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The Magazine of the Reading Referees’ Association December/January 2011/12 Vol 54 No 3
Suicide attempt kept quiet – Editorial by Dick Sawdon Smith A German Budesliga referee who tried to commit suicide was discovered in the bathroom by his assistant referees minutes before he was due to referee Cologne v Mainz. He had failed to appear and his assistants found him with slit wrists in the bath... GIVE REFEREES A BREAK – says Dick Sawdon Smith I keep a notebook on my bedside cabinet to record any dreams that I can still remember when I wake up. One I recorded went on to be an award winning short story, in fact the judge demanded that I convert it to a full blown novel, something I’m afraid not within my capabilities. I came across another dream that I so recorded some time ago, while looking through my old notebooks recently MONTHLY MEETINGS - What our speakers have said
NOVEMBER – GRAHAM SCOTT – THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES Our guest speaker in November was Graham Scott, a National List referee from Abingdon so a Berks & Bucks referee. Graham admitted to being top of the league for the number of yellow cards issued in this season. He had played football in the Hellenic League when he sustained a back injury. He thought all the referees were rubbish…… FUTURE SPEAKERS AT MONTHLY MEETINGS Stephen Green has worked hard to bring us some excellent speakers for the second half of the season. CORIN READETT- Referee Development Officer – Berks & Bucks FA Corin Readett qualified as a Level 7 referee in January of 2007 after watching his recently qualified brother make a right hash of a game, which he ended up abandoning. After the game, the club paid his brother £30 and Corin thought to himself, I could do a better job than that, so it would be easy money FAIR PLAY AND CLUB ASSISTANTS AWARDS
THE USA CUP In our last issue Steven Williams told us how much he had enjoyed refereeing at tournaments abroad. If this is something that is of interest to you might like to know that referees are needed for the USA Cup this year. CHRISTMAS DRAW AND FUN AT DECEMBER MEETING
HAVE YOU ATTENDED A RESPECT PROGRAMME COURSE
Suicide attempt kept quiet A German Budesliga referee who tried to commit suicide was discovered in the bathroom by his assistant referees minutes before he was due to referee Cologne v Mainz. He had failed to appear and his assistants found him with slit wrists in the bath. He had been a Budesliga referee for six years and was also a FIFA referee. His reason was a fear of making mistakes after constant harrowing by the media. Despite the unparalleled coverage of Gary Speed’s suicide, nothing seemed to have appeared in the British media about this and another referee attempted suicide on the continent. Was it because they felt they may have been required to look at their own unrelenting and unjustified bashing of top referees in this country? See this month’s page two article.
Those first few minutes When I started refereeing I was told that the first foul was the opportunity to stamp your authority on the game. The problem is that the first foul may not happen for some time into the game. At our November meeting Graham Scott, a National List referee from Abingdon, reminded us that there were many other firsts in a game that we can use to our advantage to show that we are in charge. A review of his excellent presentation can be found on page three.
A new Berks and Bucks Referees’ Development Officer For many, the impetus to take up refereeing is thinking that they can do a better job than the referee already blowing the whistle. In Corin Readett’s case, the referee concerned was his own brother but he does admit he was tempted by the money. Corin Readett may not be a name familiar to you, but Corin has just been appointed to a position of importance to all referees in Berks and Bucks, that of County Referees’ Development Officer. On page 6 we learn from Corin how his career in refereeing has progressed since the day he felt he could do better than his brother and what he hopes to achieve in his new position. One of his aims is to improve our web and media presence and to do this he is seeking help from all of us. He asks that we send reports of events and courses that we have enjoyed for publication. Corin can be contacted on corin.readett@berks-bucksfa.com Corin has lived in Surrey since 1997 but was born in Ipswich and still supports his home town football team, so it’s plain that loyalty is one of his qualities. As we know, John Scott’s tenure as RDO was not altogether a happy one, so we all wish every success to Corin.
