Gentleman's game? Half of cricket umpires in UK face verbal abuse

Cricket is known as a gentleman's game but more than half of umpires in the UK say they have been a victim of verbal abuse such as swearing and aggressive confrontations, according to a new research.

The University of Portsmouth gathered data from hundreds of umpires about the abuse they receive.

Around 50 per cent said abuse, such as swearing and aggressive confrontations, had increased in recent times. Cricket chiefs said umpires were vital to the game and the findings were "disappointing but not surprising".

One umpire, who wanted to remain anonymous, has been officiating in Derbyshire for six years.

He said that he regularly encounters problems.

"I've had a person spit at me... how would you feel if someone spat at you? I think it's the most deplorable and disgusting thing you could ever think of.

"I've been sworn at... that's a regular thing, every match," the BBC quoted the unnamed umpire as saying.

A total of 763 umpires in England responded to the survey. The vast majority were officiating at a recreational level.

Half said that they received abuse every couple of games or a couple of times a season.

Just over 40 per cent said that abuse was making them question whether or not to continue umpiring.

Dr Tom Webb, senior lecturer in sports management at the University of Portsmouth and one of academics behind the research, said: "What we are noticing is there is an underlying trend here and particularly in cricket, given the spirit of cricket, there is an issue and something that needs to be addressed."

In addition, nearly three per cent said they had been a victim of physical abuse as an umpire.

"We didn't expect to see any umpires in cricket saying they had been physically abused. So that is concerning," added Dr Webb.

Abuse of umpires is not the only concern affecting the sport.

In 2015, five recreational matches in the UK had to be abandoned because of violence.

The game's law-makers, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), have been trialling new on-field sanctions in an attempt to improve behaviour.

They range from penalty runs to giving umpires the power to dismiss players.

MCC head of laws Fraser Stewart said a final decision had yet to be made on whether they would be enshrined in law: "It's something we trialled this year and we're just getting the feedback which initially seems quite positive."

Nick Cousins, head of the England and Wales Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials (ACO), said: "The game cannot afford to lose these people.

"If we are being told that large numbers of them are considering giving up the game because of increasing amounts of player abuse, then the one thing we can't do is nothing.

"We'll continue to work hard to improve player behaviour to ensure that players and umpires have a good experience when they take part in the game."

(PTI)