Blog

One of the barriers to people taking up refereeing is kit; therefore, it was very important to us as a Registered Charity to aim to create a partnership with a kit supplier. In the ...

REF SUPPORT UK Charity Wall Calendar PROOF ...

An incredible documentary made by The Ref Pod co hosts Wayne Ryalls and Wayne Baker. This impactful and thought provoking documentary covers the subject of ref abuse in the grassroots game and features, youth ...

Some great work is ongoing with The FA and Kick It Out, The FA have launched a new joint action plan to proactively tackle incidents of serious misconduct in grassroots football. Tackling discrimination, hate ...

SUBJECT: UEFA Academy Study on Referees’ Careers in Europe. We have been asked to share this important piece of work with English Match Officials. The English Football Association, together with the Royal Spanish Football ...

After the huge success of WMF Mininfootball World Cup in The UAE, all eyes now turn to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who will be the host of the European Mini Football ...

All over the World the term “Minifootball” is recognised as the official brand of 5/6/7 and 8 a side football. Over 100 Million players play every week around the world and The World Minifootball ...

Our CEO Martin Cassidy was interviewed on the BBC last week Nov 2023 to discuss the poor behaviour from participants at all levels of the game. Martin spoke on the very popular BBC Sport ...

IFAB Laws of the game are an important piece of referee education and keeping up to date is vital to ensure you are delivering the correct performance. professional gameLaws of the Game 2023_24 ...

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Photo Credit: Sky Sports Howard Webb and his team have been heavily criticised for not allowing VAR conversations from being broadcast live to spectators in the stadium as well as live on TV and ...

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Ref Support UK had a very productive meeting yesterday with Fraser Williamson, Senior Discipline Manager at The FA who gave a detailed insight to the disciplinary operations at The FA. Whilst there will be ...

I was very happy to be invited to Warwick University to see the launch of  The FA’s National Referee Strategy yesterday. The invite came from Danny Meeson, Head of Refereeing – Technical and Development ...

As a registered Charity. We offer funding for referee courses and referee kit to those who can not afford to purchase them but do want to be involved in refereeing. We work with people ...

We are delighted to be able to help young people get into refereeing and increase their employability by teaming up with The Met Police Kingston. The plan is to extend this across the country ...

This article was taken from The Athletic and is by Philip Buckingham Dan Shelton and more and features amongst others, Ref Support UK CEO Martin Cassidy. Thumbnail image by Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic ...

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/12212526/referee-support-must-be-looked-at ...

A new referee podcast talking about all things footy and referee related has been launched featuring Ref Support UK CEO Martin Cassidy. The Ref Pod also feature ” The Two Waynes” who are grassroots ...

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We welcome the PGMOL’s statement on the behaviour of Jurgen Klopp at yesterday’s Liverpool v Tottenham game at Anfield and their swift release of a public statement of support. The behaviour of some managers ...

Fernandez ...

Thank to Sky Sport News for allowing us to use this. https://refsupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BETA-MartinCassidyLP_1.mp4 ...

We want to state that we are delighted that The FA have launched a Body Cam pilot after many years of lobbying by us for a pilot to be delivered. After asking the International ...

A look back at 2022 for RSUK. January 22: The CEO of the FA launches an independent investigation into allegations that complaints about racism at The FA Referee Department were covered up. The investigation ...

Patsy Andrews had a dream, read about this very impressive woman on the article below After 20 years as a grassroots football referee my dream was to encourage more people to become referees. #dreams ...

colour-blindness-guidance-for-referees (2) ...

Photo Getty Jurgen Klopp has been given a one-match touchline suspension after the Football Association appealed against the sanction he received for his sending off against Manchester City. The Liverpool manager initially received a ...

Photo Source PGMOL For the first time, in a professional English Football League game an all-military team will take charge of the game. As part of Remembrance weekend, todays League One game between Cambridge ...

STATEMENT from Ref Support UK into the FA independent investigation into the FA referees’ department and David Elleray We note that the independent investigation into the current Football Association referees’ department and its Referees ...

FA verzoekt ​​IFAB om een ​​Body Cam Pilot te bespreken We zijn verheugd te horen van de FA en IFAB dat de FA een Body Cam Pilot ter discussie wil stellen tijdens de volgende ...

We are delighted to be informed by the FA and IFAB that The FA have tabled a Body Cam Pilot for discussion at the next IFAB AGM on March 4th 2022. Ref Support UK ...

