Refereeing News
Mike Dean to Referee Cup Final
Cardiff City v Portsmouth
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
3pm, Saturday 17 May 2008
Wembley Stadium
The FA can today confirm that Mike Dean will referee this season's FA Cup Final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City.
The Cheshire official started refereeing in 1985, progressing through local leagues, then the Northern Premier League before being appointed to the National List of referees in 1997.
In May 2000 he refereed the League Two Play-Off Final between Darlington and Peterborough United at the old Wembley Stadium.
The same year he was promoted to the Select Group of referees and started officiating regularly in the Premiership.
A FIFA international referee since January 2003, Dean was fourth official at that season's FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Southampton, and was in charge of the 2004 FA Community Shield between the Gunners and Manchester United.
Full list of officials
Referee - Mike Dean (Cheshire FA)
Assistant Referees - Trevor Massey (Manchester FA) & Martin Yerby (Kent FA)
Fourth Official - Chris Foy (Liverpool FA)
Hughes wants Euro refs in England - 04 April 2008
Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes has revealed he would like to see the introduction of European referees in the Premier League.
Hughes believes the idea could improve respect for match officials.
He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "Maybe referees that ply their trade week-in, week-out become too familiar with certain players and certain teams.
"Inevitably it will cloud their judgement, so the option of European referees could possibly be looked at."
After viewing the refereeing performance of Dutchman Peter Vink during Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final, first leg against Liverpool, the Blackburn manager admitted he is more encouraged by the continental approach.
He said: "I think the first thing we said was how many cards would there have been in a Premier League game?
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It's maybe a case that we introduce European referees to the Premier League
Blackburn boss Mark Hughes |
"But, you saw the demeanour of the players. I think they accepted free-kicks and got on with it, so I thought it was a more refreshing game in that respect."
Hughes believes the idea of captains being the only players on the pitch to have verbal contact with referees may be worth trying.
"There has to be some barriers to who has the opportunity to speak to referees during the actual game," added Hughes.
"It's maybe a case that we should introduce European referees to the Premier League and our referees referee in other European countries."
PFA chief demands ref no-go zones - 25 March 2008
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has called for an exclusion zone around referees to stop players' dissent.
On Sunday Liverpool's Javier Mascherano was sent off for talking back to Steve Bennett, just days after an incident involving Ashley Cole and Mike Riley.
Taylor believes more must be done to ensure players improve their conduct towards match officials.
"I have made it clear referees should be a no-go area," he told BBC 5 Live.
"It is time managers and players did accept a responsibility because what happens at the top level happens lower down.
"It is the bad points that get highlighted and the game has to be very much aware and do all it can to eradicate it."
Taylor also feels the Football Association has to do more as part of an orchestrated campaign to underline to clubs that attitudes must change.
"We have regular meetings with referees and the FA and when there are patterns developing like this then we need to take action.
"It can be done with sanctions and an educational process."
During Chelsea's 4-4 draw with Tottenham on Wednesday, defender Cole vented his anger at referee Riley when he was penalised for a bad tackle on Alan Hutton.
Cole then turned his back on the official when he was having his name taken.
Although Cole later apologised, the incident sparked a great deal of debate about players' behaviour.
then at the weekend, Argentine midfielder Mascherano was given his marching orders for questioning referee Bennett, who had seconds earlier booked Fernando Torres for a similar outburst.
Taylor admitted: "There has been a big campaign last week against dissent and respect for referees but in spite of that the message has not got through so it has to come out louder and clearer."
Frisk gives referees credit
Former World Cup referee Anders Frisk believes the general standard of refereeing has improved dramatically in recent years, but admits that differing interpretations of the rules hinder officials.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently slammed Professional Game Match Officials Board manager Keith Hackett for his apparent lack of action in dealing with underperforming officials.
However, Frisk, who retired from football following the fall-out from Chelsea's volatile UEFA Champions League clash with Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2005, is adamant that refereeing is improving across the world.
