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Don't worry I've not fallen for the dubious delights of the game where you can play for five days and not have a winner (cricket). Yesterday at Charlton the referee abandoned the game at half time when he decided the field was waterlogged. Although I've only seen the brief highlights provided on the BBC's Football League Show, there is no doubt the decision was the correct one. When we talk on the Basic Course about conducting a field of play inspection we make reference to very wet fields. Back in October the referee of the Poland vs England World Cup qualifier was seen going back to basics to test out the surface before postponing the game. Yesterday's referee probably went through the same process but as the rain continued to fall...

My eyes were tired, my legs were tired and my patience was tired, but more of that later. After two afternoons of refereeing in a local junior football tournament I feel I'm reasonably well placed to judge whether The FA's Respect Programme is having any effect at the lowest level of the game. I need to go back a few years to when I started refereeing to give the rest of this post some context. My son's age group were moving from 2 teams of 7 a side to 1 team of 11 a side. The league at the time required all clubs to have a qualified referee, so me and another dad were packed off to a working men's club in a nearby village for a few weeks, asked some questions and completed an exam paper. We were then pushed out into the world of...

I refereed my first match of the season. An exciting, challenging AND sportive cup match. Game went up and down – lots of running for me – and ended in a 3-2 win for the home team. When I left … Continue reading → The post Thank you to referee from chairman of low level amateur club appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

The Dutch Referee Blog hopes you’ll have a good start of the 2013-2014 season. Let me know how your first match was. And what do you expect from the next season as a football referee? The post Best wishes for new refereeing season by Dutch Referee Blog appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

It’s 2-0 for Chelsea in the game against Hull. Injury time and a corner kick had been awarded for Chelsea. Frank Lampard swings the ball in and a player heads it towards the goal. Goalie McGregor got the ball, but … Continue reading → The post Goal-line technology works at Chelsea vs. Hull appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

This video is worth watching: Kari Seitz, top female referee from the United States, tells a crowd about recent Women’s World Cup situations. Soccer Referee USA made it available on YouTube for all referees so we can learn from it … Continue reading → The post Kari Seitz talks about game situations in Women’s World Cup appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Dutch referee Richard Liesveld could not referee his match yesterday because his car got on fire on the way to the football match Roda JC – Vitesse in Dutch top league. The referee’s car burned out completely. Scheidsrechter #Liesveld zal … Continue reading → The post Referee’s car burned out on way to match appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Referee stats Premier League 2012/2013: referees doing a good job. And did you know that referees do more in-game high speed runs than players? Check out the most remarkable referee statistics from the 2012-2013 Season Review by the organisation of … Continue reading → The post 5 most remarkable referee stats Premier League 2012-2013 appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

The number of rough incidents in Dutch football has decreased with 15% during last season. The total number incidents like beating up a referee or kicking a player who’s lying on the ground is now 412 in the 2012/2013 season. … Continue reading → The post Rough incidents decrease in The Netherlands appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

What would be the ideal referee shirt colour? Due to new possibilities referees sometimes make stange mistakes by picking almost the same referee outfit colour as one of the teams’ shirts. One referee had to change his shirt during the … Continue reading → The post Referee shirt colour: change outfit during first half appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

You think Andrés D’Alessandro is a diver? Not this time. The Argentinian player got fouled by the referee when his team Internacional was playing against Atletico Minero in the Brazilian league. The referee was running his diagonal line but missed … Continue reading → The post Referee fouls player in Brazilian league appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

You got back from a a holiday and want to start training again: this is the perfect guide for first training week after a period of physical inactivity. Also check the 4 tips for pre-season referee training after a holiday. … Continue reading → The post Perfect referee guide for first training week after holiday appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

5 tips for pre-season referee training after lazy holiday. You might be reluctant to start again after a nice sunny holiday on the beach, but you should get your ass up and try to get back in shape for the … Continue reading → The post 4 tips for pre-season referee training after holiday appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Fifa World Cup 2014 referee kits ware released by Adidas. You can already order them at RefereeWorld. The kits could be delivered from January. Click to enlarge them. And, do you like the Fifa World Cup 2014 referee kits by … Continue reading → The post Fifa World Cup 2014 referee kits from Adidas appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Two brothers on the line during an Uefa match. Yes, that actually happened. In last week’s Europa League match in Macedonia between FK Turnovo and Hajduk Split Richard Storey and David Anderson were the assistant referees of Arnold Hunter. Different … Continue reading → The post Brothers on the line: unique moment in European refereeing appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

The referee cam was introduced in a MLS Soccer game last weekend. Rugby also experienced with this new technology. Would it only bring action closer to the tv viewers or are there benefits for the referees as well? Read the … Continue reading → The post Referee cam: would this help referees? appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Wall management at ceremonial free kicks. How to avoid problems with players trying to come closer than 9.15 metres or players to take the ball to fast? Most important advice: always keep an eye on the ball. Good example where … Continue reading → The post Wall management: 9 steps to do it properly appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Kevin Blom went from heaven to hell after he wrongly awarded Czech Republic a penalty at Hampden Park, which costs Scotland a place at the European Championships. Now he talks about the incident with Algemeen Dagblad, a Dutch newspaper. Check … Continue reading → The post Kevin Blom: from heaven to hell in Scotland appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Referee training session of the Associazione Italiana Arbitri CAN A – the Italian referees of the highest football level. The Italian referees had to pass their fitness tests at the beginning of the season. Someone filmed it and published it … Continue reading → The post Referee training session under Italian sun appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...

Spanish football referee Eduardo Prieto Iglesias is one of the two new match officials who who got promoted to the highest league in Spain. Thanks to Spanish blog Árbitros de Fútbol we can get to know him much better. The … Continue reading → The post Eduardo Prieto Iglesias: new referee in Primera División appeared first on Football: Dutch Referee Blog for match officials. Continue reading...