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Football betting

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TheLC

Member
Hello all,
Interesting one that I’ve not thought about before, am I correct in thinking you can bet on football if you are level 7,6,5 referee as long as it’s not on a league/competition you are involved in, doubt most bookies cover Sunday league anyway!
It’s not something that gets mentioned on the course but guess if you are being trained as a level 7 ref they won’t mention it as the worldwide ban doesn’t apply.
 
The Ref Stop
TheLC said:
Hello all,
Interesting one that I’ve not thought about before, am I correct in thinking you can bet on football if you are level 7,6,5 referee as long as it’s not on a league/competition you are involved in, doubt most bookies cover Sunday league anyway!
It’s not something that gets mentioned on the course but guess if you are being trained as a level 7 ref they won’t mention it as the worldwide ban doesn’t apply.
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Thats the small end of the stick.

the bigger picture is, no betting full stop. Why? because is your mentor higher up the tree? Do you train with them? Are you on their line at any point? Are they a pal? Do you converse with a local higher up official
Its not just about you.

its the whole tree. You ' could' be guilty by association.

to remove every last shred of accusation, simply dont bet.
 
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Anubis said:
Thats the small end of the stick.

the bigger picture is, no betting full stop. Why? because is your mentor higher up the tree? Do you train with tnem? Are you on their line at any point? Are they a pal?
Its not just about you.

its the whole tree. You ' could' be guilty by association.

to remove every last shred of accusation, simply dont bet.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice! Maybe a subject of another topic but are you meant to have a mentor? Been refereeing for 5 months now and been pretty much on my own other than this forum
 
TheLC said:
Thank you for the advice! Maybe a subject of another topic but are you meant to have a mentor? Been refereeing for 5 months now and been pretty much on my own other than this forum
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thats a regional/country/county thing. Will let someone else in on that one.
 
TheLC said:
Hello all,
Interesting one that I’ve not thought about before, am I correct in thinking you can bet on football if you are level 7,6,5 referee as long as it’s not on a league/competition you are involved in, doubt most bookies cover Sunday league anyway!
It’s not something that gets mentioned on the course but guess if you are being trained as a level 7 ref they won’t mention it as the worldwide ban doesn’t apply.
Click to expand...

Of course you can bet. You are an amateur referee and can do anything within football that you could before you took up the whistle.
 
In England you can't place any football bet if you are level three or above, or involved in any capacity (apart from assistant referee) at step 4 or above. That includes observers, referee coaches and mentors operating at that level, and applies to all football worldwide. Referees have been charged for this and handed lengthy suspensions as a result.

At level 4 and below no participant can bet on a match or competition in which they are involved that season, or which they can influence, or any other football-related matter concerning the league that they play in. So, for example, if you are an AR on a supply league you are prohibited from betting on any games or activity involving that league, but you are fine for betting on things like EPL, EFL, UEFA games, etc.

The level 4 situation is confusing, as you are operating as AR at steps 4 and 3, so would appear to fall under that ban, but the guidelines specifically exclude level 4s, as below.

The betting rules are different for those Participants involved solely with a club at Step 5 of the National League System and below and for any Match Official, referee, coach or referee assessor, operating at Level 4 or below.

To suggest that no referee can bet at all is, frankly, a total nonsense and there are absolutely no regulations to back that up, certainly not in England.
 
RustyRef said:
In England you can't place any football bet if you are level three or above, or involved in any capacity (apart from assistant referee) at step 4 or above. That includes observers, referee coaches and mentors operating at that level, and applies to all football worldwide. Referees have been charged for this and handed lengthy suspensions as a result.

At level 4 and below no participant can bet on a match or competition in which they are involved that season, or which they can influence, or any other football-related matter concerning the league that they play in. So, for example, if you are an AR on a supply league you are prohibited from betting on any games or activity involving that league, but you are fine for betting on things like EPL, EFL, UEFA games, etc.

The level 4 situation is confusing, as you are operating as AR at steps 4 and 3, so would appear to fall under that ban, but the guidelines specifically exclude level 4s, as below.

The betting rules are different for those Participants involved solely with a club at Step 5 of the National League System and below and for any Match Official, referee, coach or referee assessor, operating at Level 4 or below.

To suggest that no referee can bet at all is, frankly, a total nonsense and there are absolutely no regulations to back that up, certainly not in England.
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Thank you @RustyRef this is really helpful!
 
