The Coroner and the Referee - The inquest on the
body of James Thorpe, the Sunderland goalkeeper, emphasises what was said here last week on the necessity for the reform of coroner's Courts. The jury, though warned by the coroner, added to their verdict a rider stating that in their opinion the referee was to be blamed for his handling of the match between Sunderland and Chelsea in which Thorpe received injuries. The referee was given no opportunity to appear, in spite of a great deal of evidence in which his conduct of the game was criticised, and the coroner's warning to the jury to ignore that evidence in their verdict was bound to be of no effect after so much of it had been heard. Nothing could be more apposite to the recommendation of the Master of the Committee that both the functions and the rules of procedure of the coroner's court should receive more strict definition. The inquest seemed to indicate that the rules of Association Football also need stricter definition, for, under the present rules, the goalkeeper is always liable to severe injuries, whatever the referee's vigilance. To suggest deliberately that the referee was negligent, without calling him to give evidence (a singular omission in any case) is indefensible.
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