10 ideas to help improve the current situation

[The Gump]

Morning all.

I qualified as a referee in October last year and referee exclusively at youth level (trying to balance coaching, taking my kids to their football/hockey/cricket with refereeing). I've been involved in youth football for six years now but it's only since qualifying and taking a much greater interest in refereeing as a result (you never watch games on TV in the same way again!).

In my view, the current situation in the professional game and at grassroots is unsustainable, so I wrote a blog with 10 ideas/suggestions to help improve the situation. I won't paste the full article below - you can read it in full at https://www.moyasport.co.uk/post/10-ideas-to-help-football-officiating - but in short summary:

1. A stated commitment from the authorities (FA, PGMOL, IFAB, FIFA, PFA etc) that the current situation is unsustainable and a stated commitment to address it.
2. Enhance and amend current Laws.
3. Mandatory Laws of the Game education for players, coaches and media.
4. Amend and improve VAR protocol, give mic'd up ref's feed to broadcasters.
5. Detailed and enforceable (and enforced!) Code of Conduct for post-match comments at all levels.
6. More proactivity on social media explaining decisions (shouldn't be left to individual referees).
7. Mandatory CPD for all referees and increased resources for local FAs.
8. Additional progression pathway for youth football refereeing.
9. Build relationships between players and referees.
10. FA/local FAs to publish all disciplinary findings.

I know there won't be consensus on the above, but what might work and what won't? What else needs to be done? What are your ideas?

 

[santa sangria]

All good.

But
2 at grassroots we can already sanction players crowding the ref of running 50 yds yo complain. And we do/should. And the crowding concept is even in this EPL guide. So this is kinda moot and not nearly enough to herald change.

4 broadcasting the mics does not mean the VAR protocol would change. I think IFAB would start with very strict rules of engagement with regs quoting LotG. Might educate but won’t resolve the VAR shambles.

6 confusing at any level - who is going to do this? Who is the trusted authority that is allowed to post about the Isthmian 2nd DOGSO-y?

9 personally I don’t think referees briefing teams is the right way to go. I think if more likely to backfire at grassroots. Let the coaches coach.

…I think 2 and 4 could be separated - different stakeholders - take it to Arsene

 

[The Gump]

Thanks @santa sangria - great feedback.

I think the crucial aspect of all the suggestions was that there needs to be a raft of changes that happen to make a difference - not just one or two things here and there.

Re 2, almost certainly goes back to point 1 in the full blog, of the existing Laws not being enforced on TV with any regularity. If it's going unpunished on TV it's hardly surprising if it then happens at grassroots. Further, it is fundamentally unfair to expect grassroots referees (without the protection PL/EFL refs have, to referee to a higher bar of tolerance.

Re 4, not clear in my OP but they are two discrete recommendations within the same point (partly because the ideas were linked, partly to keep it to 10!).

Re 6, again unclear on my behalf and I should have been clearer. I was thinking about televised games and the PGMOL/FA Officiating/IFAB being more proactive (they do this a bit in the NFL). Didn't mean to suggest there should be someone doing it at all levels of the sport, but improving understanding for viewers of the pro game can only help filter down.

Re 9, I do get that completely, and only referee at youth level, but certainly think there's something in trying to build rapport, though in isolation is utterly useless. And for the bad teams/players, the coach is invariably the issue...

 

[socal lurker]

4 broadcasting the mics does not mean the VAR protocol would change. I think IFAB would start with very strict rules of engagement with regs quoting LotG. Might educate but won’t resolve the VAR shambles.

I'd say it's a horrific idea to give broadcasters access. The R team should be to communicate amongst themselves. Making it public will change how they can/are willing to talk--and may leave things unsaid that would have resulted in better decisions. But making more of them available after the fact (see MLS and its Week in Review) is something I think helps. (And we'll see if that is something Webb moves to--perhaps after he feels better about having control of the PL VAR system.)

 

[GraemeS]

I'd say it's a horrific idea to give broadcasters access. The R team should be to communicate amongst themselves. Making it public will change how they can/are willing to talk--and may leave things unsaid that would have resulted in better decisions. But making more of them available after the fact (see MLS and its Week in Review) is something I think helps. (And we'll see if that is something Webb moves to--perhaps after he feels better about having control of the PL VAR system.)

Maybe that's a feature rather than a bug? If they don't feel able to explain a decision in line with the LOTG, can it really be the right decsion?

Rugby, Cricket etc are happy to allow you to hear the referee/umpire talk particularly during review situations, and it leads to decisions where for the most part you at least know what they have seen, even if you don't agree with their conclusions.

 

[socal lurker]

I'm dubious about it being a good feature at all. But I am firmly convinced that it would be a bad feature until VAR is more mature than it is today. (If we limited it to the discussion while the R is a the screen, I'd be more comfortable.)

 

[RustyRef]

It won't change because money talks, at senior levels they do not want referees slavishly applying the laws. This why the phrase "you are managing an event, not a game" is used so often at senior levels. When I got to L3, at the mandatory seminar in the Summer that phrase was used multiple times, and we were also told to take what we viewed as dissent previously and forget about it, as if we cautioned for dissent at this level like we had before we'd be back at L4 within a couple of years.

Point 7 I agree with, and have long stated that there should be a mandatory LoTG exam every year, as there already is in many countries. There are referees out there who haven't read the laws for decades, I saw one last season insist that goal kicks have to leave the penalty as an example. But the counter argument is there is a huge referee shortage in England with loads of games going uncovered as it is, making people attend mandatory training and pass an example would just make the situation worse. The view is, and I do have to concede this is correct, an out of date referee is better than no referee.

For point 10, the FA already do this for major cases, and serious offences at grass roots are now often passed to the FA to deal with so the findings will be published.

 

[JamesL]

Point 10 Cornwall FA have now started doing this for all cases (including referee misconduct)