Members Blogs

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 The Football Association upheld Stoke's appeal and Delap's three-match suspension has been withdrawn.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...

I've noticed in the last few days search queries leading to this site for fitness tests. I'm guessing It's promotion candidates looking up fitness tests. Something to be aware of The FA have increased the level 4 test, to a minimum of 2600 metres to be covered in a continuous 12 minute run. 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. “You are there as the pitch policemen to make sure that things are being done in accordance with the Laws of the Game. Try also to act in a preventative manner – don’t wait until something happens, try to stop it before it happens.” Hugh Dallas, Uefa referee instructor. “The consensus was that there will always be tackles that are borderline but it’s important to return to the message that the players have consistently had over the last three years. That message is that if you commit to a tackle that’s at speed and with intensity, typically with both feet off...

The general reaction on telling people that I am training to become a qualified referee is; “Why would you want to go and do a thing like that”. So, before you all judge me as some power mad saddo, these are the reasons: Primarily, it is because my playing days have pretty much come to an end – old injuries and 18 years of being kicked with alarming regularity have led me to take the decision to hang my boots up – before that decision is made for me. Believe it or not, referee’s have to be pretty fit and becoming a referee will mean I at least have to retain some sort of fitness level Having played and watched football for the best part of two decades, I think I may have a decent enough understanding of the game to be quite good at it...

I have been playing and watching football for as long as I can remember – I am a fan, not only of the team I support (I think referees are allowed to support a team), but of the game in general. Appreciative of what the sport offers, I completely understand why millions of people across the globe give up their time every week to either play or watch the beautiful game. But why are we constantly hearing that there aren’t enough referees – surely everyone wants to give it a go? Don’t they? On the 18th January 2012 I took the plunge and started an FA referee’s training course. This is my story about swapping goalscoring glory for a book, cards and whistle. A no frills journey about becoming a fully qualified referee. A bit about what...

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...