Rafael Benitez Quotes

I've heard it said that umpires are necessary evil. Well, we are necessary, but we are not evil. We are hard-working and dedicated people whose primary interest is to make sure the game is played fairly. We are the integrity of the game.

Really and truly, I don't like talking about refereeing decisions.

There was something special about watching a manager and umpire both convinced they were totally right, but knowing that one had to be wrong. As an ump, those moments made my job fun, and getting 'nose-to-nose' was part of my job description.

Men like a ref decision because they just want to get back to the game.

Contrary to what the fans may think, you don't just show up, wear a striped shirt and a whistle on Friday night.

There's an excitement to officiating a well-played game. A lot of discretion, a lot of judgment comes into play.

The angle from which the line and ball are seen makes a tremendous difference in the call, and the player who is inclined to fret inwardly about decisions should realize this.

There are many coaches who talk about referees every day.

As far as the fouls go, we are not going to rely on anyone else to make the calls for us.

It is an individual sport and you don't get many opportunities to overturn dodgy decisions.

In every match, there are difficult decisions; sometimes they go in your favour and sometimes against. You need to be able to accept them.

You have to make sure there's a high degree of confidence that whoever won the race did it fair and square.

You can't applaud a referee.

Umpires are necessary evils. That's just the nature of the beast. For years, people have looked on umpiring as a job they could get any postman to do.

When we played softball, I'd steal second base, feel guilty and go back.

I went into umpiring at age 16. I got into officiating because of the fact that I could not stand the referees that worked our basketball games.

Take pride in your work at all times. Remember, respect for an umpire is created off the field as well as on.

You don't notice the referee during the game unless he makes a bad call.

In all my years of play, I never saw an ump deliberately make an unfair decision. They really called them as they saw 'em.

I play the game as honestly as I can. If the referee gives a penalty there is nothing you can do.

Your job is to umpire for the ball and not the player.

Damn referees, I'll miss them less than anybody.

In the game of cricket, a hero is a person who respects the game and does not corrupt the game. The one who doesn't or corrupts the game, they are the villain. They should be punished, and they have been punished in the past.

You argue with the umpire because there is nothing else you can do about it.

If you can prove a guy did cheat, then I don't believe he belongs. I don't believe that there are any guys that did cheat, in that respect, that are in the Hall of Fame. So I think opening up the doors to guys that admittedly cheated or are proven that they did cheat, it kills the integrity of what the Hall of Fame stands for.