Advice (some tongue in cheek) to those starting to referee in the wonderful Liverpool & District Society area
The following pages form advice intended for new referees. It has been written by an experienced referee (not me!) and is given in good faith. Whilst it may not represent the views of other referees or even of the executive committee it may be helpful for those just starting out. Please feel free to follow it (or ignore it) as you see fit!
The comments apply to matches at junior level (i.e. anything below league fixtures).
"Forget talk of 30 magnificently honed athletes running out onto immaculate turf one minute before kick-off, this is what actually happens at the lower levels:"
Appointments
You will be able to view a list of fixtures prior to the start of each month via this site. If you cannot fulfil one of your fixtures, contact the Appointments Secretary (Len Galey) immediately, except during the week leading up to the fixture, when you should contact the Re-appointments Secretary.
It is the responsibility of the home club to contact you 96 hours before the match (or Thursday evening at the latest). If the fixture is in doubt, they should still contact you (but some won’t). If they leave a voice message/ email, ring back to confirm.
It is up to you as to whether you contact the club if they cannot be bothered to contact you. I once wasted 3 hours on a Friday evening trying to contact a club and swore I would never do it again: however, I usually do – referees are silly like that.
If you do not bother to contact the club in these circumstances, the Society will support you, as I said it is up to the club to contact you. I travel a lot, and often get back late on a Friday evening – who wants to chase a club at that time if they cannot be bothered to contact you?
They are not above kidology – several years ago our chairman at the time was due to assess me at a club, but I did not turn up.He rang me to find out what had happened: ‘they told me they left a message on your answerphone’. ‘Yes, , at quarter past two on Saturday afternoon, saying ‘where are you?’’.
It was not their first offence and they got a very shirty letter from the society.
Whatever happens, do not travel unless first contacted by the club: if it is a ‘dicey’ fixture (i.e. you know one of the clubs is struggling for players, or it’s an International weekend and the away side has a long trip) ring again to check on Saturday: if it’s a long trip for you, make sure they have your mobile number, so they can ring you if the away side cancel at the last minute (it happens, believe me).
If a club rings to cancel, contact the re-appointments secretary, they may have another fixture available – in the past I have received a re-appointment as late as 1:00 pm on Saturday.
Kit
Make a kit list, pin it on the wall wherever you keep your kit bag (under the stairs, whatever) Boots, socks, shorts, jock, shirts (two), law book, towel, soap/ shampoo, whistle, pencils, something to write score on, nail scissors, spare studs, spare bar of soap + anything else YOU consider essential (I always carry the RFU and County handbook but that may be excessive :) ) I know these seem obvious, but you would be amazed how many referees (occasionally) forget something: my worst (so far) was no shorts. A senior referee recently turned up to a match with no kit bag: you can usually borrow kit, but it puts you in an awkward situation. Only ask the players as a last resort, try an official at the home club first (assuming one is present).
I recently went to Wallasey with a red shirt and a green shirt - I had refereed them not long before, and on that occasion they wore White mainly .A last minute switch of fixture meant they played another side, who wear red. Sadly Wallasey had decided to wear their spare kit which is guess what ? red.
At least the referee had a change of shirt. The lesson ? always take two shirts, because you cannot guarantee that what the players will be wearing is what it says in the handbook (many clubs have different 1st XV kit to the rest of their teams).
Always (ALWAYS) turn up with clean, pressed kit (including shorts) and clean boots.
Also, make sure you are clean and pressed i.e. no two day stubble, decorating clothes because you dropped a paintbrush and ran out of the door to referee etc.
I am one of the scruffiest people in Christendom but I have never worn jeans to go to referee, nor should you. On the other hand, don’t turn up looking like a rhinestone cowboy ! smart and sober is what is needed (I know, boring).
First impressions count, so look the part.
Pack your bag as soon as your kit is ironed, that way you won’t be running around on Saturday looking for your socks/ whatever (you’re a referee now, not a player).
Check the bag against the list, then you can relax for the rest of the week. Of course you will need to keep law book out for nightly study…...snore
Keep a spare whistle in the glove box of your car, that way you will avoid the ultimate referee’s embarrassment of having no whistle: buy an Acme Thunderer for your whistle – no other will do. Tie a piece of coloured tape to your whistle for two reasons, firstly to wrap around your wrist so that you don’t drop it and secondly, if you have to put it into your pocket whilst dealing with an injury and it then falls out, you (or the players) can easily spot it.
