Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, David Morrissey, Ralf Little, Steve Speirs, Dipo Ola.

Football may have changed to the point where many who filled the terraces after they came back from the battlefields of Europe, who stood on the side-lines as attendances dropped alarmingly as the spectre and disgrace of hooliganism ravaged the sport would now not recognise how much it has altered and boomed. However, one thing perhaps remains constant, and in amongst the wall to wall coverage, the upmarket cuisine that replaced the half time pies, sugar laden teas and copious amounts of Bovril; the roar of the crowd that declares that The Referee’s A…. (insert term of abuse of choice) has never left the game.

It was arguably inevitable that Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton would turn Inside No. 9‘s beady eye on the closed world of officialdom and the ranks of authority who once were the men in black, and in the twist of appearances that the show thrives upon, it is an authority that happily undermines itself and gives David Morrissey an edge to which many might not have ever expected to come across, that of a referee who has found late in his career that his impeccable standards have been open to question.

The changing room is supposed to be a place of unseen ritual, of loyal camaraderie and affirmation of the highest criteria are held up as an example of how the laws of the game are upheld and yet we all believe deep down something different, we feel that game is run in short by pettiness, of prima donna’s who wish to see themselves as the face of the game and making a name for themselves, and as The Referee’s A…. plays out, as two teams meet in the final game of the season with differing results needed to ensure success, or avoid failure, it is down to David Morrissey’s referee, Martin and his team to ensure fair play.

There have been some absolute classic tales across the many series of Inside No. 9, and yet The Referee’s A…. is one that arguably shows just how in touch Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Shearsmith are with the prevailing thought of the world’s most popular sport, an insight into a closed off world which intrigues and brings out the worst suspicions and allegations in equal and frustrating manner.

The Referee’s A…. damn good episode in which to re-enter the world of Inside No. 9.

Ian D. Hall