Several people have asked about the ‘joint’ penalty kick by the FC Barcelona duo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. I didn’t see it but it appears that Messi is the designated penalty taker for the team, but he didn’t want …
This Saturday, 5th March, the International FA Board, the body responsible for the laws of football, holds is annual general meeting in Cardiff. The first item on the agenda is ‘Revision of the Laws of the Game’. Its members will …
Except for rare occurrences when they have a Premier League referee in charge, referees at Reading matches are not full time officials. They all have ‘day’ jobs which are not usually connected with football. This can be quite stressful. …
Louis van Gaal has plenty else to worry about, but recently he complained that the referee blew for time too early. ‘We were on a counter attack,’ he said, ‘and he whistles, he did it also in the first …
Introduction Reading RA Chair, Mike Baker together with Derek Reigate and Tony Smith attended the Cressex Community Centre in Wycombe in January to listen and report back on the debate as to whether or not Reading RA should remain as members …
“To remain in the RA or not to remain in the RA” Read more »
Our guest speaker for January was Lisa Benn, the newly appointed Referees’ Development Officer for Berks & Bucks FA. Lisa has been a referee for 10 years and is now a level 4 referee and a Futsal referee. She is …
Football fans often complain that ‘players can’t use the old fashioned shoulder charge these days’. I’m sure that Manchester United supporters were saying something similar when Wayne Rooney heaved Glen Johnson off the ball as they ran towards the Stoke …
One talking point last week was a question of millimetres. This was the disputed touch line decision by the assistant referee at the Manchester City v Everton League Cup semi-final, second leg. Everton manager, Roberto Martinez, claimed the ball was …
There are often discussions why rugby players accept the referees’ decisions, whilst footballers constantly argue over them, sometimes belligerently. My theory is simple – The rules of rugby are so complicated that the players admit that they don’t understand them, …
It is a few years since we’ve had a Berks & Bucks FA referee on the Premier League, so we were pleased when Graham Scott was promoted at the beginning of this season. However, Graham came in for considerable criticism …
