This is to be a new feature on the Sunderland RA website which will be regularly updated with many different features involved with Assessing the Assessment of Referees. The plan is to try and keep it informative and interesting so if there is anything that you would like included in this section then please contact Geoff Eltringham (Sunderland RA Chairman). As this is the first article I thought it may be a good idea to try and let you know why I started assessing and why I have gone on to assess at nearly 600 games.

When my ageing knees started to feel pain to a most discomforting degree some 14 seasons ago I sought professional help to get me back on the pitch. Despite this help being extensive over a number of weeks the knees did not respond to the expert treatment and I was ‘advised’ to ‘retire’ from Refereeing. As I have an acute aversion to retail therapy on a Saturday afternoon (well anytime really) I sought the help of Terry Farley and I was soon to become a Referee Assessor for Durham Football Association and at Supply League (Level 4) Level.

I was aware that I had the qualities that befit an assessor. I would like to think that I have a reputation that is respected by the majority of Referees. I had an open-minded attitude to the art of refereeing, very good powers of concentration, an absolute freedom from both bias and unfair criticism but above all this I knew that I could advise and encourage in good English.

The seven sections that an assessor looks at in a Referee’s match performance are:
1) Application of Law
2) Positioning/Fitness/Work rate
3) Alertness and Awareness
4) Communication
5) Teamwork
6) Advantage
7) Match Control

With an overall mark out of 100 being awarded.

In future months I will try and cover these seven sections in more individual detail so as to try and explain what we as Assessors are looking for in a Referee’s match performance.

I feel that a Referee should be aware that there is more to assessments than their own personal advancement as ‘Evaluation’ is part of any educational process. A good and sensitive Assessor can be and should be as valuable as the most skilled instructor. An Assessor can observe the interactions amongst one team and their opponents as well as those between players and officials. Interactions of which a Referee may not be aware. An Assessor can also reinforce behaviour and techniques that a Referee uses successfully.

Assessors should not regard their job as finding fault but finding what is good. Often this is seen as the other way around and another expression of our culture which in the raising of children seems to prefer punishment over praise. An Assessor should be qualified to the level that he/she is assessing at and they should be aware of their primary responsibility – that of teaching. True Assessors should be a learning experience and not a test or examination. A Referee should be given information by an Assessor that he is able to use. The information should come out spontaneously from the Assessor instead of being squeezed out.

Assessors should avoid getting into any kind of argument with a Referee as it does not allow the Assessor to be objective and constructive. The Referee needs information from an Assessor and this information needs to be accurate, correct and as informative as possible so as to help the Referee in future match appointments. Recommendations for future use are always a good idea.

An Assessor should base his post-match debrief and his written report so as to be as useful to the Referee as possible that will move the Referee to thank the Assessor. Giving negative type comments will not serve any purpose whatsoever unless they are supported by suggestions for improvements.

Here are a few things that I have learned in my near 600 games as a Referee Assessor:

Assessors should:

• Refrain from talking to club officials and spectators during a match.
• Blend into the background during a game.
• Avoid being drawn into controversial discussions with officials of clubs.
• Refrain from trusting memory alone when witnessing the performance of a Referee.
• Watch the reactions of players to Referee’s decisions
• Think very long and hard before committing thoughts to paper.
• Never write the report on the day of the game but give themselves at least 24 hours.
• Tell the Referee about those techniques which are effective.
• Be constructive in all advice offered.
• Look for the good, not just the not-so-good.
• Be selective in advice if the Referee has had a game he would like to forget.
• Avoid petty criticism which is irrelevant to the work of a Referee.
• Ask direct questions of the Referee about his game.
• Never be condescending or sarcastic in the report.
• Think very seriously before awarding a final mark for the overall performance of the Referee.
• Encourage an enthusiastic approach by match officials.
• Check the presentation of the report.
• Submit the report well within the required time.
• Talk about assessing to fellow Assessors.
• Read all about all aspects of football that concern Referees including text-books and magazines devoted to techniques, problems and developments.
• Attend as many seminars, training events and Referee Association meetings as possible.
• Do everything that they can to improve standards.

So that’s it, a “Whistle stop” tour of what I feel Referee Assessing is about!

If there is anything that you would like to see in this section such as a regular quiz on the Laws of the Game or you would like to ask ‘The Refwatcher’ a question then please get in touch via our Sunderland RA Chairman Geoff Eltringham.

Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks a lot and as always, “ Happy Whistling “.

Cheers
THE REFWATCHER


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“THE REFWATCHER”
Malcolm Langley
(Referee Assessor)
With FIFA
& Premier League Referee
Howard Webb

Tags: Introduction, Malcolm Langley