I think Referees learn very quickly during their formative years to become accustomed to the questionable behaviour of Fans and Clubs alike, so I dont think that has any bearing tbh..
However, at the highest level when so much is at stake, it’s understandable that the level of abuse received from players and Managers alike goes to a whole new level and lets be honest you would have to be a very strong character to not be affected by it and it is perfectly understandable if one or two struggle with it.
The fact that one or two Referees will always get the biggest games, the pressure on them increases accordingly and so it only takes one Referee to consistently make a couple of perceived errors in several important games, for the players and managers alike to then fall foul of the same unconscious bias towards that particular Referee…
And then the fun really starts….
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