The message on the photo below was received as a direct response to a video that emerged of a player attempting to attack a referee last weekend. We believe keeping the subject of ref ...

We want to wish everyone all the very best for the Festive season. Our organisation, as well as our social media platforms, have been a huge support to many referees at all levels and ...

Ref Support UK were informed by The CEO of The FA yesterday, December 16th, that The FA will commence an independent investigation to take place in the New Year. The independent investigation will be ...

The National Sport we Love is in dire straights and we need to identify why the referee shortage is so profound.We believe this is the largest independent survey ever conduct for referees. This survey ...

Mental Health is a very important part of any individual’s wellbeing. We understand that sometimes being a grassroots match official has it challenges on and off the field of play and the pressure can ...

With the return of football announced by government, we all want the game to come back a better game therefore, we are asking all grassroots/youth clubs to clap out your ref on the first ...

Ref Support UK are delighted to be working with The Street Soccer Foundation and their amazing matchFit App. The App, brought to you by the Street Soccer Foundation & Partners; matchFit is positivity in ...

Mark Ives July 31st 2020 Mark Ives leaves the FA today after over a decade as head of Judicial Services at Wembley Stadium. Mark has proven to be a great ally for grassroots referees ...

Please contact your County FA or The FA with any questions or clarifications ...

We pride ourselves as a charity in helping refs free of charge on and off the field of play. We have a huge network of people who want to give up their time without ...

The Below is recent advice offered by The PGMOL to Match Officials involved in National League play offs. It’s great to have an insight on the level of professional advice offered by the PGMOL ...

The Below is recent advice offered by The PGMOL to Match Officials involved in National League play offs. It’s great to have an insight on the level of professional advice offered by the PGMOL ...

After a post on our Face Book page I wanted to reply but the post was too big for facebook to post so I have done a page on the Website. I was chairman ...

Former World Class referee Pierluigi Collina will take control of VAR A great piece here written by Martyn Ziegler from The Times The Premier League have lost control over their use of the Video ...

AN OPEN LETTER To Whom it may concern. I write to you as a fan of a game, a game played by 250 million people worldwide in 200 different countries. A game called Football ...

Level 4 Assistant Referee Specialisation Criteria The following criteria will be applied in the management of specialist Level 4 assistant referees: Competitions Level 4 specialists will operate as assistant referee on competitions which constitute ...

CAMPAIGN UPDATE – YOUNG REFEREES Ceri Travers Some of you will have followed the story of my son, who qualified as a referee at the age of 14, back in August 2019. In his ...

As a registered Charity  (1171000) we are very lucky to have companies and organisations sponsor us. Find My Kit have been a very supportive business who also sponsored the Bobby Madley Evening at Paulton ...

This brilliant piece by Michael Butler was published on May 14th 2019, a year ago today. We need to ask however, what has changed in that year? It is clear that we need to ...

When Saturday Doesn’t Come. Everything a football player encounters emotionally on their “Game Day” a ref will encounter to. The emotion and the love of football is no greater for a player than it ...

Here is the piece regarding The Rock Papers Scissor (RPS) Incident that received coverage all around the world that resulted in refs all over the World coming together and starting their games in the ...

The cracking article that appeared in “The Mail on line” on Sunday in 2011 and is very relevant still today. The original article is here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2055133/Gary-Neville-Now-I-know-shouting-referees-waste-time.html ...

We have decided to create a news letter for those who are not on our social media pages. The intention is to do a monthly news letter ...

SOCCA WORLD CUP IN CRETE Jorg Oppers from The Netherlands When Martin invited me in January 2019 to officiate at the Socca World Cup I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I did some ...

SOCCA World Cup Crete 2018   When my German colleague and I arrived at Rethymno, our first thoughts were: “Ok, we need to see the stadium. We just need to!“ We immediately decided to ...

This is the second part of part 3. I have split this into 3 as Rich has been involved is some many things in my life. Part two: Superman As I climbed the pyramid ...

Conflict, Collision and Confusion by Ken Goldman   Whilst it would be extremely pleasant if every member of the football fraternity was at all times in tune with one another unfortunately things just do ...

This part of my journey starts in a negative tone. This is done on purpose as it builds a picture of why the next trustee of Ref Support UK (RSUK) is so important to ...

