Members Blogs

As a former Premier League Assistant (1994-98) and Football League Referee (1998-2004) Lee Cable, now a National List Assessor and Regional Referee Coach, has much experience and wisdom to impart. The advice he gave us at a recent meeting of Kingston Referees’ Society was relevant to all levels of the game. Pre-Match Preparation • Know the Laws, including Interpretation and Guidelines • Be fit enough for the game you’ve been appointed to • Deal with admin efficiently • Look good: kit and personal appearance Selling Decisions Ideally, there are no surprises, with nobody saying, “What was that for?” Effective communication will enable others to understand your decisions. • Confident body language • Clear, positive signals • Use whistle...

PROACTIVE - Taking the initiative by actions, tending to make things happen. REACTIVE - Reacting to events, situations and stimuli spontaneously. When the ball goes dead good referees come alive. All referees are reactive. The best are also proactive. The ball is dead for around 20 of the 90 minutes of a match. INITIAL GENERAL QUESTIONS FOR DEADBALL SITUATIONS Did my position make the decision credible? Am I in the best position for the restart? Do I need to check my watch? Do I need to keep an eye on a particular player? Do I need to watch a pair of players? Do I need to move closer to them? Do I need to check that assistants are OK? Do I need to keep an eye on those on the touchline? Do I need to speak to a manager/ coach/ club rep...

Before considering a few useful comments that you might make to players on the field of play, you might think about a few general hints. Some of them you may already know about, but it will do no harm if you think about all of them. First of all, remember that your bearing will reflect your confidence. Do not slouch your way onto the field before the tossing of the coin, because if you do the players will notice it and your game will not proceed in the best possible way. Are you aware of the difference between confidence and arrogance? The first is your friend; the second is definitely your enemy. Nobody likes an arrogant referee, except those players who enjoying causing you some grief. Never watch the ball that is kicked high into...

This version of Referees in the media will be different, because a Dutch linesman has died because of an attack after a football match. You can read the full story of the incident with Nieuwenhuizen with updates on my blog. … Continue reading → The post Referees in the media (Richard Nieuwenhuizen) appeared first on Dutch Referee Blog. Continue reading...

As the last two posts indicated it's been a long week and it was good to finish it off by completing the latest Basic Course for New Referees with 24 successful candidates. We originally started with 27 but lost one before the first session and lost two between week one and two. Today's session included an exercise on misconduct offering candidates the chance to practice dealing with situations where players are cautioned, receive a second caution in the same game and also situations where they dismiss for a single offence. To wrap this session up we simulate a mass confrontation to see how a candidate deals with it and we pull out the learning points. Today we set up the scenario with some "spectators", some "runners" and around 20...

To follow up on the other post about the last week, there's been some other things happening which I wanted to mention. One story as been unavoidable and that was the shocking news from The Netherlands where an Assistant Referee, Richard Nieuwenhuizen, was attacked by players after an U16 game. After the attack he collapsed and despite being treated in hospital, died the next day. What made this all the more tragic was that his son was playing in the game and may have witnessed the attack. All amateur football in The Netherlands has been suspended this week as a mark of respect and there is a campaign on Twitter to mark this weekend as #RespectforRichard weekend. On a lighter note, one of the oldest questions was answered as...

If a week can be a long time in politics it can be even longer in football during the winter months. Teams at and around my level of football have games postponed and the old saying that the devil finds work for idle hands springs to mind. For some this can mean tinkering with their team, others it means tinkering with the management and even for referees, the lack of games can result in them getting involved in discussions they should leave well alone. Fortunately for me it has been an extremely busy week with more in prospect. Last Saturday I travelled to Doncaster for a Supply League assessment and watched an exciting game between two teams at opposite ends of the league. The result went the way of the visitors who consolidated...

In tribute to slain Dutch referee Richard Nieuwenhuizen, referees around the world will change their avatars or profile photos to the logo of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The tribute will be timed to coincide with a silent march in Richard’s hometown of Almere on Sunday, 9 December 2012, at 17:00 local time (16:00 UTC; 11:00 AM EST in North America). Referees, players, coaches and supporters are encouraged to post their thoughts on this senseless tragedy during the tribute, followed by the hash tag #RESPECTforRichard. Webmasters are encouraged to post a graphic tribute to Richard at the same start time. A suggested graphic tribute is previewed below. We propose a tribute period of a minimum of 24 hours and maximum of 7...

Three teenagers face manslaughter charges because of the death of assistant referee Richard Nieuwenhuizen. The kids have to appear in court Thursday 6th of December for the first time. A judge will decide if the detention of the suspects will be extended. The prosecutor already announced will then officially be charged with manslaughter, assault and public violence for alleged involvement in an incident last weekend after the match between youth teams form Buitenboys and Nieuw Sloten. In the Dutch referee system it’s common that parents or club members officiate as a linesman on almost all amateur levels. Buitenboys linesman Nieuwenhuizen was flagging his son’s match and afterwards he was beaten up by three players from Nieuw Sloten...

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...

Japanese referees Yuichi Nishimura (men) and Sachiko Yamagishi (women) received the 2012 AFC Referee of the Year Award during the 2012 AFC Annual Awards. A happy Nishimura: “I think on the refereeing side there are no big differences between Europe and Asia. That’s because Asian referees have high standards. I think it’s only different on the football side.” Nishimura als praises his colleague Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan. “Mr. Ravshan is a fantastic referee.” Have a look at the interview on the AFC YouTube Channel. If you understand Japanese, you might be interested in the interview with the female winner Sachiko Yamagishi. The post Asian referees of 2012: Nishimura and Yamagishi appeared first on Dutch Referee Blog. Continue...

