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Referees
are often dressed in black and white stripes. Sometimes they are referred
to as zebras since they are neither black nor white, or impartial. Perhaps
the stripes also symbolize the clarity of their vision.
They
are a forgotten necessity of many different games. In some sports, they
are brutally harassed by players and coaches. Japanese baseball umpires
are perhaps the most disrespected officials on the planet. In other
sports, the referees act with full authority and the backing of an entire
sport. This is one of the reasons commissions and sanctioning
organizations exist for kickboxing. If something goes wrong, participants
want to be sure there is a line of appeal beyond the promoter.
Ideally,
the kind of people best suited for the role of referee will be the ones
who actually seek the position. In some middle eastern countries,
religious institutions are attracting those who would like to advance in
government. Likewise, in kickboxing, some referees are attracted to the
big show. Others are fans living a dream. The worst are those on ecstatic
power trips who relish the thought of playing big boss to the sports
elite.
In the
first few years of the K-1 in Nevada, Japanese referees were used. The Nevada State Athletic Commission took
it upon themselves to make things fair and to reduce the bias by
introducing homegrown referees. Now, in all my years of following this
sport and the K-1 promotions, I have not seen any examples of bias until
the arrival of Bob Sapp who got special treatment from both Kazuyoshi
Ishii and Nobuaki Kakuda. Japanese K-1 referees have shown again and again
that they are on top of the game. The NSAC had therefore replaced very
qualified referees with, putting it nicely, jacks-of -all-trades. There
are not enough kickboxing events in the
US
to have referees who focus exclusively on the sport. The jacks officiate
MMA, boxing and kickboxing. This leads to confusion and acts of
incompetence.
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2001/05/05
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Michael
McDonald vs. Jeff Roufus
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Referee:
Ray Balowitz
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This
is in the category of unfortunate errors. McDonald missed with a
punch as Roufus slipped and fell. Balowitz called it a knockdown. In
a three round fight, an erroneous count is damaging.
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2003/05/02
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Yusuke
Fujimoto vs. Dewey Cooper
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Referee:
Cecil Peoples
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Dewey,
unlike in the McDonald error above, did make contact with his glove
but it was a clear slip and again the count set Fujimoto back on the
scorecards. The judges made up for the error and gave the win to
Fujimoto, but it is better to have refs who can officiate without a
net.
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2003/05/02
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Carter
Williams vs. Yusuke Fujimoto
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Referee:
Nelson Hamilton
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Carter
Williams caught Fujimoto with a push kick that landed the Japanese
fighter on his rear end. Hamilton
immediately started a count to give the bewildered and disgusted
Japanese athlete time to recover. This error is ridiculous. Rarely
have I ever seen a fighter take a legitimate knockdown from a push
kick and on those few occasions, it was clear that the fighter was
not pushed off balance but collapsed from the impact.
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2004/04/30
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Kelly
Leo vs. Tastufumi Tomihira
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Referee:
Tony Weeks
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Tomihira
was throwing a knee at the same time Leo was throwing a punch. Since
Tomihira was standing on one foot, his balance was easily broken. In
this case, the fall was a slip not a knock down. An error on the
part of Weeks to not notice a clear loss of footing.
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2004/04/30
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Michael
McDonald vs. Marvin Eastman
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Referee:
Cecil Peoples
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The
K-1 has a two knockdown rule, yet McDonald managed 3 knockdowns in
round 2 of this bout thanks to Peoples. The second knockdown was
ruled a slip. Bad call
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2004/04/30
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Mo
Siliga vs. Carter Williams
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Referee:
Atsushi Onari
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Onari
is a great referee, yet when Nevada State
stopped allowing the 8-count, he unwittingly stopped the fight.
Seeing Williams get rocked against the ropes, he called for an
8-count but instead was greeted but Commissioner Marc Ratner who
overruled the temporary stoppage and gave the fight to Siliga.
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2004/08/17
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Ray
Sefo vs. Marvin Eastman
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Referee:
Jon Schorle
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In
light of Onari’s error above, the NSAC referees began to
creatively find loopholes. When Ray Sefo scored a kick on Eastman,
his toe hit Marvin’s eye. Eastman then turned away from the fight
and the referee stepped in. The strike was legal and no 8-count
could be called, so the referee called for a medical check. This
action would have been acceptable had Sefo fouled Eastman. There was
no foul. Schorle needed to stop the fight.
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2004/08/17
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Rick
Roufus vs.
Chad
Rowan
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Referee:
Cecil Peoples
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To
make the transition from Sumo to Kickboxing, Rowan developed the
ability to push opponents when they kicked and take a swipe as they
tried to regain balance. Pushing is legal in the K-1. Cecil Peoples,
however, volunteered to be judge, jury and executioner in this bout.
He started warning Rowan for the pushing but then took further
measures by deducting two full points from Rowan’s scorecard, one
in round 2 and one in round 3. Shameful abuse of power!
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2004/08/17
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Mo
Siliga vs. Brecht Wallis
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Referee:
Jon Schorle
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In
round 3, Siliga and Wallis collided heads and both sustained cuts.
Wallis was worse off and the referee elected to ignore the wounds and
let the fight continue with blood pouring down Wallis’ forehead.
Neglectful!
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2005/04/30
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Glaube
Feitosa vs. Carter Williams
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Referee:
Steve Mazzagatti
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Carter
Williams took a high kick and fell to the canvas at 1:29 of round 2.
The clock counted down to 1:12 before Williams got his gloves off
the floor, 17 seconds. Referees in Japan will stop a fight if the fighter is still touching the canvas with a
glove on 9.
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2005/04/30
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Glaube
Feitosa vs. Gary Goodridge
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Referee:
Nelson Hamilton
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Many
fighters ignore the referee. They will not take their eyes off the
opponent. After Gary Goodridge took a knockdown against Feitosa,
Hamilton
wanted to play referee and Gary
looked beyond him at Glaube. Either sensing that Gary
was looking into space or not satisfying the official’s personal
attention needs, Hamilton
called the fight short.
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2005/08/13
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Chalid
Arrab vs. Hiraku Hori
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Referee:
Al Wichgers
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Arrab
hit Hori with an illegal head butt and Wichgers gave an illegal
8-count. Inexcusably incompetent!
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The
problems in Las Vegas
will continue for some time. The K-1 is not the only decision maker. They
are a foreign company on American soil and they will want to negotiate
carefully without hurting the pride of the NSAC. The commission itself
doesn’t have the resources to recruit and train local officials and will
have to choose among the locals available. A switch to Japanese referees
will be nothing short of acknowledgment of an error and government
agencies are too childish to own up to their own faults. The best
foreseeable solution is for a group of sharp young referees from the US to
step up. Rather depend on experience and routine, they will bring
alertness and quiet confidence to the important role. |
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