The future of refereeing

Has this world cup made potential referees think to not take it up?

Every game people are criticising officials and VAR.
Every game even players and management are criticising officials.
I get its been happening for years but for some reason I just think its got far, far, worse this summer.
Every minute challenge. Every little incident (or non incident) has been scrutinised and dissected to the nth degree. And its always the refs fault.
Even President(s) are getting involved and belittling officials and decisions.
A lot of people, I feel, will see this and think why bother.
Laws are becoming harder to understand. In the pro game a lot of laws are ignored and does (and will continue) to makes things far worse in grassroots for the sake of entertainment.

Should the grassroots game have its own laws?
Should the pro game draw up add ins to LOTG and show amendments to one's that they are more lenient on (such as subs and anyone else about celebrating every goal on the pitch, celebrating with fans which should be auto card etc).

We will always have refs but personally think the standard will be much lower going forward as eventually they'll need to promote someone to replace the current ones even if its the best of a bad bunch (not trying to say any ref is bad, just not to the standard we would normally expect in the PL).

I think the earlier new referees are taught that you referee a different game to what you see on the TV the better.

Scrutiny is part of refereeing at all levels and if you can't detach and dissociate from it, it'll eat you alive. That said, clickbait culture is rife and growing, this obviously doesn't help, but if you care enough about refereeing and have enough knowledge and/or the right network you can see through most of it.

I aim to make a point of speaking to players and coaches about topical incidents before a game to make sure we're all on the same page - lets not pretend they know the laws or what should/shouldn't be happening anyway.

While many argued that VAR would reduce controversy, a lot of what it has done is draw more attention to the refs, as the game stops and everyone watches the ref go see the same replays they have been watching. On subjective calls, of course that doesn’t solve the controversy, just adds focus to the refs. Several of the VAR interventions would “fixes” calls that would have been relatively unnoticed after the games, but became big issues with the changes. At least I don’t have VAR in my games!

ocj1998 said:

I think the earlier new referees are taught that you referee a different game to what you see on the TV the better.

Scrutiny is part of refereeing at all levels and if you can't detach and dissociate from in, it'll eat you alive. That said clickbait culture is rife and growing, this obviously doesn't help, but if you care enough about refereeing and have enough knowledge and/or the right network you can see through most of it.

I aim to make a point of speaking to players and coaches about topical incidents before a game to make sure we're all on the same page - lets not pretend they know the laws or what should/shouldn't be happening anyway.

Click to expand...

I get that.
Some refs will have thick skin to defeat the moaners but will these also have the skill? Its a hard balance and potentially a smaller pool going forward and more and more scrutiny in the pro game will lead to more youngsters thinking not for them.

That last paragraph is all good, and I know most players dont know the laws but when they have watched over 100 games from the world's supposed top officials and, based on the clickbait videos and posts etc, seen many so called decisions that we know/feel are wrong but overlooked in games and then we give them, this will just make things worse for everyone especially younger/new refs.

Potentially, but then we are looking at recruitment, education and mindset problems.

What percentage of new referees start because they enjoy watching referees on TV? What are the main reasons for referees taking it up (£££)?

Will more start because they think they can do better than what they see on a weekend or on TV?

Yes, you're bound to have some not up to the standard or with the motivation to improve in all of these categories, but I think we can be more optimistic than that.

Potentially just my obsessive & optimistic mindset taking hold here, but I've met some fantastic younger referees that aren't phased by any of it either.

ladbroke8745 said:

I get that.
Some refs will have thick skin to defeat the moaners but will these also have the skill? Its a hard balance and potentially a smaller pool going forward and more and more scrutiny in the pro game will lead to more youngsters thinking not for them.

That last paragraph is all good, and I know most players dont know the laws but when they have watched over 100 games from the world's supposed top officials and, based on the clickbait videos and posts etc, seen many so called decisions that we know/feel are wrong but overlooked in games and then we give them, this will just make things worse for everyone especially younger/new refs.

Click to expand...

I don't think it has got any worse, I was going to games well before the start of the Premier League and the abuse towards the match officials was as bad then as it is now. The difference now is there is way more scrutiny with many more games televised, and using far more cameras than they used to. Then chuck in the cesspit that is social media, and there is just a lot more focus on refereeing decisions than there ever has been before.

Not sure why it would put potential new referees off, anyone going into refereeing hasn't ever done it because they want to be liked or adored. Some get into it for money, others for the belief that they can improve football, some because they have a power trip, some because they can't play any more and want to stay involved, but I'm not sure anyone ever thought I'll get into refereeing because I want a relaxing Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning where everyone loves me.

i think the tone of abuse has not got worse. Forensic dissection and accusations of bias and conspiracy have got worse.

But I think refereeing analysis is promoted way more and way more positively on socials than ever - and reaches non referees. And all the ref social channels covering the WC and grassroots are having an impact and making refereeing more relatable.

We always ask course members (new referees) why they choose to take up the whistle. Around 70% mention money. It's seen as preferable to shelf stacking. Most are 14-16 years of age.
We make the point that local and professional football are very different, something we cover in (e. g.) dissent, the way cards are displayed, and other elements of refereeing.
We make the point that they need to be mentally strong as they will need to deal with abuse from adults (spectators and some coaches)
We make the point that they will become aware of social media abuse and complaints about their decisions, and the fact that they must not get sucked into commenting on social media.
With a shortage of mentors to help in early games most newbies are out there alone a week after the course. A real challenge in the current working environment, especially for a mid-teen suddenly alone at a game rather than part of a team.
We do all we can to prepare them, but it's a big leap!
As we approach the new season, our regular request - if anyone can give up a couple of hours to mentor new referees in their area, please make your availability known to the person who appoints in your area. It's very rewarding! Thank you.