Was on the line and the middle for the EDF Plate and Challenge Cup finals this past Sunday.
What an incredible experience and a massive honour to officiate such a different game type to mainstream football and especially 2 finals of which I am part of that community.
Took some getting used to on using a flag to signal stoppages in play and restarts in comparison to using a whistle.
It was a great difference between mainstream games where there is plenty of dissent and abuse compared to these where there was very minimal actual dissent. Only had 1 incident over the two games. All 4 teams were extremely respectful and great to officiate.
A main thing i found that I think would help me in mainstream games is communicating using hand signals can be a massive help and I presume that in mainstream football, it will help just as much. Obviously with the players not being able to hear that much, using hand signals to signal why it was a foul was the core way of communicating and i think that using that as well as vocal cues in normal games, can be a great help in letting players know why in minimal amounts.
Cant recommend enough for others to get involved in deaf football and at least attempt it once for the experience and learning opportunities.
What an incredible experience and a massive honour to officiate such a different game type to mainstream football and especially 2 finals of which I am part of that community.
Took some getting used to on using a flag to signal stoppages in play and restarts in comparison to using a whistle.
It was a great difference between mainstream games where there is plenty of dissent and abuse compared to these where there was very minimal actual dissent. Only had 1 incident over the two games. All 4 teams were extremely respectful and great to officiate.
A main thing i found that I think would help me in mainstream games is communicating using hand signals can be a massive help and I presume that in mainstream football, it will help just as much. Obviously with the players not being able to hear that much, using hand signals to signal why it was a foul was the core way of communicating and i think that using that as well as vocal cues in normal games, can be a great help in letting players know why in minimal amounts.
Cant recommend enough for others to get involved in deaf football and at least attempt it once for the experience and learning opportunities.