"We have to give credit for so many [good] refereeing decisions," he exclusively told skysports.com.
"I think we have improved very, very much and we can thank Uefa for that. The courses have helped.
"Definitely [refereeing is improving]. But we cannot, will not and shall not have 100 per cent correctness, because that is not football."
Frisk also stated that the inconsistency in the adaptations of rules across the world's leagues and competitions creates a problem for referees.
"It is so important that we have the same interpretation in the matches. It is a big problem for the referees," he continued.
"We have a bit of a way to go for everyone to have the same interpretations. "It is very important, and I stress this often, that international football and domestic football has the same application.
"The different interpretations of football - [for example] in the English game, the Champions League, the World Cup and the European Cup - create a problem."
No Major Changes
At its Annual General Meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has decided to put on ice goal-line technology and to stop tests in this area until further notice. Amongst others, the questions of the human aspect of the game, the universality of the Laws of the Game, as well as the simplicity and efficiency of the technology were taken into consideration.
However, the IFAB has approved a proposal from FIFA to conduct an experiment involving two additional assistant referees who will mainly focus on fouls and misconduct in the penalty area. The competition in which this test will be conducted will be decided at a later stage.
The Board also discussed a proposal from the Scottish FA regarding the use of video evidence to sanction simulation after the game. Although the suggestion was not approved, the IFAB members agreed that simulation is an act of cheating which must be intensively fought and sanctioned during the game and that all member associations would be encouraged to do so.
Furthermore, a proposal submitted by the FA and called Fair Play Convention, aimed at dealing with injured players while the game is in progress ,was acknowledged but not approved, mainly on the grounds that fair-play is an instinct behaviour rather than an attitude to rule.
Regarding the Laws of the Game, the IFAB approved the following amendments:
Law 1 - The Field of Play
In order to standardize the size of the football pitch for A international matches, the IFAB has decided to set a fixed size of 105m long and 68m wide (instead of a minimum and maximum length - from 100m to 110m - and a minimum and a maximum width - from 64m to 75m - as mentioned in the present text).
Law 2 - The Ball
Within the FIFA Quality Concept for footballs, the IFAB has agreed that the new 'FIFA APPROVED', 'FIFA INSPECTED' and 'International Matchball Standard' logos, which were launched in May 2007, will replace the former logos displayed in the present text.
Revision of the Laws of the Game
The last major revision of the text of the Laws of the Game was one 11 years ago. Since then, many additions and amendments have been made to the Laws themselves and various publications as well as teaching materials have been produced. As a result, a further revision was overdue. The IFAB has approved the revision which contains no major change in content but simplifies the wording of the Laws.
On other business, it's been agreed that a discussion about the look and design of the ball will be submitted to the agenda of the next sub-committee meeting.
Also, as it already did last year, the Board stressed that people in the technical areas should have no access and view to pitch-side monitors.
Finally, the FIFA President made a strong appeal against violent tackles on the field of play, reiterating that "players committing such acts should be banned".
The123rd Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board will take place next year in Northern Ireland.
The International F.A. Board, the custodian of the Laws of the Game, is composed of The Football Association (England), The Scottish Football Association, The Football Association of Wales, The Irish Football Association (Northern Ireland) and FIFA. Representing its 204 other members, FIFA has four votes on the body, while the four British associations have one vote apiece. A proposal requires a three-quarter majority (i.e. six of the eight votes) to be passed.
| Graham swops whistle for running shooes - 28 February 2008 |
Graham Poll is running the Flora London Marathon this year – for the first and only time – inspired by his fathers illness, his father is in a home due to the severity of his vascular dementia.
The Referees Association is pleased to publicise his efforts?
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Open letter to all members - 09 November 2007
Dear All
On behalf of our Ho President David Elleray and members of The RA Board, i write to inform you that The Referees' Association will be celebrating its Centenary in 2008. the celebrations will include the Centenary Conference and Centenary Dinner which will be held at The Renaissance Hotel, Solihull on the 4th and 5th July 2008.