Dick Sawdon Smith
SUICIDE WATCH - GIVE REFEREES A BREAK – says Dick Sawdon Smith
I keep a notebook on my bedside cabinet to record any dreams that I can still remember when I wake up. One I recorded went on to be an award winning short story, in fact the judge demanded that I convert it to a full blown novel, something I’m afraid not within my capabilities. I came across another dream that I so recorded some time ago, while looking through my old notebooks recently. A budding politician, who was a member of a fringe party, was persuaded just before an election to change parties. He ran a good campaign but it was much to his surprise that he was elected. The shock was in fact too great and he hung himself the next day. He felt that he wouldn’t be able to carry out his duties or fulfil the expectations that he had led people to believe he was capable of. It led me to wonder if this could have been a possible cause of Garry Speed’s seemingly unexplainable, tragic death. Here was a relatively young man, a successful footballing career behind him, an attractive wife and two young children and already making an excellent start in international football management; winning games with the Welsh side, which was something seemingly beyond previous, more experienced, managers. It was even expected that he might lead a Welsh side into a major tournament, the first time this would have happened in decades. Were the expectations too great to bear? Round about the same time as the footballing world was shocked by Speed’s death; there were two other suicide attempts on consecutive weekends in high level football. These were however both referees and both in continental Europe. There were as far as I know no reports of these attempts in the British press, in fact I learnt about them in the unlikely source of the New York Times online edition. Both incidents occurred just prior to their games and they were each saved by the concern of their fellow match officials, who went looking for them. There were no apparent connection between the two, one was a 41 year old German who as well as being a banker, refereed in the Bundesliga and was in fact a FIFA referee. The other, a 37 year old, was found in the bath room of the stadium where he was due to run the line at a second division game in Belgium. The Budesliga referee had received lots of criticism in the German press particularly from one newspaper who kept a running league of referees and had called him the worst referee on the league. The referee afterwards made a statement through his lawyer in which he referred to the pressure to perform, scrutiny from the media and the constant fear of making mistakes that resulted in depression that he could no longer deal with. The newspapers in Germany have reacted by reducing their constant criticism of referees and the one in particular has cancelled its weekly league table of referees’ performances. After Speed’s death the FA apparently sent letters to players advising them to get counselling if they suffered from depression, although there was no evidence that this was the cause of his death. However, seemingly oblivious of the suicide attempts on the continent, have made no such recommendation to referees or assistants. This despite the fact that referees are more scrutinised and subject to abuse, not only during a match but afterwards, in many case by people who haven’t got a clue what they are talking about. Look at BBC Match of the Day which constantly introduces their programmes with comments such as ‘.. and more contentious decisions’ as if this was its big selling point. Their highly paid pundits then pass their comments on referees’ decisions often displaying a total misunderstanding of the laws. The media should realise that referees are human too and their expectations and constant criticism of them is not to the benefit of the game.
What our speakers have said
NOVEMBER – GRAHAM SCOTT – THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES
Our guest speaker in November was Graham Scott, a National List referee from Abingdon so a Berks & Bucks referee. Graham admitted to being top of the league for the number of yellow cards issued in this season. He had played football in the Hellenic League when he sustained a back injury. He thought all the referees were rubbish so decided to take the referees’ course although he had no aspirations for a refereeing career. However, he joined the North Berks League, somewhat renowned for its tough games and as he took the field he felt exposed, am I going to be found out, he asked himself. He admitted a lack of ambition, but gradually made his way through the leagues, steady progress rather than speedily he said and he was now in his fourth year as a National List referee. He still felt he could do better after each game and for sure the assessor will always find something. Graham’s theme for the evening was the first five minutes of the game and he made the point that this part of the match control doesn’t change whatever level in which you referee. How we manage these events, will set the tone for the rest of the game.
Kick off. This is an
opportunity for you to exert your authority. Make all players
start in their own half and not just those in the centre circle.
Check the wings, players these days have a tendency to line up
like American football with several players together and they
have a habit of creeping forward before the kick is taken. Shout
at keepers to check that they are ready, it will give you a
chance to use your voice so that the players hear it and get
used to it.
