SECURITY has suddenly become a big issue in the Elliott household And it’s all because of the Animal Liberation Front. I run and do upper-body work in training to make sure I keep up I’m always working on shedding that elusive half-stone.. A ref in each half is another idea that gets an airing, but then there would be two opinions, more inconsistencies and expense A non-starter.FitnessThe game’s quicker so we have to be. There’s a lot of money and a lot of pressure in the game and it really shouldn’t keep going as it is. Referees do make errors, and they always have, but far fewerover 90 minutes than the players.The Third EyeSome day off-the-pitch technology will be used in making close decisions. This can’t be good in general because it goes from players, through managers and on to fans, more of whom appear to be running on to the pitch – though it’s assistants who bear the brunt I think there has to be more dialogue between all of us. Irate managers would still exist.Too many cardsMany cards are issued because referees are merely complying with Fifa mandates – if a player kicks the ball away it has to be an automatic booking.

Now managers might complain about this, as George Graham of Leeds United did last week, but they know there is no room for manoeuvre It’s all aimed at keeping the game moving. In getting at refs the managers are just indulging in the old habit of shooting the messenger.Six-O-SixIt’s funny how referees seem to be regularly castigated, often instead of players. Fans seem to ring up these days to have a go at us even if their centre-forward misses 10 open goals. Not many of us refs listen to the programme now.Post-match criticismA climate has developed in which abusing the referee has become acceptable. Full timers would be fitter, and probably therefore a little more alert, but the human element would still provoke debate and dispute. His philosophy should be universally adopted: “Laws yes, respect yes, but always remember that swearing or industrial language never broke anybody’s leg.”The whistle blower: Durkin’s official viewpoints on the gameProfessional refereesNobody has yet worked out a structure which would benefit the whole game.

How would referees begin a professional career? And then a Fifa ref is finished at the age of 45, one on the league list at 48 What happens then? Dig a big hole and shove us in, perhaps There are attractions. He has been in the Premiership since the start but he is fairly certain that the match which clinched France 98 was that on a dodgy surface in Norway between Rosenborg and Real Madrid last November. His mark was 9.5.He is addicted to football and wishes the players, let alone the pundits whose unfamiliarity with laws and directives he despairs of, could sometimes see more clearly that referees are merely carrying out Fifa instructions for the greater good of all. And despite what his brother may think, he is on the players’ side. He was an ex-pro so he knew what pros could get up to, told me what I might look out for.”Durkin’s rise was meteoric though not entirely uninterrupted. For instance, he had advanced to the Western League and thought, cockily, that everything was hunky dory after a regulation match one Saturday.