Six Key Factors Coaches/Assessors Should Focus On.

There are many myths and legends about referee coaches and assessors and their roles and responsibilities.  Some referees do not want to be assessed because they do not understand how an assessor or coach can help them improve.  Others resist assessment because they feel they are better than other officials and do not need to hear from someone else about any shortfalls. The majority of officials, however, want to be assessed as an important part of their drive for steady improvement.  Assessments and coaching reports can be related to continuing education in any other profession.

Similar to a referee, the referee coach/assessor has duties and responsibilities before, during and after the game. The coach/assessor should arrive at the match site approximately 15 minutes before the officiating members’ scheduled arrival to verify they were on time and had sufficient time to complete all pregame responsibilities.  It is important the coach/assessor greet the team and request permission to observe the pregame instructions.   This can be informative and insightful.  By hearing what the referee expects of the assistant referees, the coach/assessor can reflect on the pregame discussion in the feedback provided to the third team after the match. Once the pregame is completed, the coach/assessor should go to an area where the match can be observed without outside interference from spectators, bench personnel or match administrators.

During the match, the coach assessor should take notes of situations, positioning, foul recognition and other facets of the third team’s individual performances.  The notes should be abbreviated so the coach/assessor can spend more time observing the match rather than looking down to take notes.  Any note should include the time of the incident and, if necessary, where on the field it occurred.  This will assist with giving specific feedback, including positive and negative items that occur during the match.  An example of an informative, but brief, note: “At 11:35 in the first half — near halfway and touchline, hard foul by 13 green.  Good whistle and verbal warning. Good position to make decision and defuse problem.”  Such detailed information will serve as a recall for the coach/assessor during feedback.

While the assessor should be observing everything possible by the referee and assistant referees, there should be a focus on six key factors.

Positioning

Is the referee moving with dynamic play to various parts of the field or remaining on a strict diagonal?  Are the assistant referees staying with the second-to-last defender and in proper position to indicate offside?

Mechanics

Is the referee team using approved signals that are clear so all players know the decision?  Are the assistant referees stopping a run before signalling or are they still moving?  Is the whistle being used to let players know the difference between a hard foul and a normal restart?

Mobility

Is the referee physically fit and able to make a long, extended sprint during a transition of play and able to recover quickly?  In contrast, does the referee apply the “they will come back” theory and not make deep runs even when necessary?  Do the assistant referees follow every ball to the goal line?  During dynamic play, do the assistant referees have the speed to stay with play and be in proper position to indicate a ball crossing the goal line and quickly return into play?

Moment of truth

Not every match has a situation that can impact the remainder of the match.  However, if one occurs, how does the referee deal with the problem so that there is no retaliation later as a result of the particular incident?  Does the referee move to the situation quickly, separate players and speak to the players involved in a professional manner?  Does the referee immediately issue caution(s) or send-off(s) or take time to be sure of the decision to issue the cards?  How does the referee control personal emotions during the situation?  Does the referee remain professional or lose control of the situation because of emotion?  What are the assistant referees doing in the situation?  Are they observing players that are not involved to ensure there are no problems occurring away from the play?  If near the incident, is an assistant referee working with the referee to regain control or allowing emotions to make the situation worse?

Management

Does it appear the referee and assistant referees are enjoying themselves or are they struggling to complete the match?  Is the referee talking to players to assist with game control?  How is the referee dealing with any problems from bench personnel?  Is the referee letting players know when he or she is not pleased with a foul or action?

Communication

Is the third team maintaining eye contact?  Does the referee see all signals by the assistant referees and properly react to them?  Does the referee reinforce the assistant referees with a thumbs up or smile when there is a critical decision?  How are the assistant referees helping to control bench personnel?  Does the referee signal to the assistant to take a particular position on a restart and is this consistent with what was discussed during the pregame instructions?

Once the match is complete, the coach/assessor must prepare for and conduct a feedback session. Prior to meeting with the officiating team, the coach/assessor should review the notes and decide what three or four positive and negative points to stress during feedback.  The coach/assessor cannot overload the referee team with too many suggestions for improvement.  Any topics discussed should focus strictly on game situations observed.  The coach/assessor should never just provide opinions but must focus on facts.  The feedback should be a discussion among all parties involved and not just a monologue by the coach/assessor.  While the coach/assessor should not accept excuses, it’s important to listen carefully to the referee about why a decision was made and help the referee through the process.  Even if the referee does not perform well, the coach/assessor should take an approach that helps build confidence and future improvement.  Once feedback is completed, the coach/assessor should thank the team for its efforts and leave the area.

The last responsibility for the coach/assessor to complete is the written report, based on the feedback provided to the third team.  It should not include additional information the officials were not made aware of during the discussion unless advised that an incident will be checked by viewing a video clip of the match for an incident.  As part mentor, part instructor, part counsellor and sometimes more, the coach/assessor must strive to provide a positive approach that can contribute to short - and long-term improvement by every member of the assessed officiating team.

Modified and adapted from an article in Referee.com by John Van de Vaarst – January 2021

8 Ways to Keep Pre-Match Anxiety at Bay

In spite of all our assumptions about what it takes to become a competent referee, mental strength, agility, speed, balance, technical officiating skill and a robust Law knowledge, one of the most important skills that you can master is that of staying calm and composed under pressure.  Staying relaxed prior to a fixture is the secret to a high-level performance on the field of play.

You really need to know how to stay calm and relaxed in order for all those other refereeing skills to work properly and for your performance to flow smoothly, rather than tight and rigid.  If you are too nervous when training ahead of your next appointment, and especially during key fixtures that you’re officiating, then your body will become tense, your mind will be distracted, and you won’t be able to manage the game to the best of your ability. Meanwhile, it’s important to remember that mental toughness strategies are a ‘long-term’ effort, meaning they must be practiced consistently over time in order to really be effective. In this article I’m going to share with you some pre-match coping techniques that can be applied directly in the moment when you’re about to blow the first whistle and are feeling “under the cosh” so that you can stay calm and in control.