Get a decent stopwatch, avoiding those where the controls sit proud of the face, otherwise players will bump into you and stop it by accident ! On the subject of timekeeping, always note the actual time when you start a half, then you won’t play 50 minutes because the stopwatch function has failed, or you forget to re-start it after an injury (we’ve all done it, many times).
Going to a match
Aim to arrive at least 60 minutes before scheduled Kick Off (I aim for 90) – you have a lot to do in that 60 minutes. Allow normal journey time + 5 minutes for short distances, +10 minutes for longer distances, that way you won’t arrive flustered by a short delay. If going to a club you have never been to before, leave plenty of time. Most clubs are easy to find, use the web site if you need a map.
Take the number of the clubhouse with you (if known, the handbook is useful for this), then you can call if delayed unexpectedly by traffic.
If you arrive unavoidably late, don’t stick to original KO time, find both captains and inform them of new time: allow yourself minimum 20 minutes to prepare / calm down, or you will have a ‘stinker’.
Upon arrival/ getting things organised
Appear businesslike and confident when you arrive: if you aren’t familiar with the clubhouse, ask firmly and confidently for the referees changing room.
Before changing, find the dressing rooms (home team first): if the door is shut, knock and wait: if no reply, knock again and go in. Introduce yourself to the captain, you have some information to impart to him, and you need to get some from him. Remember, these are for junior (non-league) games.
Questions I have heard of:
1) has he got 15 players ? after a while you will cease to be amazed how many ‘good’ 2nd XVs turn up without 15 players, especially away from home.
2) has he got any substitutes ?
3) has he got an experienced front row ? plus a fourth (not necessarily a sub, they may be playing 2nd row)
4) has he got a touch judge ? if not, but he has got substitutes, tell him to appoint one as the touch judge (don’t ask, tell): find out if they will need instruction on what to do.
5) Will the team come back in after warm up for a final ‘bonding session’ ? (or will the effort of simply getting out on to the pitch be too much for some of the players: when I recently asked this question of Wallasey 2nds, their skipper gave me a sideways look and said ‘You’re not from round here, are you ref’): if the pitch is some way from the clubhouse (e.g. Waterloo) this won’t be an issue.
6) Ask if any issues - if the skipper starts telling you about health problems of players (‘our tight head had a heart attack last week’), stop him: they are not part of your responsibility.
7) In response to any unusual requests from either team, if you are in any doubt DO NOT ALLOW IT (‘just say no’). After such a request I once allowed a woman to play (she was easily the best player on the park). DON’T GO THERE !!
It is not your responsibility to ‘even up’ if sides have different numbers, but suggest it if say, 12 against 15.
Having spoken to the skipper, whilst still in the changing room I then address the rest of the players (others may do this differently)
1) Ask to see any shoulder padding/ head guards. It’s quite simple, if it hasn’t got the IRB sticker they don’t wear it: do not accept any argument on this one. Make a mental note of any kit you ban, and check player again just before kick off: if still wearing it, warn them they will be sent off if found wearing it after kick off.
2) Advise players about how you will inspect studs (I do them on the pitch, just before kick off *, but I tell them I will ‘pre-inspect’ at any time before then if they want). You may be happy to inspect studs in the changing rooms, I am not: I used to work with a bloke who played 2nd row for one of the Manchester sides: he openly admitted to having two pairs of boots, one for the referees inspection and one with rugby league studs for putting on once the referee had left the room. If you inspect on the pitch, they can’t do that.
*when starting to do league fixtures, take advice on handling this one.
Be authoritative, but approachable: answer any questions clearly, making sure the skipper has heard both question and answer if from another player. Make sure that your language/ tone of voice / body language is positive (but not aggressive) – let them know that YOU are in charge, without being bolshie. This sort of thing comes naturally to teachers and policemen, the rest of us have to learn it.
After changing/ pre match
Inspect the pitch, including flags, lines and post protectors. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the pitch, find the home skipper immediately and inform him, telling him what you want done to resolve the problem. If this means a delay, inform away skipper. Check in-goal area - if you feel it is short, warn the away side before kick off. Warn players about any unusual features of the pitch and how it will affect the match:
I recently refereed with no subs, no spectators, no touch judges, long grass and (almost) no lines – and this was a first team match ! The players accepted (they always do) that decisions regarding touch were likely to be somewhat arbitrary.
It is up to you, but if there are no touch judges, I do not allow quick throw-ins – warn the players before the match.
Before going out on to the pitch for the final time, check you have watch, whistle, cards etc (don’t do as an experienced Liverpool Referee did and realise that you have left your cards in the dressing room as you are about to start an important match - he was refereeing a Cheshire Cup match).
