Here you will, hopefully find help, information and advice on the Laws of the Game.

(page updated Saturday 3rd December 2011)

 

WEDDING RINGS

 

                 Below are copies of two  letters sent out firstly by Neale Barry to all Contributory Leagues and Supply leagues. This letter was circulated on the 14th July 2008. Further on is a more recent letter circulated by Ian Blanchard with further advice to those referees operating below Supply League level.

 

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To: Contributory League Secretaries

Supply League Secretaries

 

Dear Sir,

 

Players Equipment - Safety

 

In readiness for the start of season 2008/09, can you please ensure all your constituent clubs are aware of the directives issued to match officials in respect of player equipment as outlined below:

 

Players Equipment - Safety

 

Match Officials are reminded that Law 4 states: “A player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player including any kind of jewellery.”

 

• All items of jewellery (necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, leather bands, rubber bands etc.) are strictly forbidden and must be removed. Using tape to cover jewellery is not acceptable.

• Under-shorts worn by players, are to be of the same main colour as the shorts.

• If undergarments (shirts or shorts) are worn, the colour must be the same main colour as the playing kit or shorts. If a long sleeved under garment is worn the sleeve colour must be the same colour as the sleeve of the short sleeved shirt.

• Please note that under garments and thermal shorts may contain clothing manufacturer’s marks but must not exceed an area of 20 square centimetres and must not be visible outside playing kit during the period of a match.

• Match Officials are also to incorporate a footwear inspection into the pre-match safety check of players’ equipment. This will take place in the tunnel immediately prior to the game.

 

 

Boot manufacturers have recently been experimenting with designs and some give cause for concern. The use of blades on the sole of the boot is an example of such concern.

 

The Football Association have offered the following guidelines:

 

“When inspecting footwear officials are to be alert to the possibility of the edge of the blade developing rough areas on either the plastic or metal used in their construction.

 

These burrs are very sharp and have been the cause of lacerations on opponents. If match officials are concerned over the condition they should refuse to sanction their use until they have been made safe.

 

If evidence emerges during the game e.g. torn stockings, lacerations, you may wish to follow up the inspection with the player(s) concerned during a stoppage.”

 

Referees are to report any instance where the kick-off has been delayed, as a result of the footwear inspection.

 

I hope this is of assistance.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Neale Barry

Head of Senior Referee Development

 

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Jewellery

 

In light of the recent letter sent by Neale Premier League, Football League, National Conference and to Supply League and Contributory League club secretaries (copy attached); I thought it an appropriate time to offer advice on the implication for grass roots football.

 

Can I stress this is only advice and guidance to CEO’s, County Secretaries, Referee Development Officers and other county personnel to assist with any questions they may be asked..

 

Of course we need to be abiding with the Laws of the Game. At a senior level I believe it is very easy to implement the removal of all jewellery however at local level I do feel we need to extol an element of common sense.

 

In respect of anyone wearing any item of jewellery the advice must and always will be to remove the article.

 

The main responsibility of a referee operating at the grass roots level is to ensure that the game takes place and that it is safe to do so.  Before the game, referees should carry out an inspection of all players’ equipment. If a player is unable to remove, say a plain wedding ring, then the referee should apply a practical approach to the management of the situation. Participation and the opportunity to play football at grass roots level, provided it is safe to do so, is a fundamental responsibility of the referee.

 

We do not want to place our referees in a potential confrontation situation prior to the game starting over the issue of a plain wedding band.

 

The issue of wearing jewellery and head coverings, as part of someone's religion, has been highlighted before and we offer advice on our website.

 

Ian Blanchard

Head of National Referee Development

August 2008

 

 

Offside, Another Consideration?

 

                 Following the recent ‘controversy’ over the goal scored by Ruud van Nistelrooy UEFA released the following press statement

 

UEFA has emphasised that the goal scored by Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in the recent UEFA EURO 2008™ match against Italy in Berne was valid, and that referee Peter Fröjdfeldt acted correctly in awarding the goal.