Anubis said:
Thats the small end of the stick.

the bigger picture is, no betting full stop. Why? because is your mentor higher up the tree? Do you train with them? Are you on their line at any point? Are they a pal? Do you converse with a local higher up official
Its not just about you.

its the whole tree. You ' could' be guilty by association.

to remove every last shred of accusation, simply dont bet.
Click to expand...
The average Level 7 referee is unlikely to be associated though. I place a few bets on the Prem and Championship. I’m unlikely at L7 and even 6 and 5, to be in contact with Michael Oliver.
 
As a 5, if I cannot bet at the weekends then how else will I blow half my fees? Pizza and booze in all likelihood!
 
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I’m a meagre level 5 but have an EFL referee and a EPL AR as my coaches. That, along with the fact I’m useless at betting, is why I steer well clear of betting these days!
 
I think the more common issue with betting is insider information rather than match fixing. For example someone at the ground hears a player talking to his agent about a move and then bets on that happening. Its the same as insider trading if you work at a financial services organisation, if I hear a trader or a fund manager talking about a future deal and then act on that I have committed an offence (and that carries up to 7 years in the clink). Obviously match fixing has happened in the past, usually not involving match officials, but it is much rarer, presumably because it is much easier to detect.
 
Joshref said:
The average Level 7 referee is unlikely to be associated though. I place a few bets on the Prem and Championship. I’m unlikely at L7 and even 6 and 5, to be in contact with Michael Oliver.
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possibly you, or someone at your level can run Lucy Olivers line?


that aside, here, its an automatic life ban, All our refs at all levels attend the same training and same monthly meetings.

Few weeks ago I observed a youth game and had a half time cuppa with an ex national team manager at half time, who now ( works) for 2 top league clubs.

he gives me a tip, I place bet. No contact with fifa elite cat 1 needed, merely a cup of tea.

as per it be diff rules in diff places, life ban here, all levels
 
Anubis said:
possibly you, or someone at your level can run Lucy Olivers line?


that aside, here, its an automatic life ban, All our refs at all levels attend the same training and same monthly meetings.

Few weeks ago I observed a youth game and had a half time cuppa with an ex national team manager at half time, who now ( works) for 2 top league clubs.

he gives me a tip, I place bet. No contact with fifa elite cat 1 needed, merely a cup of tea.

as per it be diff rules in diff places, life ban here, all levels
Click to expand...

Completely different rules. In Scotland the regulation says ...

no club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall gamble in any way on a football match.

Whereas in England it is very clear that gambling is involved at L4 and below and long as it doesn't relate to a competition that you are involved with.
 
RustyRef said:
Completely different rules. In Scotland the regulation says ...

no club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall gamble in any way on a football match.

Whereas in England it is very clear that gambling is involved at L4 and below and long as it doesn't relate to a competition that you are involved with.
Click to expand...

I prefer the rules which are 100% clear without debate,
 
Anubis said:
I prefer the rules which are 100% clear without debate,
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The England rules are 100% clear without debate. They’re not hard to follow really. If you’re L4 or above it’s a no, if not then it’s a yes as long as you’re not betting on the competition involved.

I prefer those rules, I feel yours are overly harsh
Anubis said:
possibly you, or someone at your level can run Lucy Olivers line?
Click to expand...
Unlikely, she refs in the WSL I believe. So I can’t be on their line until Level 4 I think
 
On a related note, when I got our guidelines for observers, I was surprised to find that it said that observers are not allowed to post about refereeing in social media. I wrote to our ref secs to confirm and they confirmed.

It wouldn’t be quite so bizarre if our two ref secs and observer coordinator didn’t post regularly on social media about refereeing!
 
Joshref said:
The England rules are 100% clear without debate. They’re not hard to follow really. If you’re L4 or above it’s a no, if not then it’s a yes as long as you’re not betting on the competition involved.

I prefer those rules, I feel yours are overly harsh

Unlikely, she refs in the WSL I believe. So I can’t be on their line until Level 4 I think
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Just to be clear, as per Rusty, its level 3 and above its a no, level 4 is fine as long as you are not 'involved' in the competition.
 
Also remember if you are coaching, mentoring or observing at L3 or above you are also affected by the blanket worldwide betting ban. Likewise if you are an FA or CFA council member, and I think staff of those organisations are also banned from football betting.
 
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