For some time now, the fourth referee has gained visibility and it would be time to increase their pay because their job includes putting up with the badge that the coaches give them. In the absence of a direct line with the president of the Referees Committee, in the absence of a headset with the main referee, in the absence of physical rhythm to chase the lineman down the sideline... who gets the complaints, claims, observations , the regrets and even the confidences of the coaches? To the fourth referee!
No bartender dares to say to a customer who has just been served the fourteenth dry-martini of the night:
– My lord, they pay me to serve you a drink or two. For having a clean bar. I'll replace your cocktail if you spill it, without insinuating that with such embarrassment it's normal for your shirt to have been soaked. But don't demand that I listen, again, to the day he scored a Messi-like goal in the school playground. Not again, please...
The fourth referee has become the paymaster of the refereeing structure, whose complexity prevents him from addressing the boss. And in the absence of the owners, the business owners or the main shareholders, all claims fall to the fourth arbitrator. The manager of all life. Does it have hierarchy? Yes, but modest. The problem is that he is there, a little stunned, a little Don Tancredo, so far from the referee and the VOR room and so close to the coaches and their nerves, the benches and their voices, those that, from anonymity, seek his answers. tickle.
In recent days, we have seen Xavi in his line of making friends with the fourth referee of the FC Barcelona-Getafe, less harsh and more of a good-natured bar counter (obligatory result). The next day, Sunday, Ancelotti let out some obvious snot at the Bernabéu to the fourth referee, like "you don't know who you're talking to." To make matters worse, the referee Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos, a name worthy of a professor of Roman Law, was injured with thirty minutes remaining and with a goalless tie. The fourth referee, Fernández Buergo, a 29-year-old youngster who whistles in Primera RFEF (formerly Second B), had to take over the refereeing, resolved with a good note. And in the process he stopped putting up with a very complaining Ancelotti, judging by the images.
The third model of bar customer was El Vasco Aguirre the night before last in the Copa de Rey semi-final in San Sebastián. Every time they focused on the band, Aguirre was there talking to the fourth referee, who made him smile, which leads us to think that he told him jokes, perhaps dirty ones, or sparkling anecdotes.
The fourth referee or holy patience.
