To live, eat, work and breath FIFA throughout a tournament is an amazing experience that few of us get the opportunity to live! This is just a brief outline of some of the experiences I was fortunate enough to encounter. As soon as we arrived Saturday 14/06/03 at 9.00am we were met by a liaison officer at Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris. We were taken to the Sofitel where we were given an accreditation badge (this gave us access to all playing venues and VIP areas), our KIT for the tournament, which contained all uniforms, equipment, and our suit for formal occasions and functions. When we were finished with all the formalities, we were then registered into the hotel were we could rest and freshen up before meeting all the other referees appointed to the tournament.

The pre-tournament seminar and instruction was amazing. The tables were set up in a large C shape with a huge video screen in the centre. Our names were randomly placed on the tables so that we could mix with other referees. We had a number of targets to implement and uphold at this tournament. These were:

• To deal with holding in the penalty area
• Accuracy in recognising off-side
• To deal with simulation in a practical way – The analogy given was that - only deal with brain damage not the headache. That is deal with the serious offences and not the minor offences.
• To increase the effectiveness of the 4^th official
• Consistency in dealing with fouls and misconduct
• To develop a notion of teamwork (this included using radio frequency technology amongst the 4 officials during a game)
• The use of positive body language
• To develop the qualities of a top referee

Training took part every day once the tournament started. Our training combined many elements and training programs and would usually last for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

• Long warm-up (20 minutes) and stretching sessions (10 minutes)
• Specific Referee / Assistant Referee Drills or Match Preparation / Recovery exercises (20 to 30 minutes)
• Warm down and stretching sessions (20 minutes)
• Spa, Jacuzzi and sauna session (30 minutes)

Many of these sessions combined exercises with soccer ball as they assisted in concentration. Your ball had to be passed onto another colleague whiles running. It was also a good opportunity to meet and work with other referees from many countries around the world in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

After each day all the referees were required to attend the daily technical review meeting at 3pm sharp (no late comers were tolerated). At these sessions the games from the previous day were dissected and analysed for all to learn from. The analysis took place in the form of a video review whereby all cards, offsides, critical incidents such as goals, positioning, serious fouls and any interesting areas of play were put together and discussed by the technical advisors. Referees and assistant referees were asked their opinions as to why they did what was seen on the screen.

One incident I remember clearly related to a decision (or non decision) that occurred in the Japan vs. France game. I kept my flag down when the Japanese team and the crowd yelled for an off-side. It was one of those incidents where I was in doubt about the players position so I kept my flag down. I must say I was a little nervous the next day, as I knew this incident would be brought up on the video review. It lead to a goal to which France won the game 2 : 1 against Japan. When I saw my decision, of the player running into an on-side position, the technical advisors broke down my decision frame by frame and showed me that at the moment the ball was kicked the attacking player was inline with the defenders, but as it travelled into the air the attacker had gained 2 metres on his opponents. Needless to say a goal was scored.

There were 16 games in total throughout this tournament, of which the last 4 were finals. In total there were also 9 referee teams from around the world. I was lucky or fortunate to officiate in 3 games throughout this time. My games were as follows:

At the end of the first round we were all taken out to the LIDO (cabaret show) were we celebrated in fine spirit. At the end of the night we were all called back to a meeting room where we were to find out which referees were to leave and stay. This was a happy but also sad evening. They read out the names and our team was staying. At that point the FIFA travel representative walked in and handed out the travel tickets to those 12 people who were leaving the very next day. In fact not only did we stay but we also ended up officiating in the Bronze medal play off for the tournament. What an honour!

