Some years ago, Lionel Gibbs, the old Woodley referee, showed me a newspaper clipping from his time in South America. Lionel spent a record twenty two years on the Football League and refereed the 1944 war-time Cup Final.
After the war his firm posted him to South America where he was able to continue refereeing at the top level. The newspaper cutting was of his first game and made much of his appearance. 'The referee,' it said, 'was attired in football boots, black and white rugby socks with trousers, which reached down to his knees. In addition he wore a long striped sports coat'.
Referees in those days did wear coats or blazers but Lionel's choice of a striped jacket was a little bit of showmanship, for referees have always worn black. Look at any football photographs from around the start of the last century and you will see the referees are blazered but in black.
How things have changed - blazers have long since been replaced by shirts and at the top level, black is not the only colour for referees. Although I was not at the Reading v Millwall game, both Nick Ive and Sports Editor, David Wright, commented in the
Evening Post about referee Kevin Wright, who came out in a yellow top that clashed with the gold of Millwall's away strip. 'How did this happen?' I've been asked, so perhaps it's worth running through the procedure now for Football League, or more correctly, Championship referees.
Whereas we referees at the lower orders of the game, are firmly told that we wear black and no other colour, Championship referees are given six shirts at the start of then season. Note the word
'given' - we lesser referees have to buy our own so we are glad there's only black. The Championship referee has a choice of black, yellow or green and in both short and long sleeves. They take all the kit to each match. They have even had to be given a bigger hold-all to carry it all in and they make their choice on the day.
When the team sheets are handed in, the referee takes notes of the colours the teams are wearing. This includes the goalkeepers, who of course have to be different from everyone else, including the referee and his assistants. The referee does not make his choice alone. Each game has an assessor who will visit the referee in his dressing room before the match and he will agree the shirts to be worn.
At the Millwall game it was apparently clear after a few minutes, that the chosen yellow was too close to the Millwall's gold and the fourth official was dispatched to get a green one from the dressing room. At half time all three officials re-appeared in green.
All well and good it might be thought but towards the end of the game, the Millwall goalkeeper, also dressed in green, came up in to the Reading penalty area for a corner in a desperate attempt to salvage a point. The players were confused when they suddenly found two figures in green in the penalty area.
Why the referee didn't choose to appear in black, only he and the assessor can tell you. I wrote last week about proposed law changes put to the International FA Board. One that didn't get through, was the suggestion to drop the requirement in Law 4, for the goalkeeper to wear colours that distinguish him from the referee and his assistants.
Personally I would strengthen that clause and say all players must wear shirts that distinguish them from the referee. If clubs were then told referees would be in black, surely that would make life a lot simpler. Not only that, it would save the Football League a small fortune on referee's shirt, not to mention hold-alls.