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1. Attacks directed at referees' in the professional US soccer league.

The delicate balancing act of what a referee can call is ONLY what can be SEEN from WHERE YOU ARE in the INSTANT it happens! Players who criticize referees are not necessarily incorrect in their assessments whether a referee has done a good job only in understanding the application of respect and fair play extends to all aspects of the game including officials. Decisions and judgements handed out by referees are not really much different in outcome than players decisions or judgements of his or her tactical or positional play as to whether either has a memorable game. We can all stink from time to time as long as it is not all the time we move on. Players can not manage themselves without the referee! Referees need players to play the game of soccer. It takes two, not one. For the good of the game and the evolvement of a better class of human beings, enjoy yourselves, communicate and lets play soccer!

Thank you Richard for a very well thought out article (from webmaster Julian Carosi 1 Nov. 00)

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2. CONFLICT WITHIN A TEAM ITSELF      Take me back to the top of this page

Stewart and Sundeem 1983. Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing. Mosby

3. The Main Characters in a Soccer Match     Take me back to the top of this page

On any given field there are the goal scorers, the play-makers, the disrupter, and you- the referee. It is the referee's job to find out who is who in the first several minutes. Each player must be protected, but each is handled differently. This article will attempt to describe each character and how to deal with them as a referee.

Our first character is the goal scorer. They hang out near the opposing defenders waiting for the ball to come and with a hopeful chance of putting it into the back of the net. The goal scorer will play with their back to the goal and is generally good in the air. Many referees allow the goal scorer to take a tremendous beating by the opposition. Think about it. In most cases if there is a question about two individuals fouling each other in the final third of the field- who generally gets the call? The defender. Why? Because many referees don't want to give an advantage on goal to a team when both teams are "fouling" each other. Therefore the goal scorer takes a beating. This practice by the referee should be looked at more closely. Isn't it our job to protect every player? Fans, paying fans, want to see more goals- give them the opportunity to see more goals. Call the foul and point in the direction of the attacking team. This should be clarified... I'm not saying to go out on the field and make every call in favor of the goal scorer. That would be an unfair advantage and your integrity would come under question. What I am saying is, the question of who fouled who in the final third of the field doesn't always have to go against the goal scorer. Reward the goal scorer for the hard work they're doing. It can't be easy for them running on a field for up to ninety minutes and getting bumped every minute.

The second character on the field is the play-maker. For the most part this player is on every inch of the field looking to pass the ball or defend the nearest opponent. In general the play-maker is in great physical condition and is the best athlete on the field. They have the ability to "see" the whole field and to anticipate where the next action will take place. You can bet they will be there in the middle of all of that action when it happens. They live for it! As a referee, these players are easy to see, but hard to find. This sounds like a contradiction. Let me try to clear this up. The play-maker, as I said, will always try to be in the middle of the action. They are easy to see because they are usually near the ball and often this is where the referee will be looking. They are hard to find because the play-maker is always, and I mean always, on the move. You'll rarely see this player standing around and watching. Therefore hard to find. Being the player-maker also means they are "game smart". They know when to run hard or conserve their energy. They understand what the other team is trying to do, whether it be offensively or defensively. But most of all, they know when you, the referee, are looking in their direction. As a referee, you must be aware of this fact. The referee must keep one eye on the play-makers. They are the ones that make things work for their team. These play-makers are good people to talk to during the game. Let them know you're around. Let them know you see them. Small words of praise or condemnation are useful with these players. Don't try to be "cute" with them, because they'll come back to bite you. Remember, these are the "game smart" players and they know what is going on. They've been around. They will either be an asset to you or your worst nightmare. It depends on you and your actions.

