The Jonathan Jackson Column
Wednesday 19 March, 2003
Done by the Butler (again)
Remember Norwich away in the glorious promotion season?
Remember the P*ll*ck of a referee who, with City leading 2.1 and into injury time awarded the "wannabe" Tractor boys (the real ones being Ipswich of course) a dodgy penalty and following it up with the justification that OB had fouled one of their lot (despite being at least 30 feet away).
Remember that the nearest player to the incident was Darren Moore, who could hardly be mistaken for OB even in the gloomiest conditions?
Well the p*ll*ck returned to VP last night.
That right Mr Alan Butler of Notts. Even more shortsighted than ever and now with less hair and a more portly figure.
We have had some pretty dire referees this year, but this fat tw*t takes the piss. Not only is he too fat to keep up with the game (and boy did his tits wobble last night), but is clearly a cheat of the worst nature.
Firstly having very nearly bottled the blatant penalty, he only gave it after a long pause and seeing that the linesman was flagging, he then went on to do everything within his power in the second half to even up the decision.
Jamie Lawrence's sending off being a classic case, which only occurred because Danny Maddix told him to. The incident had passed, Jamie had walked off and the fatboy was seemingly happy to give just a free kick until Maddix bleated to the ref with lies about being elbowed. And that's a laugh considering the two or three elbowing situations on our players that this moron had "not seen".
Danny Forrest (Hey stewards, there's a fan on the pitch) knocks the ball through two players, darts through, gets an elbow sandwich from both of them and the blind man says he commits the foul! Give me a break.
Every time we went over the half way line in the second half he blew up for a foul.
This man is a disgrace and should be struck off the referees list immediately. Lets hope the police helicopter was up last night because it was trying to catch someone who had set fire to his car.
Mr Butler, you are the b*st*rd twin of Mike Dean and I hope you never darken our door again.
Quite simply you are a disgrace.
The FA answer!
BfB's own Jon Blakely drew the FA's attention to the performance of Mr Butler and was amazed when they replied...
The letter
Dear Sir/madam,
I am a soccer fan living in Canada, and I follow the English game very closely indeed.
I was reviewing all the results from last night and saw that one incident in particular should be brought to your attention.
It was the refereeing of a referee call Butler, he was officiating a game between Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City.
I have found many interesting reports on this referee, who appears to officiate games very badly indeed.
Please read the [above] that I have found whilst surfing the website today.
I found this an interesting read and having reviewed other fans sites about this referee he does seem to be a bad referee to say the least.
Regards
Jon Blakely
Toronto, Canada
The reply
Dear Mr Blakely
Although Mr Butler is an experienced referee who was considered to be suitable for this game, we do have concerns when fans, such as yourself, feel so aggrieved as to write and comment.
The two club reports, match delegate's report and the match video will be used in an attempt to identify those areas requiring improvement by Mr Butler.
What The Football League and the PGMOB must do is to ensure that our match officials have the best possible training, education and support.
Thank you for taking the time to contact The Football League.
Patricia Brown
Customer Services
The Football League Limited
My Dad (is bigger than your Dad...)
Our Dad, Mr. Frank From Brazil (OK, Frank Wood) also wrote to the FL on Bulter in his own inemitable way saying...
Dear Football League
Mr Butler (Nottingham) should be struck off the national list. He does not appear to be physically fit and his eyesight appears to be defective. His judgement is also highly questionable, if not seriously impaired. Please advise if this man has ever received any training as a referee and whether he understands the concept of making balanced decisions in a game.
How are people like this held accountable retrospectively for their appalling mistakes? These are serious questions. Attend his next match and you will see for yourself what a poor ambassador of the sport Butler is.
Yours sincerely
Frank Wood
Busy Patricia...
Dear Mr Wood
I have liaised with the Manager for National Group officials who has advised that although complaints such as yours are not unusual, most of The Football League's 1800 matches played each season pass without adverse comment. It is his responsibility through the Professional Game Match Officials Board to identify the training needs of all National Group officials.
Mr Butler is an experienced referee who was considered to be suitable for this game, but we do have concerns when fans, such as yourself, feel so aggrieved as to write and comment.
The two club reports, match delegate's report and the match video will be used in an attempt to identify those areas requiring improvement by Mr Butler.
What The Football League and the PGMOB must do is to ensure that our match officials have the best possible training, education and support.
Thank you for taking the time to contact The Football League.
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