This Dear Football letter was written by Sunday Times Football Correspondent Jonathan Northcroft. A wonderful piece we just had to share with you Follow Jonathan on twitter @JNorthcroft Dear football,   It goes without saying ...

The FA Referees Department has released the following information for the promotion and reclassification of match officials. Tap on the document to see the next page. 1. Ref Promotions ...

Advantage No Video ...

The Socca World Cup in Crete offers a unique way for refs to officiate across the globe. The games are intense, highly competitive and the players are very experienced. You have to be on ...

My name is Joseph Larkin and I am currently Level 4 referee studying Sport Business Management. For my final year university project I am conducting some research on membership of The Referees’ Association. This ...

                       HOMEWORKING POLICY CONTENTS Introduction Scope Place of work Safe Lone Working Risk Assessments New and Expectant Mothers Accident Reporting PAT testing Fire Safety Data Protection and Confidentiality Equipment Supply Tax and Reimbursement of ...

PANDEMIC OUTBREAK POLICY The following information forms our policy on potential national and international pandemic outbreaks and has been created from medical and government advice and guidelines Organisations recognise their duty to prioritise  health ...

In the attached video what are you thoughts on: Player management Caution Technique Body Language Press here to play the Video → https://refsupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Setting-up-a-wall.mp4 ...

I want to say a big thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read about my experiences over the past couple of weeks on my return to the Falkland Islands, it ...

Postponement of Mark Clattenburg Dinner After consultation with all Ref Support UK Trustees, Mark Clattenburg, our Legal/Insurance representatives as well as the host venue, I regret to inform you that our Charity Fundraising Dinner ...

Day Seven – Government House, Memorial Wood and Mount Tumbledown We have fitted so much into our seven day stay so I will pick out some of my highlights since the memorial service. The ...

Day 3 – Navy memorials and lots of Penguins 🐧 Day 3 started with a trip to the Port Stanley Cathedral to meet the Reverend Ian Faulds. He gave us a tour and showed ...

Day Six – Ajax Bay and Port Stanley On Wednesday I got my first glimpse of Ajax Bay across the water from Port San Carlos. This is where I was to spend the final ...

Day Five – Returning to San Carlos On Tuesday morning we travelled to San Carlos via the Blue Beach war cemetery where lays the graves of several of the fallen including the grave of ...

Day Four – St David’s day memorial service (Hapus Dewi Sant) We wake up to a beautiful sunny morning it is St David’s Day and after breakfast we change into our smart suits. The ...

Day Two Part 2 – Presentation night at Fitzroy village hall At around 5pm local time we set off for Fitzroy again for a evening with the locals at the village hall. On arrival ...

Day Two – Revisiting Bluff Cove and Fitzroy We arrived at Liberty Lodge in Port Stanly round about 7pm local time and settled in quickly before popping down the local for a couple of ...

Day One – The Long Journey South I started my journey at 0110hrs 27/02/20 taking off in a huge RAF Voyager airbus run by a civilian company called ‘Air tanker’. The small fleet of ...

For those who are too young to remember or don’t fully know about the Falklands War have a look at this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War I was 16 years of age when the Falkands War broke out, it ...

This year the Easter Open will have the honour of welcoming a very experienced ex professional match official and current referee coach in English Football Martin Cassidy to our team. Martin is a former ...

This event could not have been possible without the support of Chris Owens from Findmykit.com See what they do here. https://findmykit.com With floods and high winds effecting the South West there was still an ...

Ref Support UK are very proud to announce that Mark Clattenburg with be our main speaker at our fund raising dinner at the Grand Pier Weston super Mare on Friday 20th March. This will ...

The report below was driven by Ceri Travers who is a parent of a 14 year old referee who was verbally abused on his first ever game. Ceri and her son, were disappointed with ...

The recent terrible events is Malta is another escalation in the abuse and assault of Match Officials. We call on IFAB to make a statement at their AGM Meeting in Northern Ireland on February ...

An evening with Bobby Madley is to take place at Paulton Rover FC on Monday 17th February. The address is: Paulton Rovers Football Club Winterfield Road Paulton Bristol BS39 7RF England Bobby is a ...

Part Two Building the team. I mentioned in my earlier blog that I had moved down from Liverpool to Somerset and was enjoying kicking farmers on a Saturday afternoon but was also struggling for ...

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN IN FOOTBALL For those of you who are involved in the wonderful world of junior/youth football, you will know that we have a large number of referees who are under the age ...