The next character on the field is the disrupter. Be careful, because the disrupter can be dressed in disguise. They may look like the other characters I have already discussed, but believe me they're not. The disrupter is most likely an excellent soccer player. They have played at every level and play as often as they can year round. This character must be found as early as possible in the game. Their job is to help their team by any means necessary. They will tackle hard, challenge for 50/50 balls hard, and question everything they deem unfair. This player will talk "trash" to their opponents. Basically the disrupter will do anything in their power to disrupt the flow of the game. I bet when you first read the word disrupter you got a mental picture of a certain type of player. The disrupter doesn't always have to be the "thug" who is out chopping opponents down by the ankles. The disrupter quite often is muddling the game behind your back or even worse in front of your face without you even realizing it. They are the player who causes you to watch them instead of the action every minute of the game. It might be a stray bumping of an opponent off the ball or some subtle words to an opponent that you don't really hear, but you know its been said. It is most definitely the player who questions all of your decisions. From the throw-in at midfield to the take-down by a team-mate in the final third. The disrupter must be dealt with immediately. A small phrase early in the game like: "Hey number 5 that will be enough of that" or "Today number 5 we're going to do things a little differently." In both cases the referee must maintain composure and by all means DON'T make it sound like "If you do that again, I'll....." kind of statement. That would be a challenge that the disrupter would take upon themselves and they will enjoy the challenge more than you- guaranteed! If at all possible, have those words privately with the disrupter while you're both running down the field. At some point in the match, for you to determine, you'll have to confront the disrupter. Do it quickly, do it with as few words as possible and get the game moving again. The more you try to reason with the disrupter, the further loss of control you have on the game as a whole.

The final character is you- the referee. When I think of good referees, the first thing that comes to mind is having the ability to orchestrate twenty-two personalities and a physical contest at the same time. The good referee must first present the right picture when entering the field. The uniform is clean and pressed, shoes are polished, and they walk with head held high. All of these things can be done by anyone; whether you are the referee who blows their whistle and no one but you hears it or the referee who thinks that they are the show that people have come to see. Looking professional gets the tone of game off on the right foot. Another aspect of good refereeing is being approachable. You don't have to be a great referee to listen to concerns of others, but you do have to listen. Ask yourself, "Can people talk to me before the game? During the game? After the game?" Better yet, do they even want to talk to you? It's good to talk to the coaches and players. Make it brief and keep it professional. You are there to do a service, not make friends. When you have to admonish, again, do it quickly and professionally. You'll be respected more for what you don't say during a heated situation then what you do say. Never ever challenge a player or coach with an ultimatum. They rarely, if ever work, and nothing good can ever come from it. The referee will lose in almost every situation. Next, a good referee must know when and how to blow their whistle. Sounds easy, but it seems to be a difficult concept. The whistle should be used as a signal to everyone that play will be stopped for any number of reasons. Maybe time has expired, the ball went in and out of play quickly, or a foul has been committed. Each whistle should say something different. Loud and long for hard fouls or fouls that require a card. Short and sweet for trifling fouls or out of bounds. Your whistle is the finest form of communication you have on the field. If you think you see a foul and your head asks you: "Was that a foul?" It probably was a foul. Blow your whistle. No coach is ever going to "blackball" you from their school or club team for blowing your whistle too much. If they do, that is probably a place you don't want to go anyway. Finally, to be a good referee, you must be willing to learn. Every time you walk on the field or go watch a game you have entered "the referee learning zone." Use it to your advantage and become the best referee you can be. You must continue to learn, especially if you want to be on the top of your chosen field. Read books, watch videos, use the internet, or listen to experienced referees. There isn't any referee, no matter how far they've gotten, that has stopped learning. Learning is the key to anyone being successful. This concept goes far beyond refereeing.

Good luck and email your comments the NHSOA.

 Otis Wirth

NHSOA Member

NISOA and NEISOA Member

The New Hampshire Soccer Officials Association Web Site

4.  The mother of football will never cut the apron strings to its baby.

(by Julian Carosi)

The Football (Soccer) Referee Sausage-making Machine is struggling to keep up with the growing consumption of demand!

A typical grassroots example shows?............