1. Reframe Negative Self-Talk

What you say to yourself prior to kick off will directly affect how nervous you become. If you are doing yourself down before a game, or after you a mistake, you will only heighten your stress and anxiety levels. Instead, make a conscious effort to interrupt the flow of negative self-talk by replacing it with a more positive or even neutral inner dialogue. You have to act as your own biggest supporter! Speak to yourself in a supportive and encouraging way, or better yet, stop speaking to yourself completely and focus on what you see in front of you, in your game and remain in the moment.

2. Focus on What You Want to Happen, Not on What You’re Afraid Will Happen

Keep your match focus on exactly how you want to officiate the game and what you want to do. If you focus on what you are afraid might happen, you will not only distract yourself, but you’ll also cause yourself further stress and anxiety. Instead, focus on the feel of perfecting your patrol paths, playing a great advantage, communicating well with players or recognising foul play and the correct sanction.

3. Concentrate on Refereeing the Game, Not on Getting Every Decision Correct

If you want to officiate to your very best level and deliver the game successfully, you must be sure that you do not obsess over getting every single decision correct.  Your focus should be on the process, not the outcome. The process is what’s going on at any given moment.  If you concentrate on the second by second, minute by minute phases of play within the game, you will actually maximise your chances of delivering the game successfully!

4. Control the Controllables

Be sure that you keep your focus on what you can actually control. Things like the weather, hostile crowds, and the attitude of players towards you and your colleagues are ‘uncontrollables,’ meaning that you can’t really do anything about them and thinking about it will only distract you and damage your performance.  But your focus, your body language and your willingness to listen to your referee coach, those are the things you can control, so put your mental energy into those things instead.

5. Let Go of Your Mistakes Quickly

Dwelling on mistakes doesn’t do you any good when you’re still in the fixture.  When you make a mistake, let it go quickly and get yourself mentally refocused as if it didn’t happen. When the match is over you can assess what happened and think about how to improve in the future, but you’ve got to put that mistake out of your mind immediately when you’re in the action because you probably still have a pretty good chance of bouncing back and getting your remaining decisions correct if you maintain your energy and concentration.

6. Tighten and Release

If you can feel tension in your arms, legs, or back before the game, a quick way to let this tension go is to deliberately tighten those tense muscles even more and then release.  Hold the tension for 10-15 seconds, then let it go.  Repeating this 2-3 times with any tight muscles will usually help you feel more relaxed and at ease within just a couple minutes.

7. Stretch

If you are mentally uptight before a game, then physically stretch! Incorporating stretches into your warmup will help you release a great deal of tension from your body while also helping to refocus your mind away from negative or unhelpful thoughts. Stretching will help you regain control both physically and mentally.  It is critical that when you do stretch physically, all of your focus should be on the feel of that stretch, entirely on what you are doing, in the moment.

8. Enjoy It

If you want to perform at your best out in the middle then remember to have fun first!  Don’t wait until you have a good performance before you allow yourself to enjoy it.  You will always referee at your best when you’re having fun because you’re genuinely engaged in the action and enjoying the process itself.  If you make the performance too serious, your muscles will tighten and your performance will suffer.  Peak performance lies right in the middle of where fun and serious come together, so aim to have a good balance of both.

Feel free to print these out and hang them on your wall or keep them in your kit bag, so that you can internalise the tactics, that’ll help you manage the event when tensions run high in the heat of the middle on matchday.

Modified and adapted from an article in The Third Team Blog by Nathan Sherratt – September 2023

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Referee Positioning at Counter-Attacks

5 things that symbolise a counter attack:

In counter-attack situations, the AR should be able to give information such as whether or not a foul has been committed and whether a foul was committed inside or outside the penalty area, and what disciplinary action should be taken.   The AR should make a clear movement along the touchline towards the halfway line to indicate when the offence took place outside the penalty area.

Yes, I believe it is very important that your assistant referee can help you.  However, as the referee you want to be able to follow play as well.  You want to be in the right position.  A Concacaf presentation I’ve seen describes it very accurately.  “Mobility = being able to get ‘somewhere’ (fitness).  Positioning = knowing where that ‘somewhere’ is.”  Football teams have to anticipate to only one other team, as the referee you need to anticipate on both.

First, it’s good to see what happens in a counter attack.  There are 5 things that symbolise the steps in a counter attack for players.

1. Recognise the developing play.  Is it on?

2. Regain possession

3. The early decision

4. Support the attack

5. The end positioning

Counter attacks for referees:

As referee you’ll have such steps as well.  There are 5 steps for referees, based on the one’s for players – and yes, they’re quite similar.

1. Recognise the developing play

2. Regain position

3. The early reaction (anticipation)

4. Follow the attack

5. The end positioning

1.  Recognize the developing play

As referee you need to be aware of your surroundings.  What happens on the pitch?  What can be the next situation you have to focus on?  You need to be able to read the game, recognise what players might do.

Check out the following image for what the referee has to notice:

There is a player who wants to prevent the keeper from releasing the ball.  Now, if you have a broader look, you will see five attackers that are even with the keeper or closer to Leicester’s goal-line.  There must be plenty of space for a counter-attack because there are less defenders from Manchester United.

2.  Regain position

The keeper gets the chance to throw the ball forward a teammate, so, they regain position.  In the image below you can see that the referee has turned his head to the player who was jumping in front of the goalie.  Keep that short, then focus on how play develops.  As you can see the referee has changed his direction already with his back to the Leicester goal.