 

Not offside

 

UEFA General Secretary David Taylor was reacting to claims from some quarters that Van Nistelrooy was standing in an offside position when he scored the first of the Netherlands' goals in their 3-0 win. "I would like to take the opportunity to explain and emphasise that the goal was correctly awarded by the referee team," he said. "I think there's a lack of understanding among the general football public, and I think it's understandable because this was an unusual situation. The player was not offside, because, in addition to the Italian goalkeeper, there was another Italian player in front of the goalscorer. Even though that other Italian player at the time had actually fallen off the pitch, his position was still relevant for the purposes of the offside law."

 

Still involved

The starting point, said Mr Taylor, is the Laws of the Game – Law 11 – which deals with offside, and whereby a player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents' goalline than both the ball and the second last opponent. "There need to be two defenders involved," the UEFA General Secretary said. "If you think back to the situation, the first is the goalkeeper, and the second is the defender who, because of his momentum, actually had left the field of play. But this defender was still deemed to be part of the game. Therefore he is taken into consideration as one of the last two opponents. As a result, Ruud Van Nistelrooy was not nearer to the opponents' goal than the second last defender and, therefore, could not be in an offside position.

Rare incident

"This is a widely-known interpretation of the offside law amongst referees that is not generally known by the wider football public," he continued. "Incidents like this are very unusual – although I'm informed that there was an incident like this about a month ago in a Swiss Super League match between FC Sion and FC Basel 1893. [It was] initially suggested that this [goal] was a mistake by the referee in terms of the offside law – the commentator later apologised publicly, as he didn't realise that this was the correct application of the law. "

Law applied

Mr Taylor concluded: "So let's be clear – the referees' team applied the law in the correct manner. If we did not have this interpretation of the player being off the pitch, then what could happen is that the defending team could use the tactic of stepping off the pitch deliberately to play players offside, and that clearly is unacceptable. The most simple and practical interpretation of the law in this instance is the one that is adopted by referees throughout the world – that is that unless you have permission from the referee to be off the pitch, you are deemed to be on it and deemed to be part of the game. That is why the Italian defender, even though his momentum had taken him off the pitch, was still deemed to be part of the game, and therefore the attacking player put the ball into the net, and it was a valid goal. The law in this place was applied absolutely correctly."

 

 

Information on Promotion applications

 

             A Level 7 Referee must serve a minimum of one complete Registration Period or 12 months in that classification, whichever is the shortest, before applying for promotion to Level 6. After this promotion a Referee can proceed at the rate he/she is capable.

 

Promotion Criteria

 

Level 7 to 6 and Level 6 to 5

 

The following outlines the criteria required for Referees seeking promotion from either Level 7 to Level 6, or for Level 6 to Level 5.

 

Referees must apply for promotion in writing to the Devon FA. The request must be received no later than 1st March preceding the season in which promotion is sought.

 

Referees who do not achieve their promotion in the season requested will automatically be entered on to the promotion system for the following season unless they indicate otherwise in writing to the Devon FA.

 

Level 7 referees who are being considered for promotion to Level 6 may apply for promotion to Level 5, in accordance with the clause, pending the decision of the Affiliated Association in respect of the promotion to Level 5. Promotion to Level 6 and Level 5 classification shall be based on a Referee's practical performance on the field of play. This will be determined by considering the Marks and Assessments by Assessors on a minimum of three games and the Club reports from Competitions for players over the age of 16 years, over a minimum of 20 games during anyone marking period, officiated in as a Referee. Such Marks and Assessments are to be collated by the Affiliated Association from 1 March in any year until the last day of February in the following year. Where there is an opportunity to progress beyond Senior County Referee in accordance with these Regulations a further requirement for promotion to Level 5 is the completion of five games as an Assistant Referee in the promotion season. In addition to their practical performance on the field of play Referees will be required to attend in-service training (Promotion Seminar), as determined by The Association, and successfully complete a written examination set by The Association prior to the promotion being confirmed.

 

Devon County FA will organise 2 opportunities for referees to attend a promotion seminar. Until a candidate attends, and achieves the required pass, assessments will not commence.

 

 

Level 5 to 4 Promotion Candidates

 

Receive a minimum of 3 assessments via the County Football Association. Achieving a minimum of 75 average.

Finish in the top 50% of the league on which they operate.