Recruitment and retention of Referees at grassroots level, is failing to keep pace with the growing demand of this beautiful game. As a member of the United Kingdom Referees' Association, the Melksham Referees' Society based at the small town of Melksham, in the pretty county of Wiltshire England, does more that its fair share of recruiting, training and providing new sausages to throw into that 'frying pan' endearingly known in Refereeing jargon as 'The Field of Play'. There are more appropriate phrases that could justifiably be used - such as 'Field of Conflict', 'Field of War', 'Battle Field' and I'm sure you can think of a few more appropriate terms. To Referee a game, is not just as simple as stepping onto, and stepping off, from the field of play. It will be long hence before a field of play is cleared of those perpetual barbed remarks about Referees that have blighted our game.

The Melksham sausage making (along with other Wiltshire County Referees’ Society sausage making) takes place about three times a year, providing an annual potential of 45 new Class 3 chipolatas for our depleting Wiltshire County larder. The Melksham Society intensive (free) training takes place over one weekend (Saturday and Sunday (0900-1830). Voluntary FA Referee Instructors from within the Society, assisted by experienced senior colleagues provide the training. A small fee is returned to the Society for each new recruit passed through their sausage machine. Of the approximately 15 candidates per session, a number will have come from a Youth Team background, some of them are parents, some young players, some managers or Coaches, and some Club Linesmen etc.....In a normal year, the Melksham Referees’ Society will have trained up to about 45 to 50 recruits. At a very rough guess - about half of them (say 25) actually go on to start Refereeing, the remainder being content with just learning the Laws and occasionally helping their respective teams when a Referee is not available. After a year or so, the County will be very lucky to have 10 out of the original 50 candidates, whom are still Refereeing. The others will have already decided that the abuse is just not worth it. Counteract this, with the ever-increasing departure of our experienced Referees, and you will begin to understand why there are "just not enough Referees to go around".

…the other edge slices the fragile skin of our raw apprentices.

A number of the Melksham Referee candidates are teenagers, who begin their career by officiating in the local County youth games. These new conscripts are the seeds of the next English Premiership (and dare I hope FIFA) Referees. To improve retention, the Wiltshire County Football Association will shortly be implementing a 'Mentor' scheme to enable the more senior County Referees to help, advise, guide, protect and prevent our very new chipolatas from getting burned too quickly in their unprepared baptism of the frying pan. It is hoped that the encouragement and protection they receive from this scheme will stabilise Referee numbers, and provide a better class of frankfurter, with enough spice in them to stay the course and douse the smoke from the emotional scorching fields of play.

Recruitment and attention is a sharp double-edged sword slowly cutting its way into the heart of game. The reason for low Referee numbers is fairly obvious to everyone involved with the game. One edge of the sword continually stabs away at the heart of our long standing dedicated and seasoned Referees, and the other edge slices the fragile skin of our raw apprentices.

Why? ..............Abuse, total disregard for authority, and almost the complete disappearance of the foundation of the game, "gentlemanly behaviour' - there! I've said it, and I'm glad that it's off my chest".

Not only do Referees have dissenting players to contend with, they are very often given extra bonuses of parent abuse and mistreatment from just about anyone else who cares to 'chip' in. And all for no extra cost. As soon as the Referee dons his black uniform, he is open to a myriad of abuse that would not be accepted (or go unpunished) in normal society. Some Referees I know are burley, muscular characters, who in other walks of life would react instantly and strongly to such vitreous abuse if it were directed at them on the street. And let's be honest - in other walks of life, such abuse would not be aimed at them, unless the perpetrator had 'lost their marbles'!. The donning of the black kit, seems to open up a mythical World where disgusting words are the accepted unpunished stones of the guilty. The weekly constraint experienced by almost every Referee cannot be gauged by any measuring implement here on Earth.

"If it is abuse, - why one is always sure to hear of it from one dammed good-natured friend or another."

It is the nature of all good Referees not to be influenced by anything bad, and in this greatness recognise that they will always be attended with considerable abuses wherever they go.

"So is it all doom and gloom?" Yes, it certainly feels like it at the grass roots' level. It can be very disheartening when both senior colleagues and new Referees decide to 'call it a day' - in a sad way, it's very easy to understand why. Those protagonists who insist on 'roasting every Referee on a spit' do not grasp the long-term damage that they instigate – and they should certainly not criticise Law interpretations that they do not properly understand.

