Here's my two cents...
There are some differences in officiating the different sports just dut to the nature of the game.
Basketball officials it's easy to see faces. You have 2-3 officials on a 4700 sq ft floor (I have not idea what that is in Canadian Measurements square meters or metric acres or something like that) There is no anonymity...
In baseball the plate umpire is in a mask the other guys are wearing hats, and heck (not to offend the baseball umps) but we as basketball officials could make 95% of the out safe calls, then you have to worry about foul balls, balls and strikes.
In football you got 6-7 guys with only one who is ever on camera announcing the penalty. Everybody else has some pretty good anonymity and besides they do let the play develop, the flag is actully a delayed penalty, and besides you can conference on every penalty.
Hockey they guys wear helemts and shields and there are only 3216 americans who understand the rules. (Besides how hard could it be to officate a fight where hockey breaks out
)
What about the pro volleyball refs? the pro lacrosse refs? MLS refs? no one mentioned them....
I dont think they can be compared because the guys at the level we are talking about understand the game, the nuances, etc. (NFL/NHL/NBA/MLB/MLS) They are trained by the legaue and I bet are more consistent across than we are in what we call because their groups are so small, have a ton of video to watch, and get fined or "reprimanded" from the leage if they kick a call.
I think where fans come from is (that if you think about it and this applies to us as well), because of the number of whistles that go off in the game we are perceived to be in the game more and have more of an effect on the outcome of the game. What I think is funny is that you have coaches and fans who scream and yell about officiating but could not pass a test if they had the answers given to them. Heck 50% of the time the foul is away from the ball and the fans arent even watching there