Referee a minimum of 20 matches in total (all leagues operated on, not per league) during the season.

No referee will be promoted to level 4 who ONLY referees Sunday Football

No referee will be promoted to level 4 who is a season ticket holder at a Professional Club

• Successfully complete a Contributory League Assistant Referee Fitness Test in the season of nomination.

 

Fitness Tests

 

In order for a referee to be promoted to Level 4 they must complete the Contributory League Assistant Referees Fitness Test.

 

This test consists of the following;

12 minute continuous run completing a minimum of 2500m

2 x 50 metre sprints in a maximum of 7.5 seconds

 

Each Referee will be provided with 2 dates to complete the test; they can attend both or one date if they wish in order to complete the test. No further dates will be offered.

 

This must be completed as part of the preliminary testing for referees in order to be nominated for promotion to Level 4. If the candidate is then selected by the FA to be promoted they will have to complete the test again under the guidance of the FA.

 

Challenging Assessments

 

A referee is entitled to challenge an assessment at any time but only when the assessment, they feel, raises the following concerns;

 

1) The assessment has something written in it which is contrary to the current Laws of Association Football

2) The narrative within the report does not meet the mark awarded

 

When challenging an assessment the referee must submit details of the reasoning behind the challenge in writing to the Referees Development Officer within 10 days of receiving the report.

 

The decision of the Referees committee on the outcome of the challenge is final.

 

Appointments

 

The "Order of Precedence" of appointments, whether as a Referee or Assistant Referee, shall be as follows:

 

             (1)         The FA Challenge Cup Competition;

             (2)         The FA Premier League;

             (3)         The Football League;

             (4)         The FA Challenge Trophy Competition;

             (5)         The FA Challenge Vase Competition;

             (6)         Affiliated Association Cup Competitions

 

Affiliated Association appointments only take precedence over Panel Leagues, The FA Youth and FA County Youth Challenge Cup Competitions, Contributory League and Supply League appointments if the appointment is in the Affiliated Association's nominated Senior Cup Competition or in the Semi-final and/or Final of any other Affiliated Association Competition whether the appointment is as a Referee or an Assistant Referee.

 

             (7)         The Panel Leagues;

             (8)         The FA Youth and FA County Youth Challenge Cup Competitions;

             (9)         Contributory Leagues (recognised divisions only) and National League Systems Cup;

(10)       Supply Leagues (recognised divisions only);

(11)       All other Competitions of The Association.

 

Notifying of appointments

 

Every Promotion candidate seeking Level 4 will be required to submit there fixtures, via email to the County Referees Assessing officer (CRAO) on a monthly basis. They must also notify him of any changes that occur.

 

The County Referees Assessing officer is;

 

Gordon Richards:

fgrichards@btopenworld.com

 

The CRAO role is to co-ordinate assessments and assessors within the county.

If appointments and amendments are not notified to the CRAO, assessments may not be carried out.

 Dealing with dissent

Keith Hackett

Total Football magazine

 

There is no doubt that if allowed to go unchecked in a game, dissent will undermine your authority and will lead you on a path to a loss of respect and control if you are weak.

At the first sign of dissent by word or action take this opportunity to assert your authority. I would advise you to take the player to one side and if appropriate issue a public warning that you will not tolerate this type of behaviour.

Players and spectators alike will be in hearing distance and your verbal warning will permeate across both sets of players.

If the dissent is open and public then of course you can act immediately by issuing a caution (yellow card).

If the player is guilty of using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures then a red card and dismissal is the appropriate course of action to take.

Mass dissent

 Mass dissent can put you under pressure and even create some doubt in your mind about the decision that you have made that has caused this unacceptable behaviour.

Remain confident and demonstrate courage along with concentration.

If a group of players are heading for you to dispute your decision then hold your ground and lean forward and be firm.

The player leading the pack should be shown the yellow card and I would certainly look to show a second player a yellow card to re-assert your authority and this should make a clear statement to everyone that this behaviour of mass dissent will not be tolerated.

In addition to your report to the authorities detailing your cautions I would recommend that you give details of this mass action by players in an additional report.

So do not let anyone spoil your enjoyment, be firm and fair and remember to stamp out the first sign of dissent.