Features

By Marcus Stead (marcusstead@hotmail.co.uk)

THE DECISION of veteran referee Alan Chamberlain to retire from the professional circuit won’t have raised too many eyebrows with most snooker fans.

After all, Alan is 67 now, and has been a regular fixture at tournaments and on our TV screens since 1983. Nobody could blame him for wanting to put his feet up and enjoy his retirement. But when we take a moment and look into the reasons for his retirement, it becomes clear there’s more to it than him just wanting to take life a bit easier.

Alan clearly still loves snooker; he’ll continue to referee in Matchroom Sport’s Championship League, and it’s likely he’ll remain second choice referee in this year’s Premier League when Paul Collier is unavailable.

The truth seems to be that he was exhausted by the long hours referees are required to work for little financial reward.

The standard rate for referees is £80 per day, which might sound reasonable enough if you’re refereeing one televised match for a few hours at a major tournament.

But at the recent World Championship Qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, days regularly lasted for more than 15 hours. Referees would arrive to prepare their tables at 9am, and were extremely lucky if they left before midnight on any day. On at least two occasions, play went on until after 1:30am.

Even during the final stages of the qualifiers when there were only two sessions per day, there was barely an hour’s break between the sessions, giving the referees little time for some food, a shower or a rest.

This punishing schedule is not only unfair on referees, but on officials, media, fans, and to an extent, on the players themselves. At 67, it’s amazing Alan kept going for as long as he did. Many people half his age would’ve hung up their white gloves long ago.

Over the last few years, snooker has lost many leading referees for various reasons: Paul Collier, John Williams, John Newton, Lawrie Annandale, Johan Oomen, Stuart Bennett, and, of course, the late and much-respected Colin Brinded.

That leaves a rostrum of leading referees consisting of Jan Verhass, Michaela Tabb, Brendan Moore, Eirian Williams, Pete Williamson, Terry Camilleri and Colin Humphries.

Each of the referees who has left will have their own story for leaving. Former civil servant John Williams had been refereeing top-class snooker for many decades and could have been due to retire, but the likes of the relatively young and excellent Paul Collier certainly still have a lot to offer the game.

Collier undoubtedly still loves the game, as he continues to referee Matchroom’s Premier League every Thursday night during the autumn. I gather he wasn’t too keen on the ‘old guard’ at the WPBSA and this may have been a factor in his decision to quit, but it is also quite plausible that with these incredibly tough working conditions, he simply decided there were better and easier ways to make a living.

If he had been refereeing in Sheffield earlier this month, he would have found himself working 15 hour days at £5.33 per hour. Who can blame him for deciding it’s just not worth it?

Barry Hearn faces many challenges in turning around professional snooker’s fortunes in the weeks and months ahead, and I have every confidence the game will be in much better shape when we look back in five years’ time.

The issue of the working hours of referees and other officials needs to be one of his highest priorities. To be a world-class referee requires a thorough understanding of the game, along with years of dedication and practice. It is a skill few possess and even fewer can master. Those who have it should be fairly rewarded financially, and be subject to reasonable work patterns. Refereeing deserves to be a lucrative career for those that can do the job well.

I understand Paul Collier has enjoyed excellent relations with Barry Hearn’s Matchroom Sport for many years now, which tells us that the new chairman of the WPBSA understands the value and importance of good refereeing.

It’s in snooker’s best interests to have these skilled and rare people treated with the respect they deserve. Let’s hope it won’t be too long before this insulting situation is put right.