3.  The early reaction (anticipation)

The early reaction has a lot to do with regaining position.  They might have been under the same subheading, but I would like to follow the 5 steps as mentioned previously.  What is the first thing you would do when you expect a counter-attack?  Yes, RUN!  In the image following you will see the referee is looking back to the Manchester United player.  My advice: don’t focus too much on something that happened earlier on, especially when there is no opponent near it, so you don’t have to expect any problems.

The good thing you see from image is that you see that the referee is running forward and fast.  He has anticipated on the possibility of a counter-attack.

4. Follow the attack

Once you have made that decision to go forward, you need to keep following the attack.  In the image below the number 28 has stopped to see where he can pass the ball.  This gave the referee some time to cover all the distance and he is shortly behind the ball.  However, keep in mind, a ball goes faster than you can run, so keep moving forward and follow the attack.  If the right midfield player passes the ball forward, you have a lot of metres to run to be close to the situation again.

5.  The end positioning

In the end, all you want to do is make the right decision.  So, your (end) position when something happens needs to be good.  The referee would ideally have been a bit closer to the situation compared to the image below.  He has a clear view, but could have been closer and perhaps, a tad wider (he is a little central).  In this situation Vardy scores for Leicester, but what if a defender had tackled him?

Tips for referee positioning at counter-attacks

Being in the right position is more than being able to run fast and carry out extended sprints.  You need to be able to read play and anticipate on the situation and choose your position smartly.  Following are some simple tips for anticipating counter attacks as referees:

• Do not immediately go wide and deep.  Keep behind play, not in front of the ball.  That gives you space, so it will be easier to adapt to situations.

• Create the best angle of vision.  It must be easy for you to make the right calls by moving to the left or right.

• Think ahead.  Consider the player’s passing options.  If you have an idea where the ball might go, you can anticipate on that and move already towards the position where the next challenge will be.  So be aware of players and open spaces

• Always be alert and focused.  Not just important for anticipating on counter-attacks.  If there’s a counter-attack, focus on that and ignore previous situations that are not relevant anymore. 

• Keep moving.  Don’t start running around like crazy, even walking is fine.  However, when you are on the move it’s easier to change direction or accelerate than when you are standing still.  It makes you more flexible in your movements.

How do you keep fit enough to be able to anticipate on counter-attacks?  How often do you train?  Work on your sprint techniques, anticipate, take off early for the target area and remember to always get the right angle of view (internal or external) to aid and enhance your vision of the action and your foul recognition.  If you are not as close as you should be getting a good angle of view will compensate if you are a little distance away from what play has occurred.  Remember too to keep running towards the penalty area so that when player(s) turn around or get up you are right there.

Which Type of Goals Create the Best Officiating Performancers?

Goal setting is a key part of being a referee. Many of the legendary officials, such as Pierluigi Collina, have attributed their successes to the goals they set themselves and the dedication they showed to reach them. Without a focus or something to strive for, referees can quickly lose motivation and forget their sense of purpose.

Traditionally, goals have been engineered to be specific, they are typically well-defined and outline clear objectives for the official. I’ve been delving into more recent research that looks into the effectiveness of specific goals and offers a new, potentially better way to set goals.

So, let’s take a closer look at the types of goals you can set as a referee, what we know about them, and what they can (and can’t) do for your performance on the field of play.

Specific Goals - This is probably what you think of first when you think of goal setting as an official: specific goals are clear, well-defined, and indicate clear intentions. They make for effortful and deliberate training, and can be split into three categories:

1. Specific-easier - Specific-easier goals are designed to be easily achieved. 

Whilst these can be good for increasing motivation, setting a goal that is too easy for yourself can make you too goal-oriented. This means that you won’t take the time to focus on your performance because you will be too focused on the outcome, whether it be achieving a certain time in the fitness test, achieving a certain number of appointments or earning a promotion.

When you achieve goals too easily, your performances will only improve slowly, and might even plateau altogether.

2. Specific-challenging - Specific-challenging goals aim to push you as an official but are still within your reach with some hard work and determination.

Previous research suggests that these goals are the most effective type of specific goal in improving refereeing performance: they keep officials working hard and provide a focus, helping to foster drive and motivation. As a referee, these should be the goals that you are used to setting with your coach.

3. Specific-unrealistic - Specific-unrealistic goals are arguably one of the worst types of goal you could set yourself: a goal that is not within your grasp, even if you put in all the effort you have.

For example, in tennis, a young tennis player who has only had two lessons would never set themselves the goal of playing in Wimbledon in the following year, no matter how hard they train, this is very unlikely to happen. Setting your sights too high can be really demotivating. Never getting the satisfaction of achieving that end goal despite your all in can be really deflating.

Open Goals - Open goals are still a relatively new concept, with still little research into their effectiveness. But from what we know so far, their results on performance look promising!

Open goals are a form of non-specific goal, encompassing phrases such as “see how well you can do” or “see how well you can recognise foul play.” Unlike specific goals, these are more like general statements that will point you in the right direction, and aim to create a more enjoyable and effortless training environment for you.

“Do-your-best” goals fall under the “open goal” category in that they aren’t very specific. The meaning of these goals is pretty self-explanatory: just to go out there and do your best.  They are subjective in nature, but they are not simply an open goal because they don’t involve waiting and seeing how well you do; you are going into the fixture with the intention of officiating to your very best.

Which Type of Goal Is Going to Create the Best Performance Out in The Middle? - So, what kind of goal should you set yourself to perform at your best when you cross the white line?  Let’s start with specific goals.  They have aided successful referees for many years, so, saying this type of goal is bad for performance would be a lie. However, we also know that specific goals that are too easy or unrealistic can be detrimental to motivation as well as performance.

