Members Blogs

What do players think when they approach the referee while shouting, protesting and making crazy gestures? That question crossed my mind a couple of times the last few days. This awful behaviour of players against referees has to stop. These actions set the wrong example for the adults and kids you and I have to […] Continue reading...

The cold weather arrived in Europe. But how do we dress because of the low temperature and icy wind? I normaly try to write down the scores with my cold fingers. I tried gloves once many years ago. It helped a little against getting cold fingers, but writing down info about cards and goals wasn’t any easier. Last week I saw special ‘referee gloves’. They’re for sale for 24.95 euro at RefereeWorld. They look pretty normal compared to other gloves, so I’m still wondering what makes them ‘referee gloves’. The post Gloves designed for football referees appeared first on Dutch Referee Blog. Continue reading...

UEFA has appointed Damir Skomina to officiate the clash between Real Madrid CF and SSC Napoli. Meanwhile, Serbian Milorad Mažić has been assigned to handle Bayern München vs Arsenal FC. The Slovenian will be observed by UEFA Referees Committee's member Jaap Uilenberg. 15 February 2017, 20:45 CET (Santiago Bernabéu) Real Madrid CF - SSC Napoli Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN) Assistant Continue reading...

I started this week doing a massive load of laundry. The season was over so “cross-contaminated” jerseys from using the same uniform holder could be cleaned and put into storage now. I was relieved to find that none of my adidas 2014 jerseys lost their velcro patches (I hadn’t stitched them this year). Clothes were hardly the focus of this cleaning. Shoes too! A good brushing and cleaning got all the artificial dirt, turf-dust and any mud off them. I also decided to retire my old pair of mundial team shoes since seams were beginning to tear. I may save them just for playing now. My current plan is flat shoes for turf (underarmour) and my pristine mundial team shoes for grass. These are the flats I have been talking about for...

Going out the door to excercise is so important. Just the fact you're going out proves you have motivation for it, says Abdelkader Benali. He is a Dutch writer and amateur runner. In the new blog section "Tips from the sidelines" I'll share useful info and thoughts from sports people, players and coaches that will […] Continue reading...

Last week was an easy one for you all. How will you perform in week 18 of the 2017-2018 Laws of the Game Quiz? Good luck! Bezig met laden… Continue reading...

Week 15 Laws of the Game Quiz 2019-2020 is a so-called “best of”. You’ll see questions from all the quizzes that were used during the first half of the 2019-2020 season. Laden… Continue reading...

Swamped doesn’t even begin to describe the week I had. The worst part is that an identical week is coming at the end of October. It’s a storm that’s hard to prepare for. It’s a busy term. Monday and Tuesday were football days but playing. It’s a good change and playing at a higher division level sometimes shows some of the deficiencies I have while playing. Monday We were playing a very evenly-skilled team so it was a difficult match. The score went up evenly. In the last minute, we won a penalty while it was a draw. The ball was put in the back of the net and we needed to defend for the last minute. As fate would have it, we were pressed hard and off a corner kick, I stood at the front post. The ball was played in and kicked out...

Maltese referee Esther Azzopardi had recently been promoted to Uefa’s Elite Development list. She got the love from refereeing from her father, a former Fifa assistant referee. “I always trust in his advice.” An interview with Esther Azzopardi on the Dutch Referee Blog. Photo courtesy Domenic Aquilina, Malta Football Association Photographer. His website. When and why did you start refereeing? Azzopardi: “I wore the uniform and blew the whistle for the very first time in September 1998. Today, I am 30 years old and I have been refereeing since I was 17. Refereeing has been an integral part of my life as I have devoted my attention and passion to it since the very beginning. My father (Ronald Farrugia, ed.) was a FIFA assistant referee...

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he is being treated to different rules than his fellow Premier League counterparts. The Portuguese appeared The post Jose Mourinho is right – he is being treated unfairly appeared first on You Are The Ref. Continue reading...

Week 9 Laws of the Game Quiz 2020-2021 Laden… Continue reading...

10-man Bournemouth earned a draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford at the weekend, in a match that had two unpleasant incidents The post Kevin Friend’s Old Trafford nightmare was the worst Premier League refereeing display this season appeared first on You Are The Ref. Continue reading...

What is your favourite referee whistle? How do you pick your whistles? And what makes a whistle good? I like whistles with a sound other referees don’t have. The Fox 40 Pearl has that in The Netherlands. That reminds of a situation during last season. I officiated with a blue Pearl version of the Fox 40 – matching with my blue referee kit ofcourse. Usually people ask me afterwards something about a situation or just say thanks for refereeing. But a man stepped forward and began talking about that unique sound of the whistle. Yeah, it was a colleague who was off duty that weekend. I’m wondering if he found one, because (most of) the Dutch sport shops only sell the Fox 40 classic. But it kept me thinking: how do referees pick their...

UEFA has appointed the following officials to handle Tuesday's Champions League Matchday 2 games. Among others Dutch Björn Kuipers will officiate the top clash between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. E| 26.09.2017, 20:45 CET Otkrytie Arena, Moscow (RUS) Spartak Moskva - Liverpool FC Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA) Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA) Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore Continue reading...

UEFA's Referee Officers have appointed Scotland's William Collum to oversee Bayer Leverkusen's reencounter with Atlético Madrid on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Antonio Mateu Lahoz from Spain will be in charge of Manchester City vs AS Monaco. 21 February 2017, 20:45 CET (BayArena) Bayer Leverkusen - Atlético Madrid Referee: William Collum (SCO) Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO) Assistant Continue reading...

Last quiz month of the year, so last chance to win goodies from RefsWorld UK. Good luck with Week 29 Laws of the Game Quiz 2018-2019. Bezig met laden… Continue reading...

At times during Pre season games there's a bit more of a relaxed attitude. Situations are managed a bit more and if a players gets a bit out hand he is subbed. However there has to still be an element of credibility and if your going to go in like this during a game pre season or not you should still expect punishment! All the blog posts I had seen on this and the video didn't show a red card. So I went looking for a match report. There didn't seem to be one on the Newport County site. However on the WalesOnline site there is a match report. I quote But as Lee then worked his way across the field, Miller brought his run to a stop with a lunging tackle and the game was delayed for 10 minutes as medics attended him. Miller, who...

Referee’s got a lot to endure during a soccer match. Fans, coaches and players are the biggest critics, even if they’re most of the time not good informed of what actually happened. Dick Jol's twitter photo That’s why the referee organisation of West-Friesland initiated a exhibition match on the 8th of November where former professional referee Dick Jol explains all his crucial decisions publicly via the stadium sound system. “It also forces a referee to declare his decisions in clear and concise terms and, if necessary, give some extra explanation”, says initiator Rodric Leerling in a statement. The referee came up with the idea due to his life in the New York area, where he saw the so-called referee-signal-system in American...

Got a nice gift from RefStuff. Where Refsix is going digital, this hand held device wants to make it easier for you to keep track of the scores. I like the idea of this new product. Will test it myself during my next game, but can already share one with you. Want to get one? […] Continue reading...

When a referee didn’t turn up Joel Aguilar from El Salvador had to pick up the whistle. “When I was asked to be the referee I said no at first because I liked playing and in fact had poor relations … Continue reading → Continue reading...