Members Blogs

L'arbitre Blog - DOGSO-H or Offside?

To give you a bit of a teaser/backstory, have a read of Third Blind Mouse’s piece on this situation. https://thirdblindmouse.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/dogso-h-or-offside-i-cant-decide/ People may think that the laws/rules of sports are simple. This scenario can show just how mind-boggling a scenario in football can be. I thought the natural thing to make this clear is to draw […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Jon Moss: lessons from the FA Cup final referee

What goes on in the head of a referee before an important game? Jon Moss tells about what it means to referee the FA Cup final: “It’s the realisation of a dream. It’s the culmination of years of hard work”. During his refereeing career Jon Moss has experienced a lot and he shares his story with us […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - North West Referees Association (NI) has done great job on referee...

You might recognize this: there are not many things going on at your local referee association. No speakers, not many lectures or video sessions with match incidents. At least I do. In my opinion referees should get educated and they need to be challenged. And then I got in touch with Stephen Wallace, an active […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Playing in dangerous manner: a low header

Great case study again in the game between Manchester United and Arsenal. The question for you: Is Phil Jones making an offence in the photo below where he touches the ball with his head? How did you answer that question? My answer was “yes”. I immediately stopped my tv and replayed it. Did not see […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Case study: ball crossed the line or not?

On my blog’s Facebook page I got a comment from a Hungarian referee. In his game there was an awkward situation. He thought he saw the ball ON the line, but his AR thought is was a goal The quesion now is: Has the ball crossed the line or not? And what do you decide? […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Çakir to referee UEFA Champions League final

Big referee news: Çakir to referee UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The game will be played in Berlin on June 6th. Another great appointment: the Europa League final will be officiated by Martin Atkinson. Çakir is an experienced referee from Turkey. He has officiated 70 games in European competitions. This season […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Kevin Friend and Anthony Taylor answering questions

The FA Referees Department did a great thing on Twitter with Kevin Friend and Anthony Taylor answering questions. Below I’ve added the most interesting questions. All will give a wonderful insight in the world of Premier League refereeing. Share the best tip you’ve got as referee I was very happy that they also answered my […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - What it takes to become a Premier League referee

NBC made a wonderful documentary about what it takes to become a Premier League referee. The program PL Download made “Behind the whistle” when they visited The FA’s Headquarters during a bi-monthly referee meeting with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). Arlo White and Graeme Le Saux give you a nice insight when they […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Esther Staubli referees Uefa Women’s CL

The referee of Uefa’s Women Champions League final is Esther Staubli. But who is the referee from Switzerland? She’s a former football player and “I am not proud of” the number of yellow and red cards I got in my career. Esther Staubli will lead an all-Swiss refereeing team at the #UWCLfinal in Berlin on […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Great example: no offside after deliberate play

Theory in the Laws Of The Game is not always clear. That’s why referees need examples to see what a situation really means. Title of this case study: no offside after deliberate play. The “new” offside rule is two years old. But not every referee or player is familiar with it. Check out the video […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Ella de Vries never dreamt of World Cup at start career

Ella de Vries will visit Canada soon for a World Cup as assistant referee. In an interview with Dutch Referee Blog she talks about the upcoming tournament and starting as a women in the football world. Not everyone was so happy with a lady refereeing a men’s game. “But those situations gave me strength and […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Jong ADO – Aruba as assistant referee

Some appointments are too good to ignore. A friend got unfortunately injured and asked if I could replace him in a friendly game Jong ADO – Aruba. The first team is the u23 team from the professional club ADO Den Haag in the city I live in. Aruba came with the national team, and this […] Continue reading...

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L'arbitre Blog - Week 13

My request for late night games worked because two rescheduled games appeared for the week. I accepted both game offers and prepared for a bit of travel. The first game was Monday night at a local school. I had already been there a few weeks ago so I knew what to expect in terms of […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Refereeing in Scotland: my international debut

Two weeks ago I enjoyed a wonderful holiday and I even got the chance of refereeing in Scotland. The semi-final of the Brambles Cup on Islay was my international debut. A great experience! Only one week before the holiday I tweeted that I was going to Scotland and that fast-forwarded everything toward my first match […] Continue reading...

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L'arbitre Blog - Week 12

I was offered games in the Youth Premier League for the end of the week. This time in the U18 Boys division and it was for a triple-header! I was immediately wary. I knew I couldn’t handle three games in the middle in this weather. I knew that I would be able to manage to […] Continue reading...

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[Donning The Stripes] - Preamble to the Main Event

So as detailed on the About Me… page – I have been retraining to become a Football Official (for the sake of clarity – “American Football” will be referred from hereon in as “Football”. Association Football will be known as “Soccer”). The whole process was extremely easy compared to what I experienced back in 1995 when I went through an intensive 8-10 weeks of classroom sessions to qualify as a soccer referee (under the tutelage of the legend that was Gerald Ashby).[..] http://donningthestripes.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/preamble-to-the-main-event/

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L'arbitre Blog - Week 11

I started early in the week playing some football. Doesn’t happen often but I like to think of it as part of my training. I joined a pick-up game and felt I had a great game. I came as a substitute to cover any playing time for the regulars that showed up. Ever since I […] Continue reading...

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Dutch Referee Blog - Lucie Ratajova: “I love refereeing, I love football”

The Women’s World Cup appointments are made by Fifa and I got the chance to speak to one of the selected officials: Lucie Ratajova. The female referee from the Czech Republic can’t describe her feelings. “And I did not expect the appointment.” Congratulations with your appointment for the 2015 World Cup. How does that feel? […] Continue reading...

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L'arbitre Blog - Week 10

I met with the Youth Premier League assignor earlier in the week for the previous month’s payment. We had a chat about the league, how it had come together, who was running it and other details. Refereeing without a league’s context can leave one stranded or without confidence on the field when it comes to […] Continue reading...

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L'arbitre Blog - Referee Appointments: An Assignor Perspective

I think it’s important to be able to understand the mindset of an assignor to understand how referee appointments work which is useful knowledge for any referee. To start I will refer you to factors in international referee selection beautifully outlined by Jenna from Play the Advantage. http://playtheadvantage.com/2014/01/28/how-referees-are-selected/ http://playtheadvantage.com/2014/02/15/how-uefa-chooses-referees-for-champions-league/ For a direct plunge, here are […] Continue reading...

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