Tag: Football

Pre-season friendlies: A dangerous game?

Pre-season non-competitive games (think ‘friendlies’) are a bit of a challenge. In an ideal world, they would all end up like the pre-season game I did last weekend: Both teams knew each other, gave good banter, played with spirit and didn’t kick each other off the park. In fact, it was probably one of the most enjoyable games that I have refereed!

Ultimately, that is because both teams came along with the right attitude. Of course, I will naturally state at this point that I gave it the right ‘refereeing touch’ to allow them to just get on with it. Empathy is very important.

In the news, there has been another incident of a friendly becoming decidedly less so. Ilkeston v Mansfield Town was abandoned when the Mansfield manager instructed his players to leave the field of play. He was unhappy that three of his players had been injured, some to hospital treatment level, by the same opponent. After the game, Ilkeston suspended the offending player, subject to an internal investigation.

The player was also substituted following the third injury but clearly the damage had already been done, and the abandonment soon followed.

It is sometimes ‘customary’ for referees to be somewhat shy of using formal sanctions (cautions and dismissals) in pre-season games (“It’s only a friendly, ref!”). Hence a problem player is sometimes managed by way of him or her being substituted instead. This is a very dangerous game to play as if a game slips away from being ‘friendly’, choosing to not use any formal sanctions immediately removes key components of the referee’s toolbox.

The Laws Of The Game apply to pre-season games just like any other. I explain to the players before such games that just how friendly it is going to be is completely down to them and how they play the game. Cards will count! It would be great not to use them but I will use them if it comes to it. It’s a clear message.

Equally, ‘roll on, roll off’ substitutions are NOT permitted in pre-season friendlies (again, because the Laws Of The Game are the same!). There always seems to be the expectation that they should be allowed which is, sadly, down to some referees getting it wrong. Teams ARE allowed as many substitutes as they like, however, due to it not being a formal competition.

I’ve several more pre-season games coming up. It will be very interesting to see how they vary in tempo and temperature!

Do you have any pre-season game stories to share?

Setting goals for the season

I am really looking forward to the start of the football season. In terms of my own refereeing, this will be September. I have high hopes this time around, partly spurred on by the fact that I am on the Enhanced Promotion Scheme and there is a lot to get done!

When setting goals, it is really important to make sure that they are broken down into an achievable journey. After all, while ‘Get promoted’ is a goal there are steps that need to be taken as part of that! Success doesn’t happen by itself.

What are my goals?

PRE-SEASON (August)

  • MATCH FITNESS: Get safely back to full match fitness with a controlled approach. Target level by the end of pre-season is several games over a weekend without being a wreck afterwards. Avoid injury.
  • SUPPLEMENTARY FITNESS: Keep up the training as appropriate during the week. Be ready to comfortably pass the county fitness test in September.
  • DIET AND NUTRITION: Get fully back on the wagon. As a result of the healthy eating and exercise, drop around 10 kilograms (This will carry forward into the season). The fat has to go!
  • GET BACK INTO THE GROOVE: Referee a selection of games in the run-up to the season. Should be the same level as the games I will be assessed on. Some Assistant Referee work is allowed but I must ensure that my focus is being the Referee.

THE ACTUAL SEASON

  • FITNESS AND NUTRITION: Maintain the standards as set in pre-season. Mid-week games will make an appearance so the physical and mental demands will be increased. Lose the rest of the 10 kilograms, certainly!
  • BE STUNNING: I need to shine in the games. I will be assessed on some of them, after all, although I want the same standard throughout.
  • BE DISCIPLINED WITH REST: I must be at full capacity for assessed games so need to ensure I am not overdoing things. Also, the schedule is tight for the enhanced promotion process and being out injured is not going to help at all!
  • INCREASE KNOWLEDGE & NETWORKING: Attend seminars, local referee societies and watch other referees in action when I get the opportunity. There are so many sources to learn from!
  • GET PROMOTED: Level 6 in October, Level 5 in March. I’m not doing this to fail!
  • GET SOME GREAT APPOINTMENTS: As a result of all the above, I want to be getting some great appointments. County Cup Final? Who knows? I’m already on the FA competition nominated list which is exciting. I need to give a performance during the season which makes me worthy of getting these matches!
  • BE A ROLE MODEL: I want to be setting a high standard for myself and others. I’m undergoing Mentor Training in September as part of this.

