Fair Play: CFA vs. refs, can it be solved?
NOW that the problem with the PFF is about to be solved with the impending resignation of president Mari Martinez, I hope the CFA can focus on solving its own problems.
Martinez, per gentlemen’s agreement will resign this November. I hope he will be gentleman enough to honor that agreement.
I also hope the CFA can focus on solving the problem of their referees walking out on them.
I’ve avoided talking about the problem because it’s such a testy issue.
I didn’t even choose a side when I wrote about this, fleetingly, last month but I was already told, “Ikaw ha, nikampi ka sa ila.”
Until now, I choose no side because both groups believe they are right and have legitimate concerns.
And when it’s that kind of conflict, it’s almost unsolvable.
But they’re not all right, and their conflict is not alright.
The referees were wrong for siding with Martinez in the PFF vs. CFA conflict; the CFA is wrong for banning the referees from playing in the Aboitiz Cup.
Martinez has managed to influence the referees. He tried, and failed, to use his “divide and conquer” specialty on Cebu football but the effects are being felt.
The refs should know that the CFA didn’t choose to fight Martinez. It had to. Its very existence was threatened by Martinez. Most of its problems happened because the president hung them out to dry since the CFA didn’t kowtow to the whims of a president who was killing Philippine football.
I wish the referees could have thought of that.
But I also think the CFA, too, is reacting rather badly by banning the referees from playing in the Aboitiz Cup. It would have been a chance to show these refs that they are not vindictive.
The tension is so high that it seems you can’t put the refs and the CFA officers in one field. And having them play in the Aboitiz Cup would have been a chance to gather them—not as referee and CFA officer—but as folks who are doing what they are doing for the love of the game. Because that’s what got them started in football, in the first place.
The reason the CFA is giving for banning the refs from playing—that their resignation means they took themselves out of the FA—doesn’t jive because teams from out of town (those who are not exactly in the FA) are allowed to play.
One of the contentious issues in this problem is the referees officiating in non-CFA sanctioned events. The refs said they do that because most of them rely on their officiating income, full-time, and being limited to officiate in CFA events cuts their take-home pay drastically.
The CFA says it has to follow the Fifa guidelines.
But the guidelines are just that, a guideline. It isn’t set in stone that you’d perish if you don’t follow it to the letter. Besides, it is Cebu football we are talking about, not the professionally-run European variety.
And if organizers choose not to have their events sanctioned by the FA, the CFA shouldn’t shrug its shoulders and say, “Well, it’s their choice.”
They should ask themselves why organizers opt not to be allied with them and address that so in the future, organizers will no longer think twice of having CFA sanction their events and refs need not worry about having limited events to officiate.
Cebu football needs both groups to grow. The CFA cannot exist without its referees, who, in turn cannot improve without an FA.
I hope both groups can still find a way to work together. I hope they listen to each other and not resort to personal attacks.
Both groups have issues and both must be willing to listen to the other side and not shut them out.
Martinez, per gentlemen’s agreement will resign this November. I hope he will be gentleman enough to honor that agreement.
I also hope the CFA can focus on solving the problem of their referees walking out on them.
I’ve avoided talking about the problem because it’s such a testy issue.
I didn’t even choose a side when I wrote about this, fleetingly, last month but I was already told, “Ikaw ha, nikampi ka sa ila.”
Until now, I choose no side because both groups believe they are right and have legitimate concerns.
And when it’s that kind of conflict, it’s almost unsolvable.
But they’re not all right, and their conflict is not alright.
The referees were wrong for siding with Martinez in the PFF vs. CFA conflict; the CFA is wrong for banning the referees from playing in the Aboitiz Cup.
Martinez has managed to influence the referees. He tried, and failed, to use his “divide and conquer” specialty on Cebu football but the effects are being felt.
The refs should know that the CFA didn’t choose to fight Martinez. It had to. Its very existence was threatened by Martinez. Most of its problems happened because the president hung them out to dry since the CFA didn’t kowtow to the whims of a president who was killing Philippine football.
I wish the referees could have thought of that.
But I also think the CFA, too, is reacting rather badly by banning the referees from playing in the Aboitiz Cup. It would have been a chance to show these refs that they are not vindictive.
