John Motson once said to me that there was certain similarity between referees and television sports commentators. We both, he said, have to make instant decisions, which afterwards we sometimes regret. Referees of course, have to make their decisions about …
We were pleased to welcome back Jeff Pettitt who has always provided us with and entertaining but fruitful evening on our quest to be better referees. Jeff was a Premier League assistant referee for many years before quitting to concentrate …
Guest speaker Feb 2013: Jeff Pettitt – “Achieving greatness with simple steps” Read more »
This year, as many readers may be aware, marks a significant anniversary in the world of football and in particular the Laws of the Game. It was 150 years ago that the Football Association was formed at a meeting in …
Some good many years ago, in an article in the Football Referee magazine, I outlined how I judged whether a tackle was fair or a foul. To my surprise and may I say to my great delight, that law was …
Last week I mentioned that I am often approached with questions on the Laws of the Game. Fortunately, I usually have an answer but a phone call a few weeks ago from David Downs, the Reading FC historian, who Reading Post readers will know …
The January edition of the RRA magazine is now available for download: RRA magazine Jan 2013 (vol 55 no. 3)
One of the consequences of having my photograph included with this column for the last twelve years, is that people keep coming up to me to talk about football, particularly the Laws of the Game. ‘Do you mind,’ they usually …
The last thing I want readers to think is that this column is leading a one-man anti Ferguson campaign. It’s just that Sir Alex’s latest verbal behaviour needs some clarification. The fact that Manchester United didn’t beat Tottenham two Sundays ago, …
We were pleased to welcome to our January meeting, Ray Olivier who is Training and Development Manager for the PMGOL, which of course is responsible for the Select list of referees on the Premier League. It was pity that the …
Guest speaker Jan 2013: Ray Olivier – “Deal or no deal” Read more »
It is not often that I return in this column to something that I wrote about just a fortnight before. However, I would like to go back to the incident which led me to write about Sir Alex Ferguson’s rant …
Just being offside is not distracting an opponent Read more »