Daily Schedule

Whilst the tournament was in full swing our days were fairly structured. Here is an example of a typical day give or take some variation:

	Time	Event
Usually	7.30am–9.00am 9.00am–11.00am 12.30pm–1.30pm	Breakfast Training held at the institute of Paris Lunch
Either	3.00pm –5.00pm	Technical Review Meetings for those referees staying in Paris
Or	3.00pm –6.00pm	Travel to venues for some officials – Lyon & St. Etienne
Either	6.30pm 11.30pm	If game day a bus to main venue was provided Dinner
Or	6.30pm	Dinner or Free Time or Organised Event
Apart from the Football aspect of the tournament we were all also very fortunate in that FIFA organised a number of tourist events for all officials, volunteers and support staff to attend. These were: a Seine river cruise starting at the Eiffel Tower, a Sight Seeing bus tour of Paris, the Lido Cabaret and Climbing the Eiffel Tower.
FIFA Official Logo	The Notion of Family / Teamwork at FIFA To live, eat, work and breath FIFA throughout this tournament was a given. It was expected that we all ate, trained, attended meetings and functions together. Being a referee is not an easy thing to do. Adversity is built into the nature of what we do. The expectation was that you would support your colleague. In order to build this notion of family and teamwork FIFA started this from the very beginning. When we were given our equipment, we were told what to wear at training that is which colours. We were given the same suit, which was to be used for formal occasions, travel to and from grounds or venues and any other occasions where we represented FIFA.
It was obvious from the beginning good performances reflected well on all of us not just the team involved and likewise a bad performance. As we got to know referees from other countries we would wish them well as they departed for their game. Discussion and debate was encouraged in out technical review meetings, however, once agreement was reached we were all expected to follow the instruction or outcome. Technology / Refereeing Teams For this tournament FIFA was trailing a number of things. We were placed in a team so that the issue of communication and understanding would be a given. I have worked with the referee on many occasions and as a result I had a very good understanding of what was expected. We were also wired up to Radio Frequency Technology, that is, we all had an earpiece, microphone and transmitter. This allowed us to talk and pass on information to each other whilst the game was in progress. For assistant referees we also had electronic beepers in our flags. When we gave a decision we were able to press the decision and the referee would respond accordingly as he had a pack on his upper arm that would beep loudly. Finally, in our last game (the Bronze Medal play off) we were also given heart rate monitors and pedometers in order to track my heart rate and distance travelled throughout the game. My resting heart rate was around 60 and throughout the game it got to 187. I roughly ran at 75% of my maximum for 90 minutes. For distance travelled as an approximate I also found out that on the line (a 55 metre distance) I ran between 6 to 8 kilometres. Some interesting statistics when you examine the issue of fitness, concentration and fatigue. Many thanks to Jim Ouliaris for this excellent insight into the life of a FIFA Assistant Referee. (Web Master)

2. Relax. It is OK to hate Referees after all. They really are superior!

Take me back to the top of this page

The field of play resembles a mud bath, there are smudges of doggies doodoos as far as the eye can see. The lines are only visible if the sun is shining in the right direction. There is an odour of last night's takeaway pervading the air. The Alsatian dog in the centre circle is frothing at the moth when out come the 22 players with traces of this morning's fry-up on their chins, the reek of last night's beer on their breath and a look of murder in their eyes.

Our Ref. is already waiting for them in his pristine uniform. Boots polished, not a hair out of place, brilliant white topped socks. Our Ref. is a pillar of society, who is determined to do something, to put something back into society. Our Ref. is a model for all humans to emulate. He looks as though he was standing in the middle of Wembley. 

In his dreams he probably is.  And is he worried? Not a jot!

The result of a recent study of football Referees was revealed on 14 March 2003, showing that they are the toughest people on the pitch. A psychological profile carried out by university researchers Dr. Nick Neave and leading sports psychologist Dr. Sandy Wolfson from Northumbria University showed that Referees - not the players - are cool, confident, and have nerves of steel. Some 42 Senior Level Referees outside of the Premiership replied to forms filled in immediately before and after games. The average age of the Referees was 40, and they had spent on average of 12 years as a Referee. The oldest had been in the game for twenty-five years, the newest four years.

Dr Nick Neave, from Northumbria University said, "Only the strongest characters could survive the immense stresses of refereeing."

"They are a very strong, robust, confident set of people who have developed a very strong set of coping mechanisms. In psychological terms, they are very tough people.