I’m already making great progress with the pre-season elements. I’m eating and exercising well. The games I have had so far have been very positive. There is a long journey ahead and I know I am going to enjoy it!

How are you getting on with your own goal planning?

First refereeing gig of the pre-season

I have been performing various duties as Assistant Referee in the last few weeks. Yesterday, I got to be the ‘man in the middle’ instead so that I could make sure I had not forgotten how to use my whistle and so on!

Virginia Water (Surrey Elite League) take on Feltham (Combined Counties Football League) each year. As a pre-season non-competitive game it should (SHOULD!) be a ‘friendly’ but as I always say to the players… just how friendly it is will be down to them. Cards still count.

A notable point here is that ‘roll on / roll off’ substitutes are not allowed in these games. Some referees seem to let this go but Surrey FA are explicit on this one: Don’t do it! It’s just like a competitive game in that regard, with such substitutes only allowed in veterans and youth football.

I had never refereed either of the teams so had no idea what to expect. However, you can get a good feel based on the atmosphere before the game, as players arrive and so on. It was a good feel: Everyone was smiling, happy and welcoming. The sunshine probably helped! The management teams and players from both sides gave the impression that it was a game to be enjoyed and would be in the right spirit.

The game went well. Feltham certainly had the run of it, which is to be expected given that they are in the higher league. That said, they only managed to score in added time. At times the game was scrappy which resulted in a lot of fouls being given. I like to let the game flow where possible but when a lot of the fouls were blatant trips it is hard to do that. There would certainly have been scope for cautions for Persistent Infringement but the atmosphere stayed friendly with players helping each other to their feet and apologising. I will make the most of this before the season starts for real!

Breaking the ice: Pre-match inspection and chat!

Hand-shakes all round at the end. What are my own comments on my performance?

  1. APPLICATION OF LAW: I’m happy I caught pretty much everything. This included disallowing a goal due to a very blatant push on a defender. An easy sell though as it was so obvious! I was aware that I need to get back into the habit of remembering player numbers though in order to keep full awareness of Persistent Infringement.
  2. MATCH CONTROL: The game was played in good spirits and I only needed to ‘have words’ a couple of times. In a competitive game I would have certainly cautioned one player for dissent but it was not needed this time around due to the overall good spirit. The important thing for me here is that I was all set to give it and did not ‘bottle it’.
  3. POSITIONING AND FITNESS: Happy with this. I was in a good position to sell all of my decisions and kept moving. Reacted to where the ball was dropping on set pieces. I did start to flag a little during the second half so there is still room for improvement.
  4. ALERTNESS AND STOPPAGES: There were no surprises. Quickly reacted to an extra ball appearing on the pitch. There was some confusion with a substituted player trying to come back on again but this was resolved before play was restarted.
  5. COMMUNICATION: I was really happy with this. I felt like I had a very good rapport with the players throughout the game. Explained my decisions as required but to be honest, most of them were pretty obvious (blatant shirt pulls, pushes, trips…). I’m also happy that I indicate WHERE a foul was well (this is important when bringing back advantage, so that the player who CURRENTLY has the ball doesn’t feel like they are being accused of something!)
  6. TEAMWORK: Club officials. They did a good job. I overruled upon occasion (such as an offside flag going up too early) and all handled in good grace.
  7. ADVANTAGE: Average. I did play some good ones, although sadly no goals resulted. However, I missed one obvious opportunity when I should have just given it a few more seconds. Hindsight!

Overall, a really enjoyable game and I am looking forward to the next one! It will be for a lower league so it will be interesting to experience the differences…

Are you showing empathy for the game?

In my previous post about my pre-season starting I wrote about adjusting assumptions. I am going to elaborate a little about that today.

A key skill for a referee, or in fact anyone in pretty much any situation, is to show appropriate empathy. The Laws of the Game are immutable but a key skill is to apply them in a which which does not alienate the referee from the players, officials and supporters. Two referees could make the same technical decisions during a match, with one ending up loved and the other hated by the end.

