Simon Hall Qualified Referee in Sheffield 

Referee Exams and good refereeing

Well thanks to the post strike I finally got my results from my level 6 exam and hooray I passed them. Now all I need is to continue with some great performances.
Last week I reffed an Over 35's and felt I had a good game, the players said so afterwards which I was glad about. A couple of faults with my game, were the fact I should have booked someone for dissent and the other for excessive foul language, it wasn't aimed at anyone but there were a few too many times. That would be my personal critic of myself. The rest I thought was great, positioning talking, a sending off which no one argued with. So I was happy. I then had the pleasure of reffing with 2 assistants on Sunday, if you haven't done it and you are a young ref, its harder than you think. I am normally on my own but not on this one, and you do forget to look for there help. So whilst i give these two young refs the experience they are helping me improve my game. They had both played a game in the morning and were tired and it showed, but they both did great jobs. Doing the line is harder than reffing, You have to watch who is kicking the ball at the same time as looking to see who is on or offside, whilst watching for incidents and looking for throw ins, all without having control of the game. This weekend I was on the line for my first county game in the cup. This was a game I really wanted as you get a very experienced ref in the middle and, like my two assts I got to watch someone more experienced. Steve the chap I was with was great, very laid back, speaking very sternly too the teams when need be, but with teh help of his two assistants there were no major things. We were there when needed and you noticed the ref when needed. That is how it should be, also if your a young ref and need advice the biggest thing i have learnt this year is talking, Steve spoke to the players all game yesterday and then today my lads played against Charnock, and its normally a very high tempered game normally revolving around the man in the middle. Todays ref was excellent, good positioning and the other big thing he spoke all the way through to the players. It really does add to the refs game, and like all refs he made a couple of small mistakes, and when one of the lads said it to him in a proper manner he agreed, or explained his decision. One of those lads was one of my young assistants and he learnt a lot from the referee, how to handle and control what was a great game. I can only thank him for how he reffed and how he taught my lads, especially the qualified refs in my team it is invaluable. The difference with this ref and the one I have mentioned in a previous posting, is that this ref wants to help and encourage, which is how it should be.
I learnt this yesterday and then read it in Graham poll's book today, Referees are only human and they make mistakes but as long as they make them honestly, then you cannot ask for more.
I have watched and been involved in some great reffing displays this week and last. It is good to see.

Its Good fun Reffing!

An interesting thing reffing, we stand on the touchline week in week out, and we shout at the ref, and we call for everything. "Handball", "In the back ref" "how many" "he's all over him ref". I am sure they all sound familiar and you have probably said them once or twice especially in junior football, in fact more so in junior football. I witnessed a game recently where I heard everyone of these comments, but by different people. By this I mean these were the parents of my team, the same parents that won a fair play award, as a ref I tend to keep them reasonably quiet. However this game these cries got more and more until you got the sarcastic applause when a decision was given the teams way. You then get the penalty incident, the one where as a ref you quite like because no one is going to argue when you give it. This time it wasn't given, I became a parent and a manager for a few minutes, firstly I checked the player was ok, and then in disbelief the game carried on. This time I didn't stop my parents I became one of those parents, shouting for things. Why did I let myself get sucked in? It was wrong of me, no matter what I was witnessing. Then you have another incident where as a ref I saw the lad have his arm across the player in the box, normally you see how it unfolds, then you see the shirt grab and as the lad goes to cross the ball he is pulled back. 2nd Penalty "No" , the lad that was fouled is also a qualified ref and after being 5 yards from the first appeal he stood in disbelief as this one wasn't given. This is a young lad stepping out into the world of reffing watching someone with years and years of experience ignore the big decisions. The game carried on and the ref remarked directly to me that its "good fun this reffing" actually a good point, as most people that criticise will not do it, however he was talking to someone who has been involved either in the middle or on the line in more than 20 games this season. On my reply he mentioned about not being such a critic. I know like any other ref that you cannot be 100% right, the day before I was far from it and I analysed my own performance, however I got the big decisions right and the team that got the 3 points was the right team. So being a critic was maybe wrong but then again if this ref just looks at his game and listens to what was said then maybe next time they will lift their game. I will not blame the home team, they organised a referee for a home game, and he reffed it. After the game I got an explanation for how he saw one of the penalty incidents and this time I couldn't agree and asked regarding the second one, the answer was he hadn't seen it and didn’t know there was one. This worries me, as naturally the crowd appealed and the players, but more disturbing as a ref you block out the sounds, but the player had the ball he was 2 yards from the goal line so a quick glance for offside wouldn't have been an excuse and there were two players challenging for the ball. You just wouldn't look away.
In one way I was wrong for criticising, as a referee I don't like it however I will always call a game as I see it. What I witnessed in this particular match amazed me.

