This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mollet

SWEARING will never entirely be stamped out of football, says former top-level Guernsey referee Roy Bougourd. And he should know - he punished the offence more than most.

He does not believe moves in the UK by the Football Association to rid the game of foul and abusive language will ever be 100% successful.

‘I don’t think you can ever say you are going to have zero tolerance,’ he said.

‘I don’t think you can bring in a scheme and say from today you cannot swear.’

The first move of its kind to ban players swearing and to show an immediate red card to any players using foul language will be trialled in the UK next season.

Bougourd was one of Guernsey’s top and most controversial post-war refs and was dubbed Roy ‘The Book’ Bougourd for the number of yellow and red cards he brandished during his refereeing career.

Local players knew where they stood with him when he officiated between 1971 and 2003.

‘My personal opinion is they don’t need a scheme - the law is already there under foul, abusive or insulting behaviour,’ he said.

‘Why do you need a scheme when there is a law already in place?

‘I think the Premier League is where it has to start - not at grass-roots level,’ said Bougourd.

‘If ever a scheme did come in, you would get a flood of red cards.

‘If you sent everyone off who swore you would not finish a game of football because you would have to abandon them,’ he claimed.

‘It goes to the tolerance level of what a referee will accept - they each have their own tolerance level.’

He believes clubs and coaches have a role to play in trying to clamp down on it.

The whistler may have been diminutive compared to most players, but he was never afraid or shy to dish out cards.

‘I think if foul, abusive or offensive language is used directly at an official, referees should brandish a red card automatically,’ he said.

Reflecting on his career he admitted that when he first refereed he probably went over the top when it came to bad language.

But he stressed: ‘At whatever level it was directed at myself or my linesmen then it was only going to be a red.’

For one season only he went into dressing rooms before games to warn players about expected behaviour on the field.

‘If after a third player has gone off and players have not got the message, it’s not rocket science to work out what is going to happen,’ he said.

Towards the end of his career his policy towards foul and abusive language changed.

‘If it was said out of frustration I would tend to give them a rollicking and tell them to calm it down.

‘Depending how loud it was, I might have given a free kick against them as well.’