Many prominent members from the world of football will be in attendance and during Saturday's Centenary Dinner Geoff Thompson, Pierluigi Collina and David Elleray will speak. Presentations will also be made to the officials of our domestic cup finals and the Community Shield.
We do hope that you will put the date in your diary and make every effort to help celebrate the very special occasion.
In addition to Pierluigi Collina, the FIFA Head of Refereeing Jose Maria Garcia Aranda has accepted our invitation to attend.
Should you require any further or additional information at this stage the please give me a call on 02476 601701 or email me at arthur@footballreferee.org.uk
Yours Sincerely
A W S Smith
General Secretary
Hartlepool & DistrictChurchLeague
The league which is one of the oldest in Durham is on the lookout for Referees
All games are played on a Saturday Afternoons and Kick off at 2pm,
When Hartlepool United play home Games kick offs are moved to 12-30 to allow those who want to go to the game time to attend.
If you want to officiate in this league contact Phil Angus.
Phone 01429 296575
Mobile 07939699449
Email philipangus392@msn.com
New RA Kit
The new Referees Association Kit, pictured here is available to order NOW!
Worn recently by the officials on the FA Vase Final, Phil Joslin, the referee, was quoted as saying this was the most comfotable kit he had the pleasure of wearing. Prices of the kit will remain the same as is printed in the RAShop catalogue from £19.95, with badges available from most counties, as well as the FA. Matching shorts are also available, again with prices held at £13.50.
Contact Duncan at RA Head office on 02476 601701 to place your order.
Payment may be made by credit card over the phone!
Refereeing Information
Report Writing
Durham County FA allow all Reports including sending offs to be submitted by Email. The Secretary asks all Referees to ensure that all the necessary information is included and that the forms are filled out correctly. Click HERE for the FA guidelines
Rules and Regulations
The Football Association Rules, regarding Referees are available to download by clicking on the link below. These include classifications, promotion criteria, assessments, appointments order of precedence, uniforms, etcThis could help with all kinds of issues during your refereeing career.
Referees Courses
Click HERE to contact us and we will get back to you with the details of how to become a referee.
Please include your name, address, and date of birth.
Supplies and Kit
If any member wants to order kit, or your copy of Laws of The Game, Dave Stephenson the society supplies officer can be contacted by the following means:
Mobile 07920 469034
Home 01429 221043
CRB Check and Safeguarding Children
All members are reminded that we must all complete the CRB check to be able to continue Refereeing.This is a mandatory instruction from the FA (THE FA CRB Policy). Please visit this link as it contains some very important information from The FA.
You will also be able to view a video of requirements to obtain your CRB clearance.
Details are also available on safeguarding children in Football.
Circular
Why not have your monthly circular sent by email? It’s a lot easier and you will save the branch money on postage, click below to contact Ray Smith, this offer is available to any member of the RA Nationally
Register of English Football Facilities (REFF)
Never get lost again!
The REFF project is the largest survey of football facilities undertaken in the history of British sport. This unique database allows Referees to find their local football pitches and grounds and informs them of the type of facilities they can expect to find there.
The website allows you to view information on football pitches and facilities and obtain route planning information, street maps and aerial views of any of the listed sites.
A Good Read
The Corsham Referee which is easily the best website for Refereeing publishes a newsletter every month that is emailed free of charge just click below and follow the link to subscribe.
We recommend it to all members.
The opinions and comments on this website are not necessarily those of the Referees Association, the Hartlepool and District Referees Association, or any governing body of Association Football in the United Kingdom or Worldwide.
Hartlepool and District Referees Association are not responsible for the content of any website that it displays links to and only sites that it considers of interest to like minded people are posted.
Hartlepool and District Referees Association is a non profit organisation.