If you want to set yourself a specific goal, you need to make it challenging.  This will ensure you stay focused and will give you something to strive for.  They also give you a sense of achievement when you eventually do reach the goal, helping you develop a sense of purpose as an official.  However, I also support the use of newly-researched “open goals” to improve refereeing performance. They are associated with increased confidence and enjoyment in officiating, potentially because they create individualised levels of challenge and difficulty. In other words, they make the task look easier and more achievable because you can base its difficulty on the goal you set yourself, if the goal is both lenient and challenging by requiring you to do your best, you won’t feel pressured to achieve certain results.  Research suggests that open goals lead to an increased sense of autonomy, meaning that they help referees feel more in control of their actions. In the long run, high autonomy generates high levels of motivation and satisfaction – and ultimately, high performance.

Final Reflections - Goal setting has the potential to make or break an official. When all is said and done, it’s important that you set goals that are in line with your objectives and that will help you become the best referee you know you can be.

We hope that by setting yourself specific-challenging as well as open goals, you will have the motivation and focus to achieve whatever you set your mind to.

Referee Communication

Communication is about more than just exchanging information. It's about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information.  Effective communication is also a two-way street. It’s not only how you convey a message so that it is received and understood by someone in exactly the way you intended, it’s also how you listen to gain the full meaning of what’s being said and to make the other person feel heard and understood.  More than just the words you use, effective communication combines a set of skills including nonverbal communication, engaged listening, managing stress in the moment, the ability to communicate assertively, and the capacity to recognize and understand your own emotions and those of the person you’re communicating with.

Effective communication is the glue that helps you deepen your connections to others and improve teamwork, decision making, and problem solving.  It enables you to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust.  Applying this stuff is not going to be easy – it’ll be simple but it will not be easy.  I firmly believe that the number one skill a referee needs to master is how to communicate, actually it maybe you understanding the power of your communications on others!

Let’s start with a list of some ways we communicate with the players, officials and spectators:

1. Whistle

2. Hand signals

3. Arm signals

4. Eyes

5. Shoulders

6. Arms

7. Kit

8. Boots

9. Facial Expressions

Okay, you may think I’m being slightly facetious with this list so let me explain them all a bit better.   I’ve started with a couple of things you would expect but then gone off at a tangent, haven’t I?  Before you and I get into this list let’s add in some other biggies!

Voice

But under voice we can add: 

• Words used  

• Decibels used 

• Tonality 

• Style

Physical Appearance

Under physical appearance we can add:

• Build 

• Fitness 

• Cleanliness 

• Hair-style

So, communication is a pretty big topic, isn’t it?  Anyway, back to the facetious list and let’s just give a quick one liner on all of the headings.

Whistle

Does your whistle still give the same sharp shrill it did when it was new?  Or is it full of spit, chewing-gum and other assorted debris?  In other words – what does you whistle say about you?

Hand signals

What are your unconscious hand signals telling the players about what you’re thinking?  Are you jabbing fingers into people’s faces or giving out submissive signals?

Arm signals

How do you stand when you’re waiting for a restart?  Are your hands on your hips?  Are your arms folded?

Eyes

Have you developed Collina eyes?  Do you roll your eyes?  Do you look players in the eyes when you’re talking to them?

Shoulders

An enthusiastic person has different shoulders to a person who has depression.  What are your shoulders saying throughout the game?

Arms

When you’re talking to a player are you an animated lunatic or do your arms help to create a vision of calm composure?

Kit

Was your kit bought for a different shape than you?  Was it bought for another era?

Boots

Are your boots ship-shape and shiny at the beginning of a match or do they tell the players you don’t give a stuff?

Facial Expressions

Do your facial expressions give away what you’re thinking or how tired your body is?  I have started with a little humour that may not be that funny but communication is very important for a referee.  Let us be things into context:

Make audible use of the whistle to start, stop and restart the game

If you are going to blow your whistle then mean it!  A loud whistle conveys that you have confidence in your decision and also means that the majority of players hear it.  Use a strong whistle right from calling the captains over for the coin toss through to the end of the game.

Vary the tone of the whistle in order to denote the severity of the offence

The style of whistle for any given free kick can be used to indicate how bad the challenge is and also set the players’ expectations about what is going to happen next, which may prevent a confrontation – as the players will know you have recognised the severity of the foul.  A careless foul will just need a short blast of the whistle, whereas a reckless or very reckless challenge needs a louder, longer blast – increasing with the recklessness of the challenge.  After a long, loud blast following a reckless challenge for which the offender is subsequently cautioned, there is likely to be less response or argument from other players as you’ve already communicated early, just via the style of whistle, that a caution was likely.  For challenges using excessive force then the strong whistle will need to be followed up if there is a danger that the player offended against or their teammates are going to react.

Use appropriate signals to indicate ownership of the next phase of play

This really means directional signals that let the teams know who is going to be taking the restart for throw-ins and free kicks.  This also applies to indicating goal kicks and corner kicks.

Signal clearly and decisively, indicating direction and controlling position as necessary

Where necessary provide visual guidance over the position of the restart of play via free kicks and throw-ins (providing you have the attention of the player taking the free kick / throw).  Make arm signals firm and as per 

the guidance in the Laws of the Game book.  Lax signals suggest a lack of confidence in the decision being signalled and will be challenged by players who may sense weakness.

Make use of referee signals set out in the Laws of the Game, such as advantage, indirect free kick or use of red or yellow cards

A referee should be aware of these signals; the important thing to do is remember to show them.  Differentiate between direct and indirect free kicks, signalling with a straight vertical arm for indirect free kicks and holding the signal as required.

Display positive body language that indicates both confidence and enjoyment

Stand up straight and move around the field in a purposeful manner, and where possible smile!

