I haven't seen the latest
figures, but earlier in the season, referees registering with Berks
and Bucks FA were over 230 down on the same time last year.
There are many reasons for
referees giving up, and the truth is that there is a shortage of
referees at grass roots football. As I mentioned previously, one
of the objectives of the FA Refereeing Department is to retain current referees.
They now award certificates to referees who officiate at least 20
games a year, and I was surprised to be presented with one recently for last season.
There is also the new FA
Referee's Incentive Scheme
which is a bit bit like Green Shield Stamps. Referees are awarded points
on a sliding scale for matches - for taking charge of up to 20
matches a referee gets 10 points a match, but between 20 and 40
it goes up to 20 points.
Referees also receive points when registering, which doubles every subsequent season that
they re-register. These points can be used to purchase selected items from
either the Referees Association Catalogue or the FA England Direct Catalogue.
I applaud all efforts to keep
referees in the game, but it is
generally accepted that the major cause of referee loss is the behaviour of clubs, their officials
and their players.
The Reading League is
comparatively well off with 279 games played so far this season only four have been
without a referee. Nevertheless, they are poised to repeat their 'endangered
species' poster campaign, warning clubs of the consequences of
not treating referees properly.
David Downs, the Reading FC
historian and part of the
Academy set-up at Reading, has sent me details of an even more
active attempt to change the attitude of clubs to referees.
At a Child Protection
conference he met Bill Lamin of the
West Cornwall Sunday League, who voiced a concern about the behaviour of clubs to referees.
Lamin, who believes that a referee has as much right to enjoy his football as has any player,
says it is quite clear that it does no good just asking players and
clubs to change.
He has devised an initiative
that has been adopted by the
West Cornwall League, which he hopes will give clubs and players
a strong incentive to improve their behaviour. If clubs want to have a referee
appointed to cover their home matches, they have to sign an undertaking which gives them
'P' for priority status.
They agree to three points:
• TO give a referee a courteous
and genuine welcome;
• TO brief their players before each game, stressing the
referee's .right to enjoy the game, that they should not question decisions and any form of abuse to
the referee is unacceptable;
• IRRESPECTIVE of his performance, the referee must be thanked and bid a courteous
farewell after the game.
To retain their
'Priority' status, the club has to meet this undertaking at every match.
All referees in the scheme
complete a form after each match, commenting whether the clubs have met the standards
and marking them for sporting play. If the referee is not completely
satisfied, the club is fined £5 and warned that a second offence
will result in the withdrawal of their 'P' status.
This would mean that when
referees are appointed they go to the bottom of the list, so they
could be without referees. Of course individual players might still misbehave, so the
league will not penalise clubs
providing they have carried out their part of the contract.
The message is the same as the Reading League's 'abuse them and you'll lose them'
campaign, but with more teeth.
If this makes the game more
enjoyable for Cornish referees, no doubt they will referee longer
and earn themselves some more incentive points from the FA.
Dick Sawdon Smith