Begin warm up.
At this point I talk to the front rows, others may do it in the changing room.
If players are outside, warn teams when minimum 8 minutes to kick off: if they want to go back inside, tell them they have 5 minutes. Use this 5 minutes to give instruction to touch judges on what to do (if they don’t know).
Finish warm up.
Ensure both teams are on the pitch 3 minutes before kick off: check studs (including subs, but check again when they come on to the pitch).
I do the toss on the pitch, immediately before kick off, because I consider it to be part of the match: however, for league games, do the toss in the clubhouse.
Immediately before kick off, count players on the pitch (captain will often have this wrong, amazingly I find the commonest is starting with 14 but with subs on the side).
The match
Make sure you get everything right first time, the first tackle, scrum and line-out – if you do, the rest of the match will be that much easier. Tell the players what you want (‘front rows, spines in line’ etc.). If you are not happy with the first scrum or line-out, re-set it until you are – this sends a clear message to the players that you know what is required, and that you expect them to do it properly.
Remember that the word scrum is derived from ‘skirmish’, an old fashioned word for a punch-up: referee accordingly.
At lines-out an old tip is to make a mark on the 5 metre line, along the line-of-touch. Tell the two guys at the front that you will do this for every line-out, and that you want them at least half a metre off that mark. Do it every time, or they will ask you for it !
Towards the end of the first half, make an assessment of the fitness level of the players – experience should teach you this – especially the front rows. Following changes to the laws, the ball is now in play 50% more than it was 10 years ago, but fitness at the lower levels of the game have not improved one jot. If you think the players are unfit, play 35 minute halves, or the scrums may be unsafe at the end. At the start of the season, or if is very hot I only play 35s anyway – and the players are always grateful ! Be especially vigilant at the start of the second half, for some reason there is often a flare-up just after half time at the lowest levels, especially in close games – I have not found this problem with better quality games.
If they have subs on the touchline, warn skippers when there are 20 minutes to go so that they have the chance to use all of their players.
Some referees use the back of a business card to keep the score – these are great unless it rains ! I use a plastic diary holder with a small pad in it – it has a useful pocket to keep red and yellow cards in, and it keeps things dry. Take two pencils on to the pitch, in case one breaks or you lose one: make sure they are not too sharp, or you might stab yourself (or a player) in the leg.
After every score, get into the habit of totting it up on the card, then saying the score to yourself (‘that’s 17 – 3’), then you will avoid mistakes: this is easiest if you do it as a player prepares for a penalty/ conversion. Do not worry about drop goals, you won’t see any at non-league level !
Don’t be afraid to use humour once the match has settled into a rhythm, it can help to relax the players (‘let’s have another scrum, lads, I don’t think we’ve had enough yet’ usually draws a wan smile from tight forwards on a cold, wet Saturday).
Make sure you enjoy the match ! I absolutely love refereeing, and players often say to me that this shines through – I try and encourage them to enjoy the match as well.
Do not be afraid to complement good play, I often say to the players that I have to watch the match as well as referee it, and I want to see good rugby. It is possible for a skilful referee to get good rugby out of poor players: having said that, there will be occasions after a match when you will ask yourself ‘What the hell was all that about ?’.
Afterwards, if appropriate, join tunnel at start, clap through losers, then follow losing side through and stop again at the end to clap through winners – I always join in the cheers, players appreciate it.
Thank the touch judges – this is most important. If players/ spectators want to chat on the way back to the clubhouse humour them: if they want to be abusive, ignore them !
No matter how badly you may have done, stay for a beer. After giving a penalty try in the last minute, I was once booed off the pitch by the home players and spectators, so I deliberately made a point of staying until all of the home team had gone: they have never forgotten it, whenever I go there it is mentioned, and I get nothing but respect from them now.
Remember, Liverpool Referees Society are your new team, and we stick together. Try and attend as many monthly Society meetings as you can, not just for the training – it is very easy to feel you are alone, especially as many referees do not continue as members of their old club. If nothing else you will realise that there is a huge support group there if you need it – Paul Warrington will back you to the hilt - if you are struggling at first, or are worried about something, ask for a ‘mentor’, or speak to someone. Very few problems you meet have not already been met by someone else.
Warm down
Make sure you do this - it means you may be able to ref next week!! It also gives you 5 mins to clear your head before you go back into the changing rooms. You may have to note info down while its fresh - get that straight in your head while you warm down properly. If someone wants to talk to you immediately - politely explain that this is best done in the bar with a pint in your hand - and a smile!
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