{"id":1905,"date":"2024-05-29T11:26:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T10:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgenius.co.uk\/?p=1905"},"modified":"2024-05-30T17:01:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T16:01:20","slug":"how-a-referee-dealt-with-paul-gascoigne-vinnie-jones-and-a-full-pitch-brawl-at-the-battle-of-old-trafford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/xgenius\/2024\/05\/29\/how-a-referee-dealt-with-paul-gascoigne-vinnie-jones-and-a-full-pitch-brawl-at-the-battle-of-old-trafford\/","title":{"rendered":"How a referee dealt with Paul Gascoigne, Vinnie Jones and a full pitch brawl at \u2018The Battle of Old Trafford\u2019."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Keith Hackett was an iconic English referee – taking charge of the 1981 FA Cup final, the European Championships, countless English<\/a> first division fixtures and even the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  As a referee every decision is under fierce scrutiny, and you have to deal with a range of personalities. The likes of Paul Gascoigne, Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise were three names that Hackett instantly recalled.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Gazza, if he was on the bench, he was like a rubber band. Getting wound up with every minute of the game took place. He used to get a yellow minutes after coming off the bench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne time he came off the bench and I went towards him and said \u2018I can\u2019t understand why your manager hasn\u2019t picked you. Player of your quality? Don\u2019t do anything daft will you?\u2019 It worked.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each referee has different controlling mechanisms to try to stop any foul play.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Vinnie Jones, I once said to John Fascinu- \u2018Can you calm Vinnie down a bit?\u2019 He was quite dismissive about it as he thought it was my job to calm players. Later on in the game, I said thanks to him. Fascinu just said \u2018thanks for what? I\u2019ve done nothing.\u2019 That simple dialogue just helped all parties.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

20th October 1990. Old Trafford. Manchester United vs Arsenal. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fierce rivalries always create heated moments, but the chaos of \u2018The Battle of Old Trafford\u2019<\/a> is one unprecedented to English football. A 60th-minute challenge from Nigel Winterburn was nasty, but the brawl to follow was even worse. Twenty-one out of the twenty-two players were all involved in a mass scrap, with Arsenal\u2019s goalkeeper David Seaman the only one to avoid the drama. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hackett, refereeing the game, was faced with a tough decision. Should he send all 21 players off, or just the two who provoked it? Ultimately, the answer was neither. He instead favoured that all the players should stay on the field, only showing two yellow cards to Nigel Winterburn and Anders Limpar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I walk one, I really could walk 20 and that\u2019s not good for the spectators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from a reeling degree of common sense, the importance of the game and the entertainment value for the fans was at the forefront of Keith\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas it good refereeing? Probably not. But I made that decision, I made that call.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that, a new criteria was written to help deal with mass confrontations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a good referee?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes years of hard work, studying and preparation for referees to reach the top level, carefully learning each protocol needed to take charge throughout a game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hackett said: \u201cRefereeing is about having a thorough knowledge of the laws of the game, but you never stop learning. Every week, something is thrown up at you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy when you\u2019re sitting with a book in front of you to find an answer, but out on the field of play if something happens, you\u2019ve got to make a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDecision-making is a bit like driving a car. You learn your pedals, your gears and then you have to drive the car. The more you drive the car, the better you become at driving.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worst thing a referee can do, according to Hackett, is to be indecisive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHesitancy in decision making is an inability to be able to sell something in a positive manner. If you hesitate, and the crowd sees, you\u2019re putting doubt in their mind. So you\u2019re a salesman. There are times you\u2019ve just gotta make a decision.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite retiring from officiating in 1991, Hackett is very much active on X , voicing his opinions over refereeing errors and VAR mistakes. He knows it\u2019s a technology designed to ease pressures on the decision-making for referees, but in reality, it adds an extra level of scrutiny to every choice they make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was definitely less demanding on the referee than it is now. I think we had it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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