They did not get nervous before games, were not concerned about sending players off or awarding penalties, and took abuse in their stride. While not immune to criticism, they seldom acknowledged being in the wrong."

Dr Nick Neave found that Referees share similarities with policemen, military men and hard-nosed politicians.

The research also discovered that a football Referee jogs about 10 kilometres in an average game - 47 % of that time was spent jogging, and18% running backwards. Referees were asked whether an improved fitness level would improve their officiating, but surprisingly, only 46% agreed with this.

The average time spent in Refereeing activities was 16 hours per week. This included travelling, attending meetings, officiating, writing match reports etc. Fifty percent agreed that this conflicted with their job, and thirty-eight percent said that it conflicted with their family commitments. But every one of them thought the time spent refereeing was worthwhile. This total dedication to the game, and the commitment of Referees was a strong theme running throughout the research.

The biggest surprise came when the referees were asked about their reaction to abuse.

Dr Neave added: "Referees get punched, kicked, even shot to death by players, coaches, owners and fans. But they regarded abuse as being very, very low stress, which we hadn't expected. They rarely felt stressed by their duties, though many did admit to experiencing occasional 'bad games' and being the constant target for dissent."

The research shows that Referees are ultra-confident, unflappable and totally confident in their own ability when confronted by the regular abuse hurled at them by infuriated parents, mangers spectators and players. Their honesty and commitment is on a level way above anyone else's. They suffer, apparently, from "illusory superiority".

"Illusory superiority denotes an odd group of people," said Dr Nick Neave. "Most people show it to some extent, but all Referees do. It is the sort of thing you would expect to find in traffic wardens and politicians."

These traits are not something that Senior Referees are born with, it comes of coping with years an years of torment that they have gone through to get there. They have had to work their way up from Sunday football, not only in managing 22 murderous players on the field of play, but also becoming more and more involved in policing difficult situations occurring outside of the game play itself.

"They tend to externalise everything," said Dr Neave. "They put any hostility down to people not understanding the laws, or being biased, rather than blaming themselves...

And each considered he was superior to other Referees. If they didn't have that confidence they would wilt," said Dr Neave." Their characteristics may be anti-social but they are necessary... to do their job properly."

So by concentrating on the players' emotional outbursts and the supporters' ignorance of the Laws of the Game, Referees are able to deal with the "constant negative feedback from external sources" and incessant abuse from the crowd.

3. Collars and Cuffs (and all things white!)    by Julian Carosi   Take me back to the top of this page

When the ball next went out of play, Wayne approached his boss and told him he would be reported to the Gloucestershire Football Association (GFA). The situation was further exasperated in the bar after the game, where a player and work-mate of Wayne’s repeated the taunt, and was reported also.

At work the following day, Wayne's boss didn't believe him, when he was told that Wayne had indeed sent in the appropriate reports to the GFA. A month later, the boss duly received his report and fine. For the next two months Wayne was sent to Coventry, but not to Referee another match!. His boss and the rest of the staff gave him the cold shoulder, and refused to speak him to. Wayne sought legal advice, and on the 23^rd of JUNE, handed in a solicitor’s letter about his treatment by the staff of JUST LABELS Ltd, asking for the bullying to stop.

On the 27^th of June, Wayne went to work as normal - but when he got home, he found some reciprocal red cards of his own inside a letter saying that he had been made redundant from his £18,500-a-year job because of a fall in orders. But this was more likely to be due to the 'marching orders' Wayne had issued to his boss during the game!

Wayne said: "I should never have been sacked. I was just doing my job as a ref. It was only over a throw-in. But after I reported them I was totally ignored at work."

Wayne was advised by his Union (the G.P.M.U) that he had a good case for unfair dismissal. The tribunal was heard on the 19^th September and was settled out of court, when Mr Smith agreed to give Wayne £6,000 in compensation. Mr Smith refused to comment further, saying: "It’s not worth the hassle."

Wayne told 'The Football Referee'.

"My ex-boss cannot be happy but he knows the Laws of the Game as he`s a ref. as well"