"The Referees did not make up the Laws".

The enmities of a generation lie buried deep, and the temple of reconciliation will take some reconstructing.

The typical English County of Wiltshire has over 300 qualified Referees on its books. The increasing popularity of the game, and the retention and recruitment problems mean that our local grassroots Saturday and Sunday Leagues Referees’ Appointment Secretaries are struggling to provide a qualified Referee and Assistant Referees for each game. Invariably, an increasing number of games are now played without an official Referee. This dedicated core of County appointment secretaries is constantly battling uphill to improve Referee availability. This problem is not unique to Wiltshire, and is felt more so particularly at youth level, where it can sometimes be impossible to obtain enough qualified Referees.

There is no easy solution for improving the relationship between Referees and players, parents, spectators, TV pundits or Team officials. Referees are a hard working (mostly on a volunteer basis), genuine, caring, sensitive, fair, committed and a very human bunch of people. They are constantly berated from just about every quarter for being 'cheats', of not knowing the Laws, and for lacking consistency. The core Referees are intelligent enough to understand their role in the game, and caring enough to put such attacks into perspective. It is no wonder that Referees have to retreat into their shells after controversial games. Accusations that Referees cannot face up to their mistakes, or are too frightened to confront angry remonstrators are TOSH!. Experience has taught Referees that they are almost on our own, and must therefore be very careful about what they say, and to whom they say it! Else confrontation will lead to cccccccccccconfrontaion. There is no winner when there are three teams. The malaise is partly symptomatic of society in general - but other sports do not have the same level and severity of problems. Manners have long been forgotten or not taught. Respect - well, that no longer exists these days. Referees will just have to plod on and do their own little bit to try and improve matters. Referees are a totally dedicated, underestimated and above all very human group of people, corporately trying to improve the lot of football - it's a pity that those outside the Refereeing circle fail to recognise this. The enmities of a generation lie buried deep, and the temple of reconciliation will take some reconstructing.

The impasse can be better explained by the following:

Invariably, the losing team always blames the Referee:

(Comment from the Red team after the end of a game)......."You lost us the game".

But what does that actually mean?

1. The Referee actually took the penalty kick and scored the winning goal for the Green team.

2. The Referee was the (sent-off) Red attacker, who purposefully rearranged the face of a Green defender.

3. Or conversely, the Referee was the Green attacker, who purposefully antagonised the Red defender, knowing full well that a penalty would be awarded to the Green team if the Red attacker hit him.

4. The Referee really did not have a clue about the Laws, and the WHOLE game was officiated badly from the start to the finish.

5. The Referee is the brother of the Green team manager.

6. The Referee is an ex-player of the Green Team.

7. The Referee is prejudiced against the colour of 'Red'.

8. The Referee is a 'Greenpeace' supporter!

9. The Referee was the Red team goalkeeper, and purposefully let in the penalty, which he could have easily saved.

10. The Referee had placed a huge bet with the local 'bookmaker' that the Green team would win 1-0 at odds of 100 to 1.

Of course, the Referee is none of those things. But you can bet your 'bottom dollar' that the entire 'Red' contingent would certainly vote for number 4, even though for 89 minutes and 55 seconds of the game, they thought that the Referee was ‘great’.

"Some Referees are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

A Referee's task is to balance the Laws, add a modicum of common sense, and manage the brothel of emotions with the patience of a saint and the wisdom of Solomon. It is a difficult task to achieve in that split second of time in which they stand alone within the battlefield.

raising of standards within the grassroots clubs will help lessen the gap of understanding and appreciation between Referees and the footballing world.