First goal kick. You want to be where the ball is likely to drop of course but where is that going to be? Look at the positioning of the keeper’s forwards, that will give you some idea of his kicking abilities. Don’t slip off too wide; go where they can see you, that alone will cut out a lot of the pushing into the backs of opponents. First corner. At the first sign of pushing or holding that is so prevalent today, stop the kick and talk to the players concerned. Take up a position so you can see the maximum of players but close enough so they can hear you. In local football he suggested that it might be best to be close to the goal line but not on it.First free kick. Make sure you know where the ball is, and don’t let them kick it away. If they do, it may warrant a yellow card but even if it doesn’t, manage it by speaking to the player. Ensure the players retire the distance. Graham said that he didn’t allow quick free kicks if he had reached the spot where the kick should be taken. Let all the players know it is only to be taken on the whistle. The first verbal challenge is probably the most important. Don’t ignore it, was Graham’s advice. You have a whole range of tools in your armoury to deal with it, he said, starting with a quiet response and walking away and give them three goes before you call them out. However, if they go public with their challenge, then so should you. There is always one or two in a team that start in his experience and if they get away with it, the others will join in. There was a great amount of invaluable advice, particularly for the younger referee but the more experienced could still take a lot from this evening, for which our grateful thanks are due to Graham.
FUTURE SPEAKERS AT MONTHLY MEETINGS Stephen Green has worked hard to bring us some excellent speakers for the second half of the season. For our younger or newer members there is always a great deal of useful advice to be had from our speakers but even the ‘old hands’ can often pick up a tip or two or have some of their own good practices reinforced.
January – Phil Knight On January 19th we will be welcoming Phil Knight who is a Level 2b referee on Blue Square South, a Football League assistant referee, an FA assessor and a Level 4 referee Tutor but also, Chief Executive of Suffolk FA. Phil can look at refereeing and football from so many angles. His theme will be ‘Managing the temperature of the game’.
February – Paul Hardie Our guest speaker on 16th February will be Paul Hardie. Paul starting refereeing in the RAF qualifying in January 1975 gaining his Class 1 in 1977 whilst in Cyprus and refereed on the Cyprus National League for 3 years. Coming back home he officiated on the Western League from 1980, Isthmian League from 1988, Football League line 1984/1989, Conference Middle 1986-89. He has been a Football League Assessor since 1999. He first became a referees' instructor in 1984 and is now a level 4 Tutor. His theme will be ‘Managing Advantage’ and be prepared for plenty interaction and group activity.
March – Ray Olivier We are pleased to secure Ray Olivier for our meeting on March 10th. Ray is former Football League referee and FA Regional Referees Manager and is now Training and Development Manager for the PGMO. In other words he is responsible for the training of the Premier League referees. Anyone who has experienced a session with Ray in the past, either at the Madejski Stadium or at the National Conference, will know that we are in for a great evening.
April – Adam Watts On April 19th we look forward to Adam Watts, who is a specialist assistant referee with the Select Group on the Premier League and FIFA. He is Referees Development Officer for Worcestershire, a Level 4 referee Tutor and an FA Assessor. Adam’s reputation as a guest speaker goes before him so we look forward to a thought provoking evening.
May – Annual General Meeting Our Annual General Meeting will be held on May 17th. We are always looking for members to join the committee or take up a position within the society, Let our chairman, Stephen Green, know if you would be interested in being nominated.
TALKING POINTS Don’t forget that at every meeting, we find time to discuss any incident that a member has experienced. If you have an unusual occurrence at one of your matches or something you weren’t sure about at the time, why not bring it to a meeting. No one is going to be held up to ridicule and we can all learn from the experiences of one another.
Referee Development Officer – Berks & Bucks FA
Corin Readett qualified as a Level 7 referee in January of 2007 after watching his recently qualified brother make a right hash of a game, which he ended up abandoning. After the game, the club paid his brother £30 and Corin thought to himself, I could do a better job than that, so it would be easy money. The following year he was accepted on to the ‘double jump’ promotion scheme and accelerated through the next three levels. Level 6 in October 2008, Level 5 in March 2009 and Level 4 in April 2009. The next month was a busy one for finals, as Corin refereed the Surrey Elite League Trophy Final and ran the line at the Isthmian League Youth Cup Final, Surrey Saturday Intermediate Cup final and the Surrey Youth League Cup Final. In November 2010 he received his first Conference South Assistant Referee appointment and in May of that season he refereed the Surrey U18s Cup Final and be came the first non-level 3 to referee the Isthmian Youth Cup Final. In September 2011 he refereed an FA Cup 1st qualifying round game.