This has been made very clear to me during my pre-season so far. I have been acting as Assistant Referee on various pre-season ‘friendlies’. As is traditional when acting as an Assistant, you can work on a game that you not allowed to actually referee. It is a great learning experience to watch higher-level referees in action.

The game at the semi-professional levels is a different beast to the ‘park’ football that I mostly referee. Applying the same refereeing touch would be a bit of a disaster. Why?

It comes down to the different expectations of the players. The higher level players are more athletic and play in a more physical manner. There is a lot more ‘man-handling’ going one and the players just get on with it! Now, there may still be the desperate appeal for a little shove but it tends to be a quick shout and then instantly forgotten about. In short, they are trying it on.

In my first such pre-season game, there was a tussle in front of me, and I flagged for the foul. In ‘park’ football, it would have been the right decision and the players would have been screaming for it anyway. At this higher level? Neither player had any idea what I had stuck my flag up for! The referee correctly waved play on and I played my ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card to the players (“I was too close to have a proper view of it”).

As my pre-season continues, I will need to be very aware of showing appropriate empathy for the skill and fitness levels of the players. This is also a requirement when being assessed, under ‘Match control’. It will have to vary from game to game, and especially from league to league!

How have you demonstrated good (or bad!) empathy in a situation?

Have you started off on the wrong foot and then managed to ‘win’ a situation around?

I would love to have your comments!

First time at the Chelsea Academy

I was really happy to be given an appointment to act as Assistant Referee at the Chelsea FC Academy this weekend. I have helped out in Academy games before at Aldershot Town and Fulham and had heard good things about the Chelsea set-up.

The facilities at their training base in Cobham are certainly impressive. The pitch was exquisite and a privilege to be working on!

The game itself (versus Colchester United) was fun as the talent level of the players was naturally very high. Lots of quality passing play before fast attacking sprints. My legs got a great work-out! The only downside was that it was pouring down with rain for the entire 90 minutes so I was doing a great impression of a drowned rat at the end of it.

Particularly impressive was the discipline and sportsmanship of the players. Both academies involved are clearly coaching their players in the right way. In some ways, the game was nearly refereeing itself which is a great sign of strong discipline.

I have another appointment there soon which I am looking forward to!

Pre-season starts here!

It really does not feel like that long ago I was piling in the games at the end of the 2010/2011 season. The snow and other bad weather meant there was a backlog so quite a few midweek evening games were available. This was great for me as it means I have already hit my required quota of 20 games since March in order to hit one of the promotion criteria.

Now, here we are in pre-season mode! I’ve been keeping up my running and have been involved in a couple of games but now the ‘real stuff’ begins. I have a pre-season schedule coming together with a mixture of referee and assistant positions at various levels. Referees need a pre-season just like players do! It is a chance for us to get the fitness in line (both physical and mental stamina), perhaps try a few new things and ensure we are confident when the season truly begins.

I had my first game this week as Assistant Referee. This was a valuable learning experience as the other two officials are both active supply league referees. In addition, the game was frenetic due to lots of triallists wanting to prove their worth!

The teams themselves are at a higher level than I am currently permitted to referee. Some notes on that:

  1. FITNESS AND SKILL: A lot higher than ‘parks’ football! I was able to keep up just fine and it was a great test of my sprinting ability. The ball would be kept in play for a lot longer as well which made it a more interesting game overall.
  2. MORE PHYSICAL PLAY: The challenges and general play were a LOT more physical. However, there were no complaints as most of the time it was controlled and the players were just getting on with it. This took adjusting to. At ‘my’ level, I would be giving fouls for that sort of contact and the players would be expecting that to happen as well.
  3. ADJUST ASSUMPTIONS: A couple of times I flagged for offside way too early. I was in ‘parks’ mode where I would assume (correctly) that the offside applied because no other player could be involved. I needed to wait to absolutely sure in this game because another player could EASILY zip through, or the advantage could shift IMMEDIATELY and should be considered. A great learning experience.

A summary of the game is that my fitness was easily up to the task but that it took me longer to get my mental sharpness in line, especially with not flagging for offsides too soon. As the players are faster at this level your assumptions have to be a bit different. Things flowed a lot better during the second half. My concentration had also been a hit a little bit due to a ‘flag malfunction’ in the first half….

