The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog, comes as Joey Barton causes more controversy on his celebrity Twitter page, by opening up the option of taking libel action against referees.
Sports Psychology: Joey Barton - Court!
On Monday afternoon Joey Barton was sent-off in QPR's home defeat to Norwich City. On Tuesday, he was on his Twitter page, discussing the future possibility of taking referees to court who make 'wrong' decisions.
Barton says, 'Someone has to set the precedent to prevent the game from being ruined. Maybe I'll be the first one'.
Since being sent-off for head-butting Bradley Johnson, has anyone sat down with Barton and told him it's not a good idea to move your head against an opponent, however slowly? Especially with the reputation that Barton has gathered to himself. No -probably not.
Or has Barton publicly held his hand up, and said that I shouldn't have given the referee a decision to make? Surprisingly - no!
Joey Barton knows his Twitter devotees hang-on his every utterance, and that audience give him permission to tell it like it is. He satisifies their need to be 'on the inside', and his need for a large sympathetic following.
But his comments are devoid of all sense of perspective. Perhaps being in QPR manager Neil Warnock's company for too long, simply fuels Barton's fondness for hype and drama!
Refereeing decisions will not cost QPR their place in the Premier League. It will be the absence of quality, togetherness and ability from the players. Blaming refs simply deflects the blame away from very well-paid individuals, who are consistently under-performing.
In the age of the cult of celebrity, having something to say, seems to hold more consequence than what you say. It keeps you in the limelight, and perhaps gets inner needs for attention met. But if QPR go down, who will Joey Barton blame then?
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