Two games stand out for Corin in his refereeing career so far. One was as an assistant referee in the Conference South passionate derby between Woking and Staines. In front of 1400 fans, he flagged for a penalty which was hotly disputed by the Staines manager but later proved correct by the DVD. The other was a referee of the Isthmian Youth Cup final, which was an end to end frantic game with a cracking winning goal on the stroke of full-time. Staines had been strong favourites having been unbeaten all season but it was Walton and Hersham who came out 2-1 victors. All games haven’t turned out that well of course but Coring says when things just don’t click for one reason or another he doesn’t like to look on these games as a negative experience. Instead he prefers to work out what went wrong to try and prevent it happening again. Like most of us he’s had games when he has thrown his kit in the corner vowing never to referee again but when this happens, he feels it is important to look forward to the next game and draw a line under the one that has gone wrong. His advice is to talk to a friend, a coach, a mentor, disassociate yourself from the game itself and come back stronger and better than before. Corin would like to referee at the highest level possible and works hard to improve his performance every time. He sets himself goals each season which he regularly reviews bearing in mind that he can only control the controllable so not to set goals that rest in the hands of others. Corin’s training experience has moved almost as fast. In October 2009 he qualified as level 1 Tutor, trained no less than by our own chairman, Stephen Green. The following year he was elected as Training Officer for Woking RA and later in 2010 he qualified as a Level 2 Tutor. In April 2011 he became an FA Registered Assessor and in December as well as becoming an FA Registered Mentor he received his appointment as Berks & Bucks FA Referee Development Officer. He believes there is an excellent workforce of referees, tutors, assessors and mentors in Berks & Bucks and his role is to develop and extend this workforce in line with the FA’s National Game Strategy and the Berks and Bucks County Development Plan. He is looking for new ideas and ways of working and would like to improve our web and media presence. We wish him well. FAIR PLAY AND CLUB ASSISTANTS AWARDS
Don’t forget that you can help select this season’s winners of our Fair Play and Club Assistants Awards, by marking the teams that you referee in the Reading (Saturday) Football League and the Reading Sunday League and the Club Assistants that help you at the games. These are not the same as the awards awarded by some leagues and are our opportunity to recognise those who make our games easier to referee. If you haven’t already got marking forms or need more, these can be obtained at monthly meetings or from Jim McDougal at jim-mcdougal@hotmail.co.uk or 9835603
In our last issue Steven Williams told us how much he had enjoyed refereeing at tournaments abroad. If this is something that is of interest to you might like to know that referees are needed for the USA Cup this year. Enquiries regarding possible attendance should be made to the UK Co-ordinator, Trevor Wing at Trevor.wing@northridingfa.com or his assistant Peter Ramsey at p.ramsey@sky.com Both have all the necessary details and application forms. To be considered the following points need to be kept in mind:
1) You must be 17 years old or over on 1st July 2) You must have been refereeing for at least one full season 3) You must have sufficient assistant refereeing experience as at least 60% of games will be on the line. 4) The organisers will be in charge of all trans-Atlantic flight arrangements. HAVE YOU ATTENDED A RESPECT PROGRAMME COURSE? Berks and Bucks FA are disappointed that more referees in the allied counties have not attended a Respect Programme course. Although this is not compulsory, it gives referee a greater understanding of what the programme involves. It is hoped to run some more courses, which only lasts one evening, to give a further opportunity to any referees who have so far not attended.
CHRISTMAS DRAW AND FUN QUIZ AT DECEMBER MEETING
At the December meeting our annual Christmas draw took place. Our thanks to all who donated prizes particularly Dave Fisher for the top prize of a holiday villa for a week. Our thanks also to all who helped with the organisation of the draw, which is vital in keeping subscriptions down. The list of prize winners can be found below.
We combined the draw with another light hearted quiz, which again was devised and conducted by Malcolm Hiller to who we owe a vote of thanks.
If you are named as a winner but have not yet received your prize then contact Ken Clark on kenclark3@btinternet.com or 0118 9665977 |
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