by Josh Johnson

Created on: January 19, 2009

No matter what sport you are talking about, referees' judgements will always be in question. In almost every case, they are expected to make a split-second decision that can affect the outcome of the game. In football especially, the referees are under tremendous pressure to get the call right the first time or else face criticism from the fans and media. Not only that, but their jobs are at stake if they consistently make the wrong calls. It is for these reasons that referees do not show favoritism toward either team in football, not even the home team.

As an avid football fan, I have attended dozens of football games and watched hundreds more on television. There are plenty of bad or questionable calls made during the game, but they are not always in favor of the home team. If they were, you would never hear the boos and jeers of the home crowd. I am a very knowledgeable football fan, and I tend to make the calls before the referees even throw the flags. I analyze every call, and I can promise that the calls do not go in favor of the home team any more often than the away team. One great example of this is the BYU vs. Washington college football game that was played in September of 2008. Washington scored with two seconds left in the fourth quarter and would have tied the game with the following extra point. However, a flag was thrown penalizing the celebration after the touchdown. The extra point was then moved back 15 yards and ended up being blocked by BYU, resulting in a BYU win, 28-27. This game got a lot of media attention because of the call the referee made. The only celebration was the player throwing the football behind his head and hugging his teammates. This is a typical celebration and is never flagged. Why is this particular call important? Washington was the home team. If home teams get the best calls from the referees, there is no way this celebration would have been penalized.

Referees are paid to study the game and understand every aspect of it. Not only that, but promotions and special considerations, such as refereeing playoff and championship games (or bowl games in the instance of college football) depend on them making the right calls consistantly and not showing bias to either team. If referees were given a longer amount of time to make such calls, the right call would be made every time. However, as previously stated, they are required to make split-second decisions. The crazy thing is, in most cases they do make the right calls. Either way, favoritism is not shown for either team.

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