Make use of preventative communication such as effective use of voice to help avoid trouble or using a short strong blast of the whistle to control potential conflict between players

Fouls can be prevented by warning players before the offence is committed.  Such examples might be at a corner where you see one player pushing another before the ball is played in and you can shout a warning over to stop the pushing.  Another example is where a player is shielding the ball from an opponent and you can just see that an opponent is getting impatient and may well go through the back of them to get the ball and you can warn them to be careful or stay on their feet.  When you can see a niggle developing between two players then a quiet word to let them know that you know what’s going on may well nip it in the bud before the situation escalates.  If the quiet word fails to work with two players in conflict, then calling them over for a public word, at the next break in play. would be the next step to take.

Converse with players calmly and effectively, making use of the quiet word or being seen to have a firmer word or take disciplinary action when required

Conversations with players have to be two-way. Players will often repeat their view several times without saying anything different when trying to put their point across in a conversation and then move away before you get a chance to respond.  Remind players that a conversation is two-way, if needed, and they need to give you an opportunity to speak first or respond (depending upon the situation).  Don’t rush communication if the player is wound up, as taking a few moments will give the player time to calm down (hopefully).  The way that you communicate with a player sends a message to the other players.  A message that only needs to be heard by the player you wish to speak to can be delivered in passing whereas a player you want to give a formal warning to should be isolated during a break in play and calmly spoken to, without any other players interfering.  This kind of public word is a good step before having to caution a player, if they have committed a strong careless challenge, shown dissent or are beginning to become a persistent offender.  Taking aside a player for a word should not be used as a substitute for an obvious caution.

Respond to players’ questions within the context of the game, being calm and polite but maintaining authority and taking the opportunity to enhance control

Players appreciate a referee to whom they can speak, but differentiate between general queries and players who are asking perverse queries to try and catch you out or ask a “question” that is actually dissent.  It’s usually possible with a bit of experience to work out to which players you can speak and which you can’t.  It is unwise to persist with small talk or quiet words with a player that is wound up or uncommunicative.

The Five Top Challenges for Referees

The role of a referee is highly pressured, many people would argue.  Officials’ decisions are scrutinised at all levels by players, club officials, spectators, and pundits.  At grassroots level, pundit’s views, thankfully, don’t come into the equation however players, club officials, spectators, get passionately involved in matches and their frustrations often spill over which can provide challenges for referees.  An official’s role can be very difficult, below I share my top 5 challenges:

Match Control

To what extent can we control or influence a game we’re refereeing?  What factors can’t we control?  How much control should we strive for?  Should we let things be as they are?  Let’s look at the uncontrollable variables, this is where we, as officials, have no control over or cannot influence the outcome in our favour.  Such variables are, the weather condition, playing teams, the venue, spectators, how much time left in the game or to some extent, our colleagues.  The list of things not in our control are endless.

Conversely, let’s consider what we can control, which is ‘US’ more specially our Attention and our Focus. Attentional control relates to how a referee can focus awareness onto the environmental stimuli that are most relevant during the task.  The process of attending selectively to the most important cues involve concentration.

• Becoming self-aware of the controllables vs. uncontrollables – Make two lists.  One list should be the controllables, which are those factors officials can do something about.  The other list should be the uncontrollables, which are the elements of performance referees cannot do anything about.

• Create a “What if” plan, this can help prepare you for any obstacles or challenges you may encounter in the ever-changing, fast-paced, unpredictable environment of the field of play.  Address the things you really fear in the game.  Just list them all. Then address them one by one, asking yourself, is it controllable or not and if it happens I will….

• Concentration cues, highlight and develop a list of correct cues officials should be focussing on when following and off the ball.  Use trigger words or short phrases to reinforce specific concentration cues for a task or skill i.e. “drop back” or “run towards the corner flag”.

• Incorporate simulation pressure games or drills to train positive responses to adversity (e.g. Use time pressure, making a decision on a Key Match Decision (KMD) or bad movement and positioning etc.).

Dealing With Unexpected Challenges

Conditions aren’t always perfect on a matchday.  Rain, excessive heat, poor pitch condition, partisan fanbases and facilities unfit for purpose are just a few things that can steal your focus prior to heading out into the middle.  It is more than likely that you have refereed a game where an unexpected incident occurred.  Did it knock you off your game?  Maybe it took you away from concentrating on the next set of decisions you needed to make, or perhaps you were unable to regain your focus and, consequently, your performance suffered for the remainder of the fixture.

The challenge for many officials is that they, too often, prepare for smooth-running events, expecting everything to go according to plan.  While there may be ideal conditions for refereeing, they come few and far between.  Something unexpected will happen in most games, there will always be a bump in the road somewhere over the course of the 90 minutes, if not several bumps.  But an unexpected incident does not need to be an unfortunate incident so long as you prepare for the unexpected.

Most officials do not plan for the unexpected, incorrectly assuming that this encourages difficult conditions. There is nothing further from the truth.  Top referees mentally prepare for some unexpected events, thus, training their minds to cope with distractions and adapt to circumstances.   To overcome this challenge, create some ‘if/then’ scenarios. For example, “If a player makes a serious foul play tackle and I am surrounded before I have time to go through my discipline procedure, then I will pause, take a deep breath, bring the situation under control and then re-focus on the first thing I needed to do.”  After you have some scenarios created, rehearse them in practice. Have a colleague cause a distraction, then perform your re-focusing strategy.

The Rise In Referee Abuse  

First and foremost, officials are human beings and a great many of them are actually children!  Whether they are 14 or 60 years old, they are living, breathing, impressionable and they have feelings.    We seem to recognise this 

in the classroom or workplace when we call them “students” and “co-workers”.  The best teachers and senior leaders in industry set their agendas with patience, support and encourage them with constructive feedback and praise, and create a safe development environment where they are allowed to make mistakes and fail, because it is widely accepted that this is how you learn.  You learn the most from making mistakes and failures.

