Meet the New Men in Black Adv

7/17/2019 Meet the New Men in Black Adv

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/meet-the-new-men-in-black-adv 1/5 NEWS LESSONS / Meet the new men in black / Advanced

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S I T E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

Meet the new men in black

Level 3 l Advanced

Warmer1

Answer these questions about football.

1. What do Americans call football?

2. How many people are usually on the pitch during a football match?

3. Who is sometimes called ‘the man in black’?

Find the information3

Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible.

1. What does PGMOL stand for?

2. How much do ofcials in English level-5 football receive for ofciating at a match?

3. Why did John Brooks call off the match?

4. What, according to Brooks, is vital in his development as a referee?

Key words2

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

1. If someone is _________________ for a particular position, it has already been decided that they will occupy

that position at some point in the future.

2. If you feel _________________ to do something, you feel that you are forced to do it.

3. If you _________________ something, you examine it very carefully.

4. If something happens _________________ times, it happens a lot.

5. A _________________ is a small clock used for accurately measuring the time it takes to do something.

6. Referees _________________ at football matches, making sure the players obey the rules.

7. If you _________________ someone, you criticize them very strongly, especially in a way that is unfair and

damages their reputation.

8. _________________ is lm of a particular subject or event.

9. If people are _________________ about something, they all agree about it.

10. A _________________ is a quiet laugh.

earmarked stopwatch ofciate vilify footage

unanimous umpteen scrutinize compelled chuckle



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Level 3 l Advanced

Meet the new men in black, training to

make Premier League tough calls

Poor decisions have put referees in the ring

line again, yet their dedication and commitment

remain undimmed and, as the next generation

comes through, their preparation for the big

stage is better than ever

Amy Lawrence

28 March, 2015

1 Why do it? Talking to the men earmarked to

be the elite referees of the future, the questionelicits a knowing smile. This season, criticism of

referees has increased to the point where some

former referees have felt compelled to complain

about standards. That is quite striking because,

the more you talk to referees, the more obvious

it is that supporting each other through thick and

thin is fundamental.

2 So why do it? Why spend countless hours driving

up and down the country to dole out rules, some

of which are inevitably going to upset people,

trying to climb the ladder until you get the chance

to make decisions on television in front of millionswho scrutinize you and your ability with the

aid of umpteen different angles and

slow-motion replays?

3 A glimpse of an answer appears on the face of

Lee Swabey moments after he blows the nal

whistle of a 2–1 win for Grimsby over Woking, a

match at level 5 of the English league system. He

gets what all referees hope for every time they

referee a match. “Twenty-two handshakes,” he

explains afterwards, proudly. Symbolically, a full

set of handshakes, plus a “well done” from both

managers, represents maximum satisfaction.“The buzz,” as he calls it, of a game that passes

smoothly, is something he loves. “I wouldn’t

spend so much time away from my family if this

didn’t mean the world to me.”

4 As one of the group that is highly regarded by

the Professional Game Match Ofcials Limited

(PGMOL) for his potential, Swabey knew he was

being watched at that match. PGMOL’s chief,

Mike Riley, was in attendance, along with Steve

Dunn, who is the coach for this level, armed

with notes and stopwatch to catalogue every

signicant move the ofcials make.

5 A few weeks earlier, Riley, Dunn and another

former referee, Peter Jones, made their way to

another level-5 match to monitor another referee

tipped to progress – John Brooks. “I hope to have

the opportunity to get promoted to the Premier

League and ofciate some of the top games in

this country,” Brooks says.

6 The most the PGMOL delegation got to observe,

however, was the way Brooks handled the

somewhat tricky situation of calling off the match

because of a frozen pitch. It is all part of the

experience Brooks needs to acquire before he is

trusted with more high-prole games, the different

problems that need dealing with – often, clubs

are very reluctant to have a late postponement,

particularly when they have to pay all the staff

who have turned up but will not receive any

gate money.

7 Brooks phoned his coach for advice and made

the difcult but correct decision. A little later, the

football club secretary arrived with envelopes to

pay the ofcials for their time – the match fee at

level 5 is £95 so it is safe to assume these men

do not do it for the cash.

8 Brooks, like Swabey, has clear ambitions to

progress. He is under no illusions that developinga thick skin and perfecting strategies to deal with

disappointments is a big part of that. How does

he feel watching football on TV when a referee

gets vilied? “Erm … not great,” he admits. “I’ve

been in that situation once where I have made an

incorrect decision and it was a deciding goal that

was just offside. Your heart sinks. You can’t stop

thinking about it.

9 “I do sometimes wish people understood the

time and effort we put in. It is very easy to

criticize a decision but we do everything to try to

get these decisions right. In certain situations,you are going to be unpopular but, if you are

uncomfortable with that, you are probably in the

wrong job.”

10 The former referees agree that the backup,

education and tools that today’s referees have

is a world away from what they experienced in

their own days. Riley, as a young referee, went

out and bought himself books on psychology and

nutrition as there was no information on offer to

him at all.