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN IN FOOTBALL For those of you who are involved in the wonderful world of junior/youth football, you will know that we have a large number of referees who are under the age ...

Arm Chair Ref I’m out refereeing even at Christmas time You see me in all weathers, I do this all part time In Snow and Sun even rain, also heavy sleet I couldn’t ever ...

I Love the photo of Jurgen Klopp chastising his opponent for showing an imaginary card in last night’s FIFA World Club Cup Semi Final in Qatar. It was an attempt by the Monterrey manager ...

Playing football on tarmac, with Anfield Stadium in the background, was an almost everyday occurrence when I was growing up. I still feel the pain of making slide tackles on a surface that doubled ...

Ref Support UK are proud to announce that we have officially partnered with Cancer Research UK   CRUK_BlowTheWhistleOnCancer_TheSouth 2019_REF_V1 ...

We recently challenged an official clubs twitter account after they posted serious abuse about a ref. This resulted in a retraction of the tweets, deleting of the tweet and a public apology from the ...

Statement released with Lee Probert’s blessing from Ref Support UK The Premier League has released a statement in regards to our close friend Lee Probert retiring as a referee from the Premier League. We ...

Referee Matches Red Cards Yellow Cards Martin Atkinson 2 0 6 Mike Dean 2 0 7 Andre Marriner 2 0 5 Michael Oliver 2 0 3 Anthony Taylor 2 0 9 Stuart Attwell 1 ...

Our CEO, Martin Cassidy, has announced live on TalkSport, that we are working with Cancer Research UK on a new initiative for 2020. Tuesday 4th February 2020, is World Cancer Day and to mark ...

An evening with Bobby Madley is to take place at Paulton Rover FC on Monday 17th February. The address is: Paulton Rovers Football Club Winterfield Road Paulton Bristol BS39 7RF England Bobby is a ...

So… VAR! Well after Englands opening fixture at the FIFA World Cup 2018 we thought it would be best to give you all the full low down on how FIFA plan to use VAR ...

Ref Support UK are pleased to share news that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have opened applications for FA Match Observers to apply for the position to Observe Select Group Officials. In ...

Congratualtions to all the officials that have been appointed to The Buildbase FA Trophy and FA Vase Finals that will both be played at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 20th May 2018. The Buildbase FA ...

It’s something that every referee at the professional level aims for yet they are all humbled and surprised when they get the phone call from The FA. Michael Oliver has been appointed as the ...

Ryan Hampson an Ambassador of Ref Support UK was charged by Lancashire County FA for Improper Conduct under FA Rule E3. The charge related to the creation and distribution of an email sent to ...

So we are getting to the pivotal stage of our seasons now where cup final appointments are being made and released, and we just wanted to say Well done to all who have been ...

Ryan Hampson Q. What County FA do you fall under? A. Lancashire County FA Q. How long have you been refereeing? A. Just over 3 years Q. What level are you? A. Level 5 Q ...

On Friday 23rd March 2018, Sky Sports News that was in the middle of wrapping up their #SupportTheRef week posted a number of story’s surrounding Denis Wise taking the whistle and refereeing the first ...

An interesting question has been raised within the Ref Support UK forum on Facebook; Should League & County Cups be appointed a Referee Observer?  This then of course raised a few more questions such ...

For everyone that’s joined up to the Ref Support UK Facebook group, they will notice the rapid increase of activity on the group and we thought that now would be a good time too ...

Every week we hear referees using the phrase “I got 22 handshakes in my game” upon entering the refs’ changing rooms or in core meetings and no doubt every single one of us as ...

A teenage referee who claims he was abused by three grown men durng a match was threatened with an FA misconduct charge after reporting it. The treatment of 15-year-old Max Ormesher has prompted his ...

Crime and Referee Abuse: The evolution of a problem I have always believed that nearly all crime or similar problems evolve from something in our early development and addressing this early can prevent them ...

After lengthy discussions with The FA Referees and Legal Departments, Ref Support would like to release the following communication from The Legal department of The FA at Wembley Stadium. The purpose of this statement ...

I found it astonishing whilst refereeing and now coaching referees that I see players,parents and club officials say things to match officials and I think “I wonder if that was in a pub if ...

#lovethewhistle / #lovethegame There has been an excessive amount of negativity with regard to refereeing lately and as ever the abuse of match officials’ is the main topic of the negativity. What motivates colleagues ...