Post a Comment