Shield blows full time Written by Philip Micallef, SBS Saturday, 20 September 2008 13:20 All over... Mark Shield has quit refereeing (Getty) All over... Mark Shield has quit refereeing Australia's top referee Mark Shield has dropped a bombshell by announcing his retirement. His last game could be in Round 8 of the A-League. Shield, 35, said family and business commitments were the main reasons behind his shock resignation. "The constant travel was getting a bit too much," Shield said. "We've got two young kids who need more attention and I'd like to concentrate more on my communications and accommodation businesses. "At the moment I am away for about 25 weekends a season. "Also the other day I worked it out that out of the last 10 years I must have been away for at least four years and that simply is not on." Shield, who won't be in action this weekend, has also refereed his last international game, having controlled the 2010 World Cup qualifier between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Riyadh on September 6. Queenslander Shield was not only Australia's undisputed top referee but one of Asia's most respected. He has controlled matches in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and countless World Cup qualifiers. He also was in charge of the second leg of the 2006 AFC Champions League final and last year he controlled the Asian Cup final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia in Indonesia and later was named the continent's top referee. "That final match in front of a big crowd in Jakarta was the highlight of my career, without doubt," Shield said. "I consider it my biggest achievement and it will live long in my memory." Shield also controlled the A-League's three championship matches so far, including the last 'Vukovic Grand Final' which he regards as the low point of his highly successful career. "The way it was was blown up by the media was very disappointing," he said. Shield's resignation has left Football Federation Australia with a gaping hole but the FFA did not stand in his way. "Mark has been our top referee for the last decade," FFA head of public affairs Bonita Mersiades said. "He has set high standards and we appreciate all the work he has done. "We are sorry to see him go but we also realise that family comes first. "We wish him all the best of luck in whatever he does next but also hope that he stays in touch with the game." That, for me, is a shock, and a massive disappointment. I had him down for a WC final in the future. He was one of my favourite referees in the world, and was one of the best in the world IMO, so it's a massive loss to refereeing. However, family always has to come first, and if it was putting the sort of pressure he says it was on his family life, then he's made the right decision. Still such a shame though.
Agree completely. If I got to see him a bit more, I'd be convinced he was the best in the world. As it stands, he's definitely one of the top 5. It takes quite a bit of nerve to walk away like this when you know you're probably one of 5 people in the world that has a chance of refereeing the World Cup Final. But you can't dispute his reasoning. He did what is best for himself and his family, which is what matters.
I would imagine the travel for those WC qualifiers would be enough for any of us to pack it in. I imagine that a short flight over there would be...what...8 hours? I bet his mileage was absolutely ridiculous. R
I would read more into his comments about his disappointment with the media for the criticism he received for his handling of the League Final and the controversial send off than the travel. I bet that really bothered him and if they were highly critical and it affected his wife and children, I could understand why he retired. No one needs to put up with that level of nonsense. It's not as if referees are paid millions to live in a fish bowl.
Don't blame him in the least. I can't imagine anyone wanting to be a high level referee, especially if they have a family.
How many current/former members of our International panel are still bachelor/bachelorette's? How many have lost a marriage or 2, or are on their second spouse or more? THose are obviously rhetorical questions meant to point out the level of commitment required to referee at that level. I've always been impressed with Shields technique and abilities. It is a real shame to lose such a popular and talented referee at the prime of his career. To already have 2 World Cups under his belt at the age or 35 (I'm hoping that this above article is correct on his age), one can only imagine where he was heading. Considering that the teams from his region of the world don't generally advance that far in the World Cup, his chance at a final would have been fairly high, especially due to the fact that he could have been in the running for 2 more WC cycles if his age is listed correctly. Although it really is a shame to lose him, we could also look at this from a different perspective. He's regarded as one of the world's top referees and has already been to 2 WC's ('02 and '06 I think), nevermind the number of WC qualifiers and other international assignments he has had, many top domestic games including finals, and I could go on. Maybe he decided that he had accomplished everything that he wanted to that he had control over. What else did he have to prove? Read Collina's book and you can get a top international referee's opinion of a WC final. It's everyone's dream, but its out of that referee's hands. YOu can be the best in the world, and the best in the tournament, but if a team from your geographical area does well, for better or worse you're going to be sent home. We all have a balance of family and refereeing, in addition to the other things in our life that leech our time away, and somewhere something needs to budge. There's a lot of pressure on referees at that level, and if he's reached what he feels is the pinnacle of his career, at the least the things that he can control, and he wants to see his kids grow up, then I give him credit for hanging up his whistle. Undoubtedly it was the most difficult decision of his life. That being said, we have seen some American athletes come out of retirement. Some perform greatly, while others do not. I wonder if that will be an option afforded to Mr. Shields.
I wonder if he'd still have retired has Australia not deserted the OFC and joined the AFC, leading to a lot more travelling and having to stay overnight? Yes, it undoubtedly increased the quality of football he was able to referee, but I wonder if that was worth it for the added strain it put on his family life...
True. Add in the fact that his own domestic league has massive travel requirements due to geography. He's from Brisbane. If you look at the current A-League, there are no teams, other than his home club, that is less than a 10.5 hour drive for him, so that means he's flying to every single match he does, save one or maybe two local fourth official assignments per year. I bet it's rare that he has a top-flight (domestic or international) match that he's not sacrificing at least 48 hours for.
A great shame. Youngest referee ever to be appointed to a WC finals tournament, and four years later the youngest referee ever to be selected to stay on for the knockout rounds. As noted in the article, he has controlled all three championship matches for the A-League in its first three seasons. He also controlled the last two National Soccer League grand finals before that tournament's replacement, and has been the National Referee of the Year five years running. Just last year he refereed the Asian Champions League final, Asian Cup final, was fourth official for the Club World Cup final and was named AFC Referee of the Year. On top of that he is a fantastic guy - he has given a lot to officiating in Australia, particularly young referees, and has mentored many a young official (including myself back in the 90s). I truly believe that if he had continued he would have become acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time.
It is too bad that Mark has retired. It sounds like the Australian league traveling is bad enough and when you throw in international travel it's easy to see that it could become too much. Good for him for keeping his family his priority. Recently Tim Weyland "unretired" and he is now refereeing again in the United States working MLS games. Tim retired when he was on the FIFA list. Perhaps we might see Mark do something similar in the future.