So, what happens when at the end of the working day and the “students” and “co-workers” are now called a referee?  Unfortunately, every week I hear stories of what my clients are experiencing in their fixtures.  They are yelled at and called disgusting names by players, club officials and spectators (some of whom are parents of children who are playing) for making mistakes and perceived as failing, using language that, if used in any workplace, would result in the sack.  They are demeaned and humiliated by players, club officials and spectators in front of all in attendance, another sanctionable behaviour were it to take place in a professional environment.  These players and club officials “lead” by using intense fear and intimidation, creating an unsafe environment that sabotages the development of match officials, kills match control and creates performance problems, again behaviours that would be a case of gross misconduct in any school or office in the land!  As a player or club official you are a role model/leader playing a game refereed by a human being who deserves to be respected and treated with dignity.

I will often hear that this conduct is only from one or two clubs.  Along with this, I will frequently hear that these targeted officials are simply “too sensitive,” not tough enough and/or are really the problem in the game.  So, by that reckoning, if a player or club official only targeted one or two referees to swear at and humiliate, then this would be ok, especially if the targeted officials were “too sensitive?”  It’s my understanding that in football leagues, there is a zero-tolerance policy for referee abuse.

In all of my years of experience working with a great deal of officials I know the following to be true: Bullying, demeaning and humiliating referees does not create mental toughness or peak performance in them.  Rather, it makes officials anxious and physically tight, distracts them from the important task of controlling the fixture, kills their motivation and enjoyment of the refereeing, shuts down the learning process and generates performance problems like apprehension, slumps and mental blocks!  This kind of behaviour from players or club officials never gets the best out of the officials.

I know that when referee abuse does happen, it makes administrators and some referee managers/coaches uncomfortable.  If you speak to officials of any level or league in the world, aged 14 to 60, you will hear these unpleasant stories.  Referees know the difference between good and bad conduct because they’ve either observed it or experienced it directly.  However, as adults, in particular: players, club officials and spectators, we need to stand up and protect officials, especially referees under the age of 18, from abuse and call it what it is!  Until we do, a negative culture will continue to focus on winning at all costs, at the terrible expense of abusing referees, particularly those who are children.

Maintaining The Safety Of Referees - The Threat To Grassroots Officials

When grassroots football was given the green light to recommence, following the outbreak of Coronavirus, in August 2020, a resentment from players and club officials towards officials was clear for many referees to see.  Data showed a clear spike in verbal and physical assaults towards match officials in the first two months after football had returned compared to the previous two months (pre-pandemic) where active football was played.  What was the real cause of this downturn in conduct and lack of respect towards referees?  Was it pent up anger and rage at being denied the opportunity to play football for so long?

One of the most notable cases during this period was that of Satyam Toki, a, 28-year-old referee who was left bleeding after being hit by a footballer he had sent off for foul language at a game in Acton, Ealing, London, on 9th August 2020.  Officials from around the country looked on in horror as the video clip of this vicious assault was disseminated across referee forums and on social media. The player who committed the assault received just a warning from police after, initially, being given a 10-year ban by the local football association.  Police say they issued the caution after careful consideration, but Toki believes there is an element of racial discrimination to the decision as attacks on white officials have led to assault charges and court proceedings.

Toki stated it sends out the wrong message about protecting officials: “This was an unprovoked attack and I don’t really know why the police have come to this decision.  I was injured above my eye and my kit was covered in blood.  I believe they haven’t done their job properly.  There have been incidents in the past where they have taken individuals to court.  I didn’t want to mention it but it feels like discrimination against me.  If something had happened against a white official, would it have been taken more seriously?” – Satyam Toki, FA Referee

Further outrage from Toki’s assault ensued when, upon appeal, the perpetrator of the vicious attack had his FA playing ban reduce by half, to five years.  This left many referees feeling incredibly uneasy about going out to officiate at a time when Toki’s assault was on the front and back pages and there was a multitude of other attacks taking place, such as another in the same week which left a referee with a perforated ear drum.  Many officials said it did not sit right with them that criminals were being allowed to play again sooner, with a groundswell of opinion amongst referees that assaults on match officials should lead to a lifetime ban from football before a referee is killed, as was the case in Holland where 41-year-old Richard Nieuwenhuizen was kicked to death by six teenagers and the father of one of the boys, when operating as an assistant referee.

The Threat To Elite Level Officials

The impact and threat of violence is not exclusive to grassroots level football however. On 8th February 2021 Premier League referee, Mike Dean felt he had no other option than to ask to not be involved in any Premier League games the following game week after he was targeted with online death threats alongside members of his family.  The mental effects of being in the public eye and fearing for your safety by having to second guess your every move, are immeasurable.  The fact that referees are simply human beings, who by nature make mistakes, is often lost on players, spectators and club officials who often see a badge on a black kit and fail to recognise the person with thoughts feelings at emotions behind the kit.

The head of Mike Dean’s employer, the Professional Games Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), Mike Riley said: “Threats and abuse of this nature are totally unacceptable and we fully support Mike’s decision to report these messages his family received to the police; nobody should be a victim of abhorrent messages like this.  Online abuse is unacceptable in any walk of life and more needs to be done to tackle the problem.” – Mike Riley, Managing Director, PGMOL (2009-23)

Pre-Match Preparation

Consistent preparation prior to blowing the first whistle in a game is a key influence on the actual performance that you deliver on the field of play.  From a mental perspective it’s worth remembering: Consistent preparation = consistent performance.  Knowing that your pre-match preparation has such consistency to it that you’ll always deliver yourself across the white line in absolutely the ideal mental state to perform, is a great element of your performance armoury.  Consider the position of strength you’ll be in knowing no matter what the circumstances, conditions, venue, or playing teams, you’ll always be mentally 100% ready to deliver everything that’s available to you on any given day.  You can see how ultimately that the more challenging the circumstances you faced, the more confident you’d become that you’d be able to deliver more effectively than your colleagues.

