This article is the result of a survey conducted with football referees of the São Paulo Football Federation included in the so-called FIFA category. We interviewed three referees in the second half of 2015. Interviews were semi-structured in order to understand how those referees see and interpret media comments on the work of referee teams. The study’s reference was Norbert Elias’s theory of civilizing processes and Elias, Dunning about violence. Referees see media comments on their decision about dubious situations as inhumane since journalists and commentators have technology resources that are not available to referees. © 2017, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. All rights reserved.231281294