Members Blogs

Colleagues, watch this documentary about female referees in Democratic Republic of Congo. Very interesting. Director Ruhi Hamid told ESPN why it was so important for her to tell the stories of the three female referees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “African women’s voices and lives are so rarely seen or heard except as victims. To tell the story of Mme Kapinga, Solange and Ibanda seemed the perfect way to show the strength, resilience and determination that African women possess. I wanted to show how the beautiful game of football has helped them get past the decades of brutality and violence in their country. By refereeing in the men’s league they not only challenge chauvinistic attitudes but also become strong role models for...

I'm blogging while quietly recovering from the local RA Annual Presentation Dinner last night before setting off for my Sunday League Trophy Quarter Final just up the road. It was an excellent night with some brilliant food and great company. The night was, as is always the case with gatherings of referees, full of stories and reminiscing as we reminded those who have progressed to the professional game (and those of us who still work at Grass Roots) of some of the highlights, low lights and downright hilarious incidents we've experienced together. Tribal rivalries surfaced from time to time as fans of professional teams exchanged views (politely and with much leg pulling) on various games over the years. I talked about my following...

Do quite like N :) Continue reading...

In light of the recent Evra/Suarez & Terry/Ferdinand handshake discussions. This quote on worldsoccer caught my eye “Just stop with your ****ing handshake questions. You just keep talking about that handshake, for **** sake! Who wants to shake hands after such a match?! Are we at a boarding school for girls here or what?” This is from Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness when asked about Franck Ribery’s refusal ro shake hands with coach Jupp Henyckes Continue reading...

Looks like we may be able to get a weekend of football this week, after all the recent call offs. I will be tommorow tutoring at the County FA on a prospective referee's course. Its looking to be a busy course with 16 candidates. The plan was only confirmed on Wednesday so its been a bit of a rush as I need to deliver the following topics Throw in, Goal Kick, Corner Kick Applying the advantage Managing the defensive wall at Direct & Indirect Free Kicks Indirect Free Kicks (when) Plus a bit around the refereeing structures and administration Hopefully then I will be able to watch the League Cup Final on Sunday. What game will you be at this weekend? Continue reading...

I posted this yesterday on twitter having seen it on World Soccer. Its an impressive show real from Borussia Monchengladbach showing what a passing force they have become this season. There transformation has been impressive given they were strugling last season in the Bundesliga but this season they have climbed the table. The pace at which they move the ball around is scary at times. Continue reading...

Having just had a good sort out of a cupboard at home. I thought it was time to cut down on the amount of Referee shirts I had. I had pretty much enough to cover me for a game a day for 3 weeks! Really what is the need, so Ive put four of the better condition ones that I no longer need up on Ebay. The one with the Conference badge on was worn once. The reason for this was when I was lucky a few years ago to do a Conference Shield game on Setanta we were given that shirt to wear. Kit 1 Kit 2 Kit 3 Kit 4 Im not looking to get rich from this but it will go towards the re-registration of this site again as the Domain is up for renewal. Which leads me on to, if you ever find yourself needing to order anything from Amazon. Follow the...

Stoke City have won their appeal against Rory Delaps sending off against Crawley at the weekend. The Football Association upheld Stoke's appeal and Delap's three-match suspension has been withdrawn. Tony Pulis after the match said: "If you look at the referee, he actually gives a throw-in, not even a free-kick. "The fourth official has told our coaching staff he made the decision because there was excessive force." Continue reading...

During a recent Belgium league game an assistant was injured when he was hit on the head by something thrown by a fan. It appears though to be a piece of cardboard! Continue reading...

Just having a quick look around the interwebs and came across these two products by Spintso. The PDA looks a really interesting idea but im not sure I would be fully reliant on tech during a game. Ive had notepads get drenched so what happens to this tech in those cases. Also if you drop it then, youve a problem. However the watch looks interesting and more practical, i quite like the dual display actually. Infact from what I can make out it runs four watches during the game One counting up (rolls all the time) One counting down (stops at a stop for additional time) One counting additional time (starts when you stop the match time) One watch for the break time Continue reading...

A collection of links that speak for themselves Stuart Attwell removed from the Premier League Owen Coyle backs Stuart Attwell Ex FIFA Ref goes to Jail for Match Fixing Continue reading...

A brilliant short film talking to Francisco López a 69 year old Spaniard who has dedicated his life to the game The Sunday Ref (Spanish with English subtitles) from Kauri Multimedia on Vimeo. Continue reading...

Barry Cook has been a talented goalie, even got 27 caps as youth international. This season, ten years after he stopped with goalkeeping, he has been promoted to Scottish top refereeing category. Barry Cook in the SFL Division 3 match between Berwick Rangers FC and Queens Park FC. Photo privided by referee. “My first season refereeing at the top category in Scotland has gone well so far”, says Barry Cook to Dutch Referee Blog. “I have been refereeing since the age of 17 – I am now 32 years old – but combined my playing and refereeing until the age of 22. At this point I made the decision to concentrate on trying to get to the top level of refereeing.” Name: Barry Cook Date of Birth: 6th June 1979 Referee since: 1998 Admitted to SFA...

‘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. “The referee had a broken nose and was bleeding like a cow. We punished Luis heavily and told him it was the end.” The technical director of Nacional, Daniel Enriquez, about an incident with Luis Suarez when he was just 15. “If you have confidence in yourself and have good attitude, I’m sure you will be successful in this programme.” AFC Referees Director Yoshimi Ogawa at the start of the Project Future Referees. “It’s very good that players and referees meet eachother in a different setting than around a match.” Dutch FA organized a meeting with trainers...

The weather put paid to last Saturday's assessment when a severe frost forced the postponement of every game in the league. The weather forecast for this week suggested that the snow would start falling on Thursday and would continue until Sunday, meaning the chances of any football being played were remote. My pre-match call to the referee and e-mail reply from the home club did little to allay my fears as both were less than optimistic. As a precaution I contacted both of my assessment co-ordinators for Saturday games and got a similar glum response from them. My usual league ended up with another complete wipeout, while my other league had one game not covered. The co-ordinator was sure it would be off and asked me to contact a...

And all these years I’ve studied and tried to apply the offside law! It used to be a bit easier some years back than it is now. What with being in an offside position but not being offside, and being active and not being active, it’s all very confusing at times. Then a player might look onside but the ball rebounds and he’s offside now because he was in an offside position earlier! He used to be offside if he was level, but not now. He could at one time be played onside if the ball touched an opponent as it was passed towards him. A mate of mine says it’s easier to understand a solicitor’s letter than the offside law! And suddenly we hear that it’s not complicated at all. I’m not sure who said so, but some bright spark has decided that...

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Randomly heard Parklife by Blur this morning on the way to work. Why dont we see ad's as good as this anymore? Continue reading...

Just seen this on the Guardian and its amazing. Its a time lapse video of Barca vs Osasuna. I suggest you open it to full screen to get the full benefit. Continue reading...

One of the first things I learnt at the beginning of this journey was; if the pitch aint right, there won’t be any football played. Obviously, this weekend saw a host of games across the country postponed due to the snow (below is a photo taken of a pitch near my house) - as a player I would have been quietly dreading the end of season onslaught – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday fixtures, nursing of grass burns and the decent possibility of being hospitalised by a cricket ball. As a referee, I’m rather relishing the evening run out… Continue reading...