Former Everton striker Jermaine Beckford recently appeared on the Leeds United-themed podcast Doing a Leeds and told a story from his time at Goodison Park.
The former Jamaica international represented both the Toffees and the Whites during his career, moving from Yorkshire to Merseyside back in 2010 (as per Transfermarkt). Beckford played 40 times for Everton, scoring 10 goals and providing his teammates with five assists.
When discussing the subject of the officials following Leeds’ recent defeat at Crystal Palace, a game in which Patrick Bamford had a goal disallowed for an outstretched arm that was deemed to be offside, Beckford revealed some details of an altercation that took place between him and an unnamed Premier League referee during his time at Goodison Park. Here is what he had to say:
“I’m not going to name names, but I was playing in a Premier League game for Everton and I had a referee who was a bit of a moron, I’ll be honest with you, he was a bit of an egg. I was going shoulder-to-shoulder with somebody, I gave him a little bit, he gave me a little bit. There was a 50:50 challenge, I got in front of the guy that was defending, he smashed me, caught my ankle, my ankle blew up like a balloon, it was horrible.
“The referee didn’t even give a free-kick. It wasn’t [that I] just about got there an inch before him, I got there and then a yard later, bang – I got wiped out. I got up off the floor, said to the referee ‘how is that not a foul?’
“And he said, ‘listen, mate, I’ll be honest with you, I ain’t got time for this. I’m not putting on any more than two minutes [of] injury time because I’ve got to get in my Porsche and go home.’ That’s what the referee said to me on the pitch.”
TIF Thoughts on Jermaine Beckford’s story regarding a Premier League referee…
If what the former striker had to say is true, that type of story will surely be seen as a concern by fans and some of the sport’s stakeholders.
Unfortunately for Beckford, his Everton career didn’t last very long. The summer after his arrival, he left Goodison Park to sign for Leicester City who at the time, were playing their football in the Championship and since his departure, he has been quoted as saying he ultimately left the Merseyside club in search of more regular playing time, having only made 14 starts in the 2010/11 league campaign for the Toffees.