Referees in the media will be published at the beginning of the week on the Dutch Referee Blog and provides remarkable or interesting quotes and links to articles worth reading. “Only Stindl had paid attention to it and counted correctly. He mentioned the mistake to his coach Mirko Slomka and the club reported it to the DFL (German Footbal League, jth) and they observed the failure too. Consequence: The midfield player is missing the match on Tuesday against Greuther Fürth.” It’s not a quote by a referee, but a translation from German newspaper Bild. Referee Christian Dingert has shown Lars Stindl form Hannover’96 a yellow card during the match against Frankfurt, but it was not shown in the Bundesliga statistics nor on the referee...

Builders of the RefereePro smartphone app are satisfied with use of it during the first official match. An interview from the Dutch Referee Blog with Jaime Herrera, a former Fifa referee from Mexico who helped developing the digital referee signal system. Read also the previous blog “Referee 2.0 uses smarphone app for goals and cards” about the referee smartphone app RefereePro on this blog. It includes a video about how it works. Referee Miguel Pensamiento gives a yellow card with his smartphone. How did the referee prepare for the match? Jaime Herrera: “We have been designing and working on the development of Referee Pro since a year ago and I, as a former FIFA referee, know how to use it since I helped to build it and I was...

The blog took a few weeks off after a busy few weekends saw some games which came under the scrutiny of the County FA. I was back in action with a Sunday League game after the original plan of assessing a promotion candidate fell by the wayside when he was rostered to work this weekend. The original referee for the game I did, had closed the weekend and the appointments secretary asked me to look after it. The only problem was that he had already made arrangements for another referee to cover it. I offered to go home but the other referee insisted I stay and within 15 minutes I needed a substitute as my calf gave way after yet another trudge through a muddy patch (the 14, 472nd this season). I managed to keep going until the end of...

Some players kick and shout at referees. Not Azizbek Haydarov from Uzbekistan. He’s jumping on the referee out of sheer joy to celebrate with him the 0-1 victory over Iran. But referee Ali Al-Badwawi from the United Arab Emirates wants not to do with it after he blew the final whistle in the World Cup 2014 qualification match between Iran and Uzbekistan. Al-Badwawi firmly dismisses Haydarov and let him sheer somewhere else. The post Al-Badwawi dismisses player who cheers with him appeared first on Dutch Referee Blog. Continue reading...

Referees in the media will be published at the beginning of the week on the Dutch Referee Blog and provides remarkable or interesting quotes and links to articles worth reading. “They cannot have contact with members of the public, because you don’t know what can be exchanged.” Local organising committee CEO Mvuso Mbebe about the referees who will officiate at the African Nations Cup 2013 in Januaray and February. “We will not assign referees next weekend for games in the D-League in Darmstadt. We have a duty of care for our referees and can in all honesty not tolerate that they put their health at risk in order to allow others to exercise their hobbies.” Local county referee chief Sebastian Schaab in Darmstadt about the referee strike...

Referees can leave their pencil and notebook at home. All they need is a smartphone. That seems like something for future referees, but according to The Next Web a Mexican referee has officiated a match with Referee Pro, “a smartphone app that will see the first ever football match kick off today with a professional match official using his mobile phone to record events, as well as dishing out yellow and red cards”. The referee appointed for last Thursday’s match between América and Tecos was Miguel Pensamiento. The use of a the digital notebook in an official match is the ultimate test for producer Siine. They wrote on their website that “this will road-test the new tool in a live environment. Referee decisions will even be directly...

Errol Sweeney is back in his own Ireland, but has been a football referee in South Africa. He actually was named the best referee of South Africa twice. Once by his colleagues, the second time by sports journalists. Errol Sweeney in action during a match in South Africa. Photo provided by referee. Name: Errol Sweeney Born: 1947 Country: Ireland Career: FAI Intermediate, Cup final – 1974/1975; first cup final in South Africa was in 1986 as assistant referee. In 1986 he was fourth official and he got the first cup final as referee in 1988. In 1991 he also officiated both semi cup finals, which is unique in South Africa. What do you do now for a living? Errol Sweeney: “I’m a psychologist working in Wilson’s Hospital School in Ireland...

Referees in the media will be published at the beginning of the week on the Dutch Referee Blog and provides remarkable or interesting quotes and links to articles worth reading. “Behind our mistakes, there is nothing: it is a mistake and then we turn the page. The referee and our association are like a kite: the more headwind there is, the better and higher we fly.” Marcello Nicchi after the moment he was chosen as the president of the Italian referees. Australian A-League referee Shaun Evans. Photo: Refsworld / Anita Milas This would have been the hardest decision of my life so far! The thought of giving up 4 years as an assistant referee on the A-league panel to pursue a potential career as a referee on the A-league was a massive...

Italian news website MNews reports that a referee has been kicked on his head. It’s not a pitch invasion like I posted last week, but this seems a serious violent offence against the referee. Check out the video below. Sad to see this referee hobbling slowly of the pitch after “being kicked on the head”, according to Italian news website Mnews. The teams Melito di Porto Salvo and Santo Stefano d’Aspromonte you were playing the game. The score was 5-3 at the moment of the incident. My Italian is not good (status: can understand texts only with Google Translate), so maybe my Italian followers could tell what the Italian FA does after such incidents when a referee is kicked on his head. The post Italian referee kicked on his head appeared...