Brush Up Your Latin It Helps Understand Fitba

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? For the benefit of those readers who were deprived of a Classical education, that well-known quote from the Roman poet Juvenal is generally translated as: “Who guards the guards?”

When it comes to fitba, the “guards” are the referees, those much put-upon men in black who attempt to ensure the Laws of the Game are followed and that good order is maintained during the 90 or so minutes of a normal game.

In the early days of the game, when “Association Football” was merely a means of burning-off the excess energies of the young men at England's great public schools, referees were not required. Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse, Rugby, these bastions of education and good breeding each evolved their own form of the basic game of “Football”, with their own set of rules.

These were never written down, but learned over the years as the boys grew up. Only in the second half of the 19^th century, as these chaps from the different schools began to mingle at the two great universities, did the need for a common set of rules become obvious – hence the Cambridge Rules of around 1838, which were later refined in 1856.

By 1863, when The Football Association was formed, the Cambridge Rules became the basis of The Laws of the Game, however, back then, there was no need for a referee, since the players could decided among themselves what was and was not acceptable behaviour on the playing field.

There were certainly “umpires” - one provided by each team, plus “the referee”, whose principal role was that of time-keeper, but, who could be referred-to, in the event of the umpires being unable to agree a decision.

Referees as we know them today, however, did not come into regular use until 1891.

Personally, I have always considered Law v (i) as one of the greatest and simplest of the Laws of the Game: “The referee is the sole judge of fact.”

And, as one weel-kent former Grade One Scottish referee memorably said to me, when I was sent along to do a feature on referee training: “A referee is never more right, than when he is wrong.”

Today, however, as football careers towards its second century, such simplistic thought is insufficient. Particularly at the top end, the prizes are so rich, the pressure so great, one senior match official cannot be allowed that much power. As never before, referees and their decision-making is second-guessed, mistakes (and all human make mistakes) seem to no longer be allowed, and must be immediately overturned.

Which brings us to VAR (Video Assistant Referee) the guy sitting in the television production van, reviewing on-field decisions and able to persuade the man in the middle to have a second look at an incident and, if he got his initial on-field decision wrong, amend it.

Now, in the world of professional football – a world where money is King, VAR is great – when your club benefits; not so good when you are on the “wrong” end of a VAR review.

Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, is no fan of VAR, which has, in the first two weekends of the new season, already cost his team a couple of goals – the second of these a match-winner against Tottenham at the weekend.

Sure, mistakes will happen, for all the technology, which can clarify offsides and the like, at the end of the process, a human being still has to make a definite decision, and, as I said earlier human beings will make mistakes.

The other drawback with VAR is, it is expensive to install and run, which is why we will not see it in Scottish domestic football for some time. Mind you, I get the feeling, with VAR, an awful lot of those “honest mistakes” which, over the years, have benefited a certain two Glasgow-based clubs, will stop happening – which will not go down too well with the foot soldiers of their huge supports.

I know, I am just an old cynic.

WHEN I WAS a boy, back in the days of brown Manfield Hotspur boots, with nailed-in leather studs; when our Tomlinson T-balls had to be dubbined, like the boots, and still soaked-up water, life was simple.

Here, at the erse end of Ayrshire, Junior Football was the only game in the village. Each team was mainly made-up of local boys, with the odd exotic creature imported from Weegieland, and the players were mostly young men, hoping to attract senior attention and perhaps move up.

These days, the junior players come from awe the airts, and are mostly guys who had their chance at the big time as teenagers, but didn't make the cut and found their level back in the juniors. Some of the old certainties have survived, however, around here, we still have a dislike for Cumnock Juniors and Irvine Meadow, but, otherwise, it is nearly all change.

These days too, the top junior sides get to have a crack at the big Scottish Cup, and, while the annual quest for The Scottish Junior Cup still matters, increasingly the main interest is in wondering which club will emerge from the pack to challenge the mighty Auchinleck Talbot in the final. If we still had a Monopolies Commission in this here United Kingdom, they would surely be investigating how Tommy Sloan and his troops have managed to take such a stranglehold on the competition.

Talbot were in (Senior) Scottish Cup action at the weekend, beating Dundonald Bluebell 6-1 at Beechwood Park. This was a first preliminary round replay following a 2-2 draw in the first game. The result gives Talbot a second preliminary round tie, at Camelon.

To most Talbot fans, both Bluebell and Camelon are Junior clubs; however, technically, they are now Senior clubs, following the mass defection of East of Scotland Junior League clubs to the “Senior” East of Scotland League a year or two back.

Technically, these EoS League clubs are “Level Six” clubs (The Premiership is Level One, Championship is Level Two and so on down). I might be wrong on this, but I think the West of Scotland Junior Region, Premier Division, where Talbot play is “Level Seven,” but, I may be wrong on that. Whatever, Talbot, from the “Juniors,” were clearly five goals better than their “Senior” opponents.

It is long past time Scottish Football was re-organised to reflect the realities of 21^st century football.