11 Contrast this with Brooks, who has a coach at theend of the phone. They consult weekly, discuss

how his games have gone, study footage of key

decisions and work out how to improve. He also



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Level 3 l Advanced

has the support of a sports psychologist, Liam

Slack, for regular guidance and an exercise

regime to help him handle the 11km he runs

during a game.

12 Brooks says psychology is vital in his

development. “One of the things we have talked

about is forgetting decisions and moving on,” he

explains. “There may be a big decision to make in

the rst 30 seconds of the game. Once you have

made that, you need to stay focused for the next

89 minutes and not be wondering whether that

was correct or worrying about that decision. Liamhas taught us some techniques for releasing that

decision. Working with the sports psychologist is

really important for mental toughness.”

13 Jones believes the whole approach can only

help. “I refereed in professional football but,

looking back, I was an amateur,” he says.

“I was going to work – I worked for British

Telecom – and I might referee at Newcastle on a

Wednesday evening and, 9am the next morning,

I was in Leicester trying to speak to customers.

I perhaps hadn’t slept. Training was ad hoc. We

were amateurs in a professional environment

compared to now.”

14 When the subject of technology comes up, the

three former refs are unanimous in their support

of it. “We are all in favour of anything that

makes the referee’s job better and makes them

more effective on the eld of play,” says Riley.

Minimizing mistakes is the aim. After all, a baddecision can stick with you for a while. “The rest

of your life,” notes Jones with a chuckle.

© Guardian News and Media 2015

First published in The Guardian, 28/03/15

1. What symbolically represents maximum satisfaction for football referees?

a. the fee they receive at the end of the match

b. the support of their fellow referees

c. twenty-two handshakes and a ‘well done’ from both managers

2 Why are clubs reluctant to have a late postponement?

a. because they have to return ticket money to the fans

b. because they have to pay staff and the match ofcials even though they have received no gate money

c. because PGMOL cannot assess the referee if the game is called off

3. Why is the situation of referees today ‘a world away’ from what it was in the past?

a. because now referees are professional

b. because referees today have more backup, education and tools

c. because they are vilied on TV

4. Why are the former referees quoted in the article in favour of technology?

a. because they believe it makes the referee’s job better and makes referees more effective

b. because they no longer have to worry about making incorrect decisions

c. because it helps to increase the mental toughness of referees

Choose the best answer according to the text.

Comprehension check4



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Level 3 l Advanced

Word-building7

Discussion8

• Discuss this statement: ‘Football referees in the top leagues should be paid as much as the players.’

• Should football referees be full-time professionals? Why? Why not?

• Would you like to be a football referee? Why? Why not?

Verb + noun collocations6

Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns and noun phrases in the right-hand column.

1. mean

2. make

3. handle

4. develop

5. put in

6. climb

a. a thick skin

b. the ladder

c. your way somewhere

d. a tricky situation

e. the world to someone

f. time and effort

Find the word5

Find the following words and phrases in the text.

1. a four-word expression meaning in all situations, especially the difcult ones (para 1)

2. a two-word phrasal verb meaning distribute something or give something to all members of a particular group

(para 2)

3. a noun meaning a lively, positive feeling (para 3)

4. a verb meaning say who you think will get a particular job (para 5)

5. a two-word noun phrase meaning the total amount of cash paid by people attending a sports event (para 6)

6. a four-word phrase meaning become less sensitive to criticism or insults (para 8)

7. a noun meaning the science of food and its effect on health (para 10)

8. a two-word adjectival phrase meaning done only when needed for a particular purpose, without planning or

preparation (para 13)

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence.

1. Referees spend ____________________ hours driving around the country to ofciate at matches. [COUNT]

2. Calling off a game at the last moment can be a ____________________ situation. [TRICK]

3. Football clubs are often reluctant to have a late ____________________. [POSTPONE]

4. Some referees have the support of a sports psychologist for regular ____________________. [GUIDE]

5. Working with the sports psychologist can help to develop mental ____________________. [TOUGH]

6. ____________________, a full set of handshakes and a ‘well done’ from both managers represents full

satisfaction. [SYMBOL]



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Level 3 l Advanced

KEY

1 Warmer

1. soccer

2. twenty-three (two teams of eleven and the referee)

3. the referee

2 Key words

1. earmarked

2. compelled

3. scrutinize

4. umpteen

5. stopwatch

6. ofciate

7. vilify

8. footage

9. unanimous

10. chuckle

3 Find the information

1. Professional Game Match Ofcials Limited

2. £95

3. because of a frozen pitch

4. psychology

4 Comprehension check

1. c

2. b

3. b

4. a

5 Find the word

1. through thick and thin

2. dole out

3. buzz

4. tip

5. gate money

6. develop a thick skin

7. nutrition

8. ad hoc

6 Verb + noun collocations

1. e

2. c

3. d

4. a

5. f 6. b

7 Word-building

1. countless

2. tricky

3. postponement

4. guidance

5. toughness

6. symbolically

Meet the New Men in Black Adv

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