There is no guarantee that you’ll wake up on the morning of your appointment feeling absolutely 100% or that the conditions you’ll be face will be 100% ideal.  Therefore, knowing that even if this is the case, you’ll be able to go through your tried and tested pre-match routine, will bring a great sense of confidence and control to you.

So, what’s your current level of confidence in your pre-match routines?

• Are you leading in your consistency of mental preparation?

• Has your consistency of pre-match mental preparation reached a peak or are you still improving in terms of the level of control you achieve every fixture that you officiate?

• Is there any chance that colleagues prepare better than you in the lead up to matchday and deliver themselves out to the middle more ready to referee and more likely to deliver relative to their potential?

Begin With The Start in Mind

• How do you know your pre-match routine works for you?  Consider the following questions:

• What is your ideal mindset?

• How do you like to be feeling?

• What do you know you need to be thinking about?

• How does this critical period set you up to get into the mental rhythm of officiating that you need?

• How often would you say you get the ingredients absolutely 100% spot on for you?

If you know the answers to the questions, then the next question to consider is: “How confident are you that you can create this mindset, these feelings and thoughts every time, through your pre-match build up?” 

The more confident you can be that you’ll always be standing on the pitch completely focused on the right way to deliver a great performance, the more you’ll know you’re going to produce a great performance every time you have a flag or whistle in your hand. No hoping and wishing – just knowing!

Final Reflections

Currently, the FA provide a heavy emphasis on educating referees with a lot of support for technical areas such as positioning and decision making on the pitch, as well as maintaining control of matches.

However, only a small percentage of time is spent looking at the psychological side of refereeing, which is hugely important.  An example of this is when you are having a good game as an official, everything is going smoothly, technically you are doing well, then there are a few heated moments between players.  A player suffers an injury as a result of a bad tackle, tempers get frayed.  All of a sudden, as a referee you then become centre of attention because you have to make an important decision which leaves one team unhappy with you.  This can then escalate during a game where you are threatened by a club official, players or spectators.  As an official you need to be able to put that to the back of your mind, as it can throw you off your game and you can then lose control of the match. It can easily become a disaster for you, if you are not focused and it can go on to affect you for a few days afterwards.

Therefore, I feel there is a huge need to help referees of all levels to develop psychological and leadership skills by looking at:

• How they prepare for matches

• How they react to different difficult situations encountered in matches

• How they assert themselves

• How they maintain their confidence levels

• How they respond to criticism

• How they reflect on their performances

• How they switch off after matches

Challenging The Acceptance of Referee Abuse

There are so many fantastic referees at all levels of our wonderful world game.  Referee managers and coaches have to constantly deal with abuse of their officials.   This are needs to be addressed as it is not going away.

First and foremost, officials are human beings and a great many of them are actually children!  Whether they are 14 or 60 years old, they are living, breathing, impressionable and they have feelings.  We seem to recognise this in the classroom or workplace when we call them “students” and “co-workers”.  The best teachers and senior leaders in industry set their agendas with patience, support and encourage them with constructive feedback and praise, and create a safe development environment where they are allowed to make mistakes and fail, because it is widely accepted that this is how you learn.  You learn the most from making mistakes and failures.

So, what happens when at the end of the working day and the “students” and “co-workers” are now called a referee?  Unfortunately, every week I hear stories of what referees are experiencing in their fixtures.  They are yelled at and called disgusting names by players, club officials and spectators (some of whom are parents of children who are playing) for making mistakes and perceived as failing, using language that, if used in any workplace, would result in the sack.  They are demeaned and humiliated by players, club officials and spectators in front of all in attendance, another sanctionable behaviour were it to take place in a professional environment. These players and club officials “lead” by using intense fear and intimidation, creating an unsafe environment that sabotages the development of match officials, kills match control and creates performance problems, again behaviours that would be a case of gross misconduct in any school or office in the land!  As a player or club official you are a role model/leader playing a game refereed by a human being who deserves to be respected and treated with dignity.

I will often hear that this conduct is only from one or two clubs.  Along with this, I will frequently hear that these targeted officials are simply “too sensitive,” not tough enough and/or are really the problem in the game.  So, by that reckoning, if a player or club official only targeted one or two referees to swear at and humiliate, then this would be OK, especially if the targeted officials were “too sensitive?” It’s my understanding that in football leagues, there is a zero-tolerance policy for referee abuse

In all of my years of experience, coaching and working with many officials, I know the following to be true: Bullying, demeaning and humiliating referees does not create mental toughness or peak performance in them.  Rather, it makes officials anxious and physically tight, distracts them from the important task of controlling the fixture, kills their motivation and enjoyment of the refereeing, shuts down the learning process and generates performance problems like apprehension, slumps and mental blocks!  This kind of behaviour from players or club officials never gets the best out of the officials.  I know that when referee abuse does happen, it makes administrators and some referee managers/coaches uncomfortable.

If you speak to officials of any level or league in the world, aged 14 to 60, you will hear these unpleasant stories. Referees know the difference between good and bad conduct because they’ve either observed it or experienced it directly.  However, as adults, in particular: players, club officials and spectators, we need to stand up and protect officials, especially referees under the age of 18, from abuse and call it what it is!  Until we do, a negative culture will continue to focus on winning at all costs, at the terrible expense of abusing referees, particularly those who are children.

The Value Of Emotional High and Lows In An Official’s Journey

Traditionally, referees are taught that the lows of officiating are something that should be minimised.  The reality is that these tough times are part and parcel of the referee’s journey and are critical to their overall development.