The tension is so high that it seems you can’t put the refs and the CFA officers in one field. And having them play in the Aboitiz Cup would have been a chance to gather them—not as referee and CFA officer—but as folks who are doing what they are doing for the love of the game. Because that’s what got them started in football, in the first place.
The reason the CFA is giving for banning the refs from playing—that their resignation means they took themselves out of the FA—doesn’t jive because teams from out of town (those who are not exactly in the FA) are allowed to play.
One of the contentious issues in this problem is the referees officiating in non-CFA sanctioned events. The refs said they do that because most of them rely on their officiating income, full-time, and being limited to officiate in CFA events cuts their take-home pay drastically.
The CFA says it has to follow the Fifa guidelines.
But the guidelines are just that, a guideline. It isn’t set in stone that you’d perish if you don’t follow it to the letter. Besides, it is Cebu football we are talking about, not the professionally-run European variety.
And if organizers choose not to have their events sanctioned by the FA, the CFA shouldn’t shrug its shoulders and say, “Well, it’s their choice.”
They should ask themselves why organizers opt not to be allied with them and address that so in the future, organizers will no longer think twice of having CFA sanction their events and refs need not worry about having limited events to officiate.
Cebu football needs both groups to grow. The CFA cannot exist without its referees, who, in turn cannot improve without an FA.
I hope both groups can still find a way to work together. I hope they listen to each other and not resort to personal attacks.
Both groups have issues and both must be willing to listen to the other side and not shut them out.
Comments
The PFF has put all football matters on hold and is now concentrated on one thing--------to put up a defense on the case filed against Martinez.
Martinez has also plans to get even with Cebu FA President. Martinez would try to discredit Montayre. ... The next couple of weeks will bring out some skeletons in the closet. That's from a mole in the PFF.
You have some pretty inside info Mr. Anonymous.
Please dish out some more.
Please visit this site:
http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2010/10/pff-board-meeting-of-september-25-2010.html?showComment=1286625030683#c1691909013685778510
In Cebu football seems to be everything about money and to do a job just for the good of football may be not very popular.
CFA is just an Association like Cesafi but aknowledged by PFF. It does not follow all the rules and regulations of FIFA since there are the circumstances accordingly.
Important is for me the intention of the officials to promote and develop football and as FIFA president Blatter said to enable everybody poor and rich to get the same chances to play the game of the world. The last point seems not to be the case in Cebu's CFA. A lot of disadvantages are accumulated to the poor teams, for example to play all the official matches in Cebu, to have all the meetings of officials in Cebu etc instead to proceed with the decentralization proposal which was invented from the former president Johnathan Maximo.
The referees on the other side should understand that CFA is an association who has to give priority to its members, means first the sanctioned games must be handled before non sanctioned games can be officiated. Even in Europe is it like that, the people who make private or fun tournaments can ask for official referees from the association but the official matches have priority.
The problem is if the association makes the games to a source of money, not taking into consideration the different status of the football especially outside Cebu.
The next point would be that a statute for the association and members (clubs) and players should be in place in writing and this statute should follow the FIFA requirements. A member who wants the support and benefits of FIFA must also follow the rules of FIFA and this is the point PFF comes into the game.
FIFA has its own laws and rules followed by the members and respected around the world and the National organisation must guarantee the implementation.
The president has the right and the responsibility and authority to secure the international status and even to do some measurements not covered in a national bylaw to avoid damage to the assciation through the loss of FIFA membership.
Its really tiring to discuss this all the times.
So, what is the conclusion?
Make the associations what they should be and let them be handled mostly by voluntary officers who are interested to promote and secure the sport for everybody.
To many people (including me) involved in football here sometimes loose their mind if they see what happens.
The worst is if people who have to officiate and to organize etc are dependent from the money they get for their job. Getting allowance doesn't mean to get salary.
Sponsors request parents to pay if they want to see their children playing. A club of poor players must pay for the parking of their team transporters. The money should go to develop the football but it goes back in the pocket of the sponsor? Its a small money you will say but for the poor its big already.
How to combine everything, especially the rich and the poor will be the most difficult thing.
So the best is to let the current PFF and CFA admin officials finish their term and then decide if any other can do a better job.
We in Lapu-Lapu are doing well outside CFA as our results show, for us decentralisation would be the best solution.