The standard of local football refereeing has come under heavy criticism from Dandy Town coach Devarr Boyles following the Hornets? controversial 2-1 loss to North Village on Sunday.

The former Town and Bermuda international midfielder claims referee Lyndon Raynor contradicted himself in allowing Village?s disputed goals to stand.

Boyles contends that Village?s 59th minute equaliser ? an Ottis Steede own goal ? should have been flagged for offside while Damon Edwards? game-winning header resulted from a corner kick that should never have been awarded in the first place.

The coach further questioned why teenage linesman Daniel Tucker had been assigned a top match given his lack of ?big day? experience and Raynor?s decision to overrule his assistant in one instance but then completely ignore him on another with the match very much on the line.

When contacted yesterday, Boyles argued: ?It was definitely a mistake by the officials. Players and coaches prepare themselves during the week and sometimes you have to wonder if the officials are doing the same.

?Yes they are going to make some calls that are not going to go in your favour and the 50-50 ones we accept. But the ones where the percentage is 90-10 . . . you can?t keep getting those ones wrong. And to compound matters when I asked the referee about the call (first goal) he said he couldn?t make it or overrule the linesman?s decision not to call for offside.?

Boyles insisted that Raynor was in ?close proximity? to judge that Ralph Bean jr was standing in an offside position and, as the senior official, should have blown for the infringement though linesman Tucker never waved his flag.

It was Bean?s cross that led to Village drawing level with their cross-town rivals.

?Obviously the call or none call in this case hurt us. But we blame ourselves because we know we have to do more to take the game out of the officials? hands so those close calls don?t upset us,? Boyles added.

Edwards then fired Village ahead for good from a goal resulting from a corner that ref Raynor awarded after Tucker had indicated a goal kick.

?On the second goal the official (linesman) indicated it was a goal kick but the ref overruled him. So after stating he could not overrule the linesman?s call in the first instance he does the complete opposite at the very next opportunity,? Boyles added.

?The official (linesman) happened to be standing on the goal line so obviously he had an unobscured view. But the ref was in the same proximity, as far as the vantage point, and so if he was in position to call for a corner then he could have also made the call for offside.

?And those are the things that disrupt the game. These are some of the things the players hear and react to and sometimes - given football is an emotional sport - the players don?t always respond correctly.

?I think the game was nicely balanced at the time. North Village were enjoying a period of sustained pressure but the sickening thing was they were handed a gift horse.?

Boyles questioned why 17-year-old linesman Tucker had been assigned a clash involving two of the league?s top clubs.

?I think part of the blame rests with the fact that officials have been watered down where you have maybe one top referee officiating but the assistants are not up to the standard of that particular match,? he argued.

?But we have to live with that. Yes, those calls hurt us but at the end of the day we blame ourselves ? though I don?t think many professional teams would have recovered from those calls.?

Bermuda Football Association (BFA) chairman of the Referees Committee Gregory Grimes jumped to the defence of Raynor.

?The referee was quite correct,? he said yesterday. ?If he is not in a better position than his assistant to make the call then he cannot overrule him. The referee has to make his decision based on the position where is standing at the time. And the offside decision is 90 percent of the linesman?s responsibility and main responsibility.?

And as for the eventual game-winner, Grimes further explained: ?If the assistant indicates a throw-in, corner or whatever and the referee clearly sees that is not the case then he can and should overrule it.?

Grimes also defended Tucker?s appointment for the top clash.

?Tucker was appointed because I have every confidence he can do the job. He?s been trained overseas in England and I?ve personally seen him on the line,? he told .

?A lot of clubs have complained we get it wrong but I?ve offered on more than one occasion ? and I?m offering again ? we (BFA) are willing to come to the clubs and review the offside rules with them so that we can all be on the same page.?

lDandy Town?sWestern Stars Sports Club are spreading the Christmas joy.

The St. John?s Road club will present residents of Pembroke Parish Rest Home with donated items ranging from canned goods to clothing items next week.

All members are asked to drop their items off at the club by this Thursday?s deadline.

?If each person donated one item then it will really assist the elderly, sick and shut-in and those in need,? stated Western Stars senior executive Denise Hollis.

?Even though we ourselves are a registered charity that doesn?t necessarily mean you have to always receive because it?s also good to give. So we thought it was a good time for the club to give something back.?