At first, it might be tricky to see why going through the lows of officiating is a good thing, but I’m here to clear up the misconceptions.  Here is an overview of why referees need to experience emotions at both ends of the spectrum, and how you can support your officials in their times of strife as a coach or referee manager.

Why Do Referees Need Emotional Highs in Their Officiating Careers?

Lots of the benefits of highs in refereeing are pretty intuitive, when officials do well, it makes them feel good. However, these benefits go even deeper than simply lifting a referee’s spirits:

Keeping the referee motivated

When things go right, it fills an official with a surge of positive emotions, making them want to keep striving for greater achievements.  When these successes evoke these feelings, it makes referees fall in love with officiating all over again.  This keeps them intrinsically motivated, refereeing because they enjoy it.  Intrinsic motivation is associated with better performance and higher retention levels, so experiencing the highs of officiating is undoubtedly something to encourage.

Referees also tend to feel on a high after earning promotions and appointments to cup finals.  This keeps them more extrinsically motivated, where they want to succeed to get a tangible reward.   The only danger here is that officials can become too ego-orientated, meaning that they focus too much on the outcome and less on the process they took to get there. It’s important to celebrate the successes, but also to provide the same reaction to the little wins during training, such as when they beat their personal bests.  This will lift the mood of a referee and keep them constantly aiming for improvement.

Increasing self-confidence

When officials succeed, it increases their confidence because they have proven that they are capable of achieving great things.  Research has shown that with high self-confidence comes greater performance, as it leads to better decision making.  Also, a more confident referee is usually a happier official because they don’t feel insecure or doubtful about their abilities.  In this way, riding the highs of refereeing is extremely beneficial for not only an official’s performance, but their mental health.

Increasing self-esteem

Self-esteem is different to self confidence in that it refers to how a referee feels about themselves.  Good performances provide them with a huge self-esteem boost, and in a similar way to self-confidence, this increases performance.  Feeling good about oneself is also crucial to ensure good mental health, which is yet another reason why experiencing the highs of officiating is beneficial for referees.  Performing at a high level can come with all sorts of pressures, so it’s important that officials can use these positive moments to remain happy and keep them in love with refereeing.

Why Do Referees Need Emotional Lows in Their Officiating Careers?

Although most officials try their best to minimise the negatives within refereeing, many who have reached an elite level have benefitted from significant challenges throughout their journey.  Here’s how:

Building resilience

A recent overview by leading resilience researchers has suggested that in order to build resilience, the training environment needs to be high in not only support, but also challenge.  If officials are given too much support and don’t face enough challenges, they are at risk of becoming complacent and unable to handle failure, which can easily become a problem later down the line.  A fascinating paper revealed what could happen if young referees are not challenged enough in the early stages of their careers.  When the officials were eventually promoted, they found it really difficult to adapt to a more difficult level of football and took poor performances very hard.

Transitions to higher sporting levels are more likely to be successful if a referee is given enough resources to pick themselves back up after a poor performance. In this case, these resources will come from experiencing mistakes and errors early on, and thus learning how to cope.

Giving feedback greater weight

When we feel low, it promotes more detailed reflection because we overthink about what we’ve done wrong. From an official’s perspective, this means that any feedback they receive on corrections will be more deeply processed, because they tend to think a lot about what didn’t go to plan.  When things go wrong, it allows you to target feedback towards improvement, rather than simply stating what went well. In the long run, feedback aimed at fixing the mistakes will be more beneficial to performance.

Correcting the perception of ability

The aforementioned study about young referees reported that the officials felt under pressure to perform as well at a higher level, as they did when they were in lower down the pyramid, where they never really had a bad game.  At face value, these referees looked like top officials because they were rarely challenged.  However, they were really only success because they were never getting pushed, and so didn’t know how to handle a poor performance.  The pressure to perform well under more difficult circumstances is enough to hinder performance, never mind the fact that the officials were not truly aware of their level of ability, and so had reached a plateau in their performance.

When Do the Emotional Lows Become a Problem?

Different individuals will have different emotional responses to different situations.  This means that they will have different ways of thinking when they are in that low state, and for some referees, getting out of this state isn’t very easy.  The lows become an issue when they massively outweigh the highs, and the stress of officiating becomes too much.  This will have damaging effects on both the performance and mental health of the referee.

Referees need long-term management of their emotional states to avoid becoming overwhelmed with stress and pressure.  So, how can you help yourself and your officials get out of a rut when this happens?  There are lots of ways you can help yourself and your referees put a positive spin on the low moments, helping them to thrive under whatever conditions they are working in.

Offer constructive feedback on performance

As we touched on earlier, negative valence may promote more detailed reflection.  As a coach or referee manager, you can take this opportunity to provide constructive feedback, because it will be processed on a deeper level.  Whilst positive feedback has been thought to be highly memorable and lift mood, it often has limited impact on performance.  Think about if you were only told what you did well, yes, you would continue to do these things well, but you would not improve any further because you haven’t been given anything to improve on.  

However, it’s important to recognise the severity of yours and your officials’ moods, because negative feedback might make them feel even worse and decrease their confidence. If this is the case, a little positive feedback could be exactly what the referee needs to hear.

Offer a listening ear

There’s an old saying that goes “we have two ears and one mouth for a reason.”  Just by being someone your officials can offload their worries to could make a huge difference to their mood.  

In this instance, feedback and advice might not be needed. By simply being there for your referee to talk to, they will feel understood and as though they have been heard.

Final Reflections

It’s important to recognise that creating a successful official shouldn’t be about maximising the highs and minimising the lows, but about teaching your referees that both are equally important in helping them develop along their career.

By using these tips to help your officials to cope with the lows, I have no doubt that they will thrive in fixtures and perform like the great referee they are. Remember to celebrate the highs too, enjoying every moment of their successes.

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