The advent of the Internet is slowly reaping benefits for Referees in the United Kingdom. Communication channels have opened up, local Societies are stetting up new web sites and actually talking to each other for the first time - this provides easily obtainable information to help Referees. This will undoubtedly go some way to improving general Refereeing standards. Once a Referee has qualified by passing his exam, apart from the help obtained in joining a Society, there is no guidance (except God), and no standard structured plan at grassroots level in England, to help a Referee 'stay the course'. There are a number of very good Referees' Societies throughout the country, where participating in activities allows members to pool experience, learn by sharing information, and organise training talks and briefings. Joining a Society is the best way forward for ambitious Class 3 Referees in the UK to progress to Class 2, Class 1 and "to infinity and beyond". The national United Kingdom Referees' Society actively encourages all Referees to join one of its local Societies - but in reality, a large number of UK Referees do not belong to a Society, nor participate in any form of update training during their career. This is worrying, and undoubtedly the standard of our Referees at grassroots level is suffering. In the County of Wiltshire, we hold the occasional Referee seminars consisting of specific briefing sessions - but attendance is not always great. There is definitely a training gap between a new grassroots Referee and progression upward to become a top class Referee. New Referees are generally left to their own devices, and apart from joining a Referees' Society, there is little else available to help them mature confidently into their peace-keeping role. Their maturity is gleaned first hand by continually jumping into, and out of the weekly football frying pan without the proper preparation or guidance.

"Do you think my mind is maturing late. Or simply rotted early?" 'Lines on Facing Forty/ (1942)

A recent beta test of a new CD-ROM training package covering the Laws of the Game is progressing well. The CD contains video excerpts, narrative, diagrammatic explanations, random questions and answers tests and much more......... Once fully developed and utilised, this will go a long way to helping all levels of Referees in the United Kingdom. Referees at the top level (Premiership and F.I.F.A. Referees) have their own structured training, mentoring and development schemes - but this is unavailable to the grassroots Referees who have little or nothing to help them develop the desires of their own hearts.

The growing demands and expectations of new and existing grassroots football clubs, and the visibility of live TV broadcasts in England is also having its effect on the running of football clubs at grass root levels. And this in turn effects the way Referees are treated. Most clubs are run by a core of dedicated volunteers - none of them are getting any younger. Because of the availability of televised football, it is becoming increasingly difficult to encourage younger people to become active in helping to manage their local football club. Many of them would prefer to watch the live televised games, than to sit through a 4-hour committee meeting. This leaves a core of dedicated elderly people running the local clubs, with no new blood on the horizon to take their place. The English Football Association have injected £32 million this year (2001), in an attempt to promote football at grassroots - and a number of local clubs have already received the FA's new Charter Standard award.

£180 million will be injected over the next three years to encourage youngsters to join clubs who have earned the FA award, which covers organisation, safety and quality. A newly appointed Wiltshire County Development Officer is one of the 35 new development candidates installed nation-wide. Their job will be to liaise with the grassroots football clubs and help them with their organisation, improving ground conditions, coaching, creating a safe environment and developing their youth teams to their full potential. I'm not totally convinced that this injection of money will resolve this demise, but at least the problem has been recognised, and active steps have been taken to try and improve the grassroots standards. The aim this year is for 750 clubs nation-wide, to be awarded with this new FA charter - with the ultimate aim being to reach out to a framework of 40,000 clubs who will provide a safe environment for coaching our youngsters. Every club should strive towards raising the standards of their grassroots football, and it is hoped that this initiative will help parents decide on the best place for their children to be taught this wonderful game. Invariably, raising of standards within the grassroots clubs will help lessen the gap of understanding and appreciation between Referees and the footballing world - and will go some way into cementing the cancerous damage that has developed unchecked over the past 10 years.

The mother of football will never cut the apron stings to its baby.

As a participating Referee, the above reading does not bode too well. Nevertheless, I would wish to end on a positive note. There are a great number of totally dedicated unsung heroes throughout our land, in both the Refereeing contingent and the football club contingent, to ensure that Referees and football, weather the storm here in England - after all, we are an island race hardened to the daily buffetings of life. The new initiatives by both the Football Association and the Referees' Association must bring a positive result. But I do not discount it going to a penalty 'shoot-out!

By Julian Carosi.

Feb. 2001

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