The learning Curve as a referee.

Each game I do as a ref I analyze what i do what was right what was wrong, what could I have done better. On Saturday I had an interesting game, where I witnessed some great football. I found it hard to ref because of the quality of football. The spreading of play, the distance of passing was a high quality and going from end to end. I like on several occasions to make sure I am bang in line when giving an offside, its impossible to do it all the time without assistants, but each game I aim to do it a few times. This time I couldn't get there, I couldn't get in line, I was so annoyed at myself, I even allowed myself to get distracted by the sideline. How I don't normally why was today any different. However on the whole I had two lots of 5 minutes where I lost focus, once in the first half and once in the second. Lesson learnt a game of this quality do not lose focus, it costs you brownie points. The other focus as a ref I realise you have to keep, is if your decisions are going to the same team, I write this one after the article above for this very reason, at one stage I felt everything I gave was to the one team, now I have never reffed either team, I have never met either one of them, so could this have looked biased, straight after half time, someone from the team getting the decisions said, you are doing a great job don't doubt yourself. Now you can take this as keep giving us the decisions or in the way it was truly meant, keep calling them as you see it. This is exactly what I did, to keep my focus on the decisions and not get side tracked that they are going the same way is a very difficult job. You have no neutral person saying you are doing a good job, you only have your own demons. As a referee you have to ignore the sidelines and be sure of all your decisions. Talk with the teams you are reffing and always be in command. When accessing yourself be honest it will help your next game. I can't wait to put parts of Saturdays game right this Saturday, but the fun part is I guarantee now I will learn something else, thats why reffing is great because each week you learn something new.

Where are all the refs going?

The date is 16th September 2007 and I referee Beighton Falcons U14's Vs Brunsmeer in the cup, I finish the game and the manager of the team waiting to come on after this game comes straight to me and asks can I stay and ref the next game? A compliment in one sense but the conversation that followed was how this u15's team couldn't get a ref or any other team. That morning I had also had a conversation with the Mum of a referee we know, and he is doing numerous games at the moment, my weekend and I have reffed 3 games.  So where is it all going wrong or why can't we get referee's? Lets take last week end as an example and I referee an over 35's game and it was a good closely fought game, at the end of the game as ref my hand is shaken with the words good game ref, this from both sets including the losing team. I also felt I had a good game when I assessed myself afterwards. The following day is a different game I referee a junior football match the exact type of game that the team above cannot get a ref for and I have no surprise that Junior football cannot get referee's. Once again in my own assessment I made two mistakes all game were they major mistakes, one of them was sort off. The first mistake was a corner given the wrong way, afterwards I thought of how the ball changed direction and I was wrong. The second was not booking players because of being young lads. You try and give the benefit of the doubt but the players you let off are on the same side you get all the stick from. So your not doing them any favours and I should have booked two of them. The stick I got from the sideline was amazing, if pub teams can not give you any stick apart from the usual stuff of appealing for everything throughout the game then how can you be completly at fault during kids football which is slower? I listened to the stick even tried more communication so they knew why I had given decisions even though I did not anyone, but it still wasn't good enough. The calls were amazing and truthfully as a ref you think I don't need this, it doesn't count towards my promotion, I get less stick from drunks on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. So why do I? Truthfully you have to learn to laugh at the comments but based on reffing sadly to many refs are leaving and call a ref all you want, remember he doesn't have to do it, but he loves the game so much he turns out for peanuts and to get abused all so you and your kids can get a game of football.