Lots more games to come. It is going to be a busy and productive season and I am really looking forward to it!

p.s. I’ve also been nominated by Surrey FA for consideration to FA Competitions for this season which is really exciting!

A belated County Cup Final

Shiny!
I was really happy towards the end of last season to be appointed to officiate at the Surrey FA Sunday Premier Cup Final. These appointments are made on merit based on a referee’s performance throughout the season. Various things are considered, including marks from teams on the referee’s leagues and administration. It was a great game and occasion.

I was therefore a little surprised to be given a second Final…. in July! This is normally the ‘closed season’ where everyone is relaxing and eating too many biscuits. Or is that just me? The Final had even already been played. However, it had been later revealed that the winner had fielded an ineligible player and as a result were removed from the competition. A losing semi-finalist was pulled into the final to replace them. All seemingly very political but the rules on the eligibility of players are very clear.

Thankfully, I’ve been keeping up my fitness and as it was to be an Under 11s game it was never going to be too stressful. It was a good gauge of where I am though, both in terms of physical and mental stamina, both of which are vital to a referee. I am happy to report the game went very well with good conduct from all involved.

This is essentially the beginning of my run-up to the next season. I have a schedule of adult games from this point forward, with a combination of ‘running the line’ or being in charge. It will allow me to build up my fitness and concentration, so that when September comes, I will be completely in the zone. This is very important as my remaining two assessments both need to be done that month. There will be no room for excuses!

Are you doing anything to work on your own physical and mental sharpness at the moment?

Spectator abuse

Offensive language in football is back in the news again, following Wayne Rooney facing a charge for it.

Following advice from assessors, I have tightened up on my ‘policing’ of this when refereeing. It doesn’t take much at ‘park level’. Telling the players prior to the game starting and pointing out it is a public park, with young children around, makes it an easy sell. With the game in progress, a sharp word as appropriate keeps it sorted, and the players will generally tell each other to cut it out!

Sometimes, I feel a team is relieved if it helps cut out the barracking they are receiving from their own goal-keeper!

The above helps assert the authority of the referee and also a sense of discipline, partly self-policed, from the players. Plus it makes it a much better environment for all.

What about spectators? I recently had cause to threaten my first ever match abandonment. Comments from the sidelines will always be there but certainly at ‘park level’ I am not tolerating personal abuse towards me or the players. A referee has no power to actually make a spectator leave but they can certainly abandon the game if they do not, and the corresponding club will be facing a charge as a result.

Like with dissent and language on the field of play, it is important to manage this sort of thing early, lest it become a free for all. In my case, the manager was excellent and resolved the situation immediately and the players understood why play was halted. Perhaps I should point out this was an under 16s game so a strong reason why action had to be taken!

Remember this?

Some county youth cup action

I was happy to be appointed to referee a Round 4 match of the Surrey FA U16s Youth Cup.

In the early rounds of county cups there can be some big skill mismatches between teams. I spotted a Round 2 game with a 23 – 0 result, for example. On paper, this match looked like one as well: AFC Wimbledon were against a side who were quite a few divisions lower down.

The match certainly did not start as expected: The ‘lower’ side scored in the first minute of the game. By the end of the first half it had ended up a 1-1 draw but hardly the one-sided affair that may have been predicted.

This changed in the second half. AFC Wimbledon truly came alive and the skill, speed and fitness of their players was obvious. It ended up 7-1 to them.

However, what impressed me was the attitude of both teams. It was a competitive game with everyone there just to get on with it. Only one caution for a blatant pull on the shirt. AFC Wimbledon’s opponents were outright winners in their own league yet they maintained their discipline during their ‘learning experience’ on the day.

The management teams were top notch as well. Leading by example. It is rare for a manager to come up to me and apologise for one of his players needing to be cautioned, but nice when it happens!

I had a good game. Main development point for myself was that I missed an offside flag which led up to a goal. The goal was correctly disallowed but naturally the attacking side were annoyed about the delay. Completely my fault and I kept a sharper eye out for the rest of the game!

Some other good youth news: I’ve been appointed to referee the U16s final of the NE Hants Youth League. Yay!