WHAT ARE WE GOING TO ABOUT THE REFEREE PROBLEM??????????????

nugget66 · Post by **nugget66** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:35 pm

WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE AMATEUR LEAGUE WITH REFEREE'S IN THE LACK OF NUMBER AFTER 4 GRADE 1 REFEREE'S DIDNT CONTINUE WITH THE LEAGUE THIS YEAR & THE MAJORITY OF THE OTHER GRADE 1 REF'S BEING OVER 50 & GENERAL NUMBERS AT A ALL TIME LOW.
WE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME & NOTHING IS GETTING DONE OR EVEN DISCUSSED TO FIX IT. I BELIEVE THAT THE CLUBS HAVE TO ACT NOW & START GETTING THE LEAGUE TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BEFORE IT GETS ANY WORSE.WE THECLUBS SHOULD HOLD A URGENT MEETING WITH THE SAASL & THE REFEREE'S ACCOCIATION TO DISCUSS STRATIGYS TO TRY TO FIX THIS MAJOR PROBLEM. IF WE DONT TAKE ACTION NOW THIS SITUATION IS GOING TO GET WORSE & COULD YOU IMAGINE.....IM CALLING ON ALL CLUBS COMMITTEE'S &
PLAYERS TO GET BEHIND THIS THIS POST & SUPPORT URGENT ACTION TO AT LEAST MEET TO DISCUSS PLANS TO FIX IT. WE HAVE THE MONEY
& IT CAN BE FIXED BUT NOT IF WE DO NOTHING.

malone · Post by **malone** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:44 pm

pffff, no need to write in caps champ.

your acting like the world might end tomorrow if nothing is done. screw referees, the less in this world the better. lol.

nugget66 · Post by **nugget66** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:44 am

Sorry about the caps CHAMP

No the world might not end but I'm a concerned citizen who loves the game & i don't wanna rock up to a game & look for a referee like we do lines man or for the standard to drop any more! All I'm asking is for committee members who believe we have a problem & believe we should call a meeting to discuss the problem with league & the ref's to register support on this forum that's all.....

Penalty11 · Post by **Penalty11** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:26 am

I believe the clubs nominated about 2o odd persons to take a referee's course.I was told by the instructor thta only 2 turned up for the course!?!

sparts · Post by **sparts** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:14 am

there isnt a lot we can do really

Chopper · Post by **Chopper** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:45 am

All Clubs should nominate 1 person from their club to take the course. Make those people do the B-grade games each week. If the club doesnt have a trained b-grade referee then the away team ref gets to do it. Would that be enough of a penalty to get people doing it?? I've seen some pretty ( Below ) average B-grade refs out there!!

avenell_road · Post by **avenell_road** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:06 am

There is a problem, no doubt about it. Yesterday Bob Braithwaite did the Farm v Inter game. I thought he had quite a good game but his movement was at a pace more akin to a fast walk than a sprint. This is obviously not a long term solution.

I think the idea about each club nominating a person to do a refereeing course is a good one. If this was a condition of entry to the Amateur League it would at least expose more people to refereeing and some may find that they enjoy it and take it up in an official capacity.

I also think that the league needs to be tougher on clubs for behaviours like crowd disturbances, threatening referees, all in brawls, etc. This type of thing makes the Amateur League less attractive for referees yet the same clubs seem to be the offenders. If these clubs were removed from the league (and prevented from re-forming as a new club), not only would referees be better protected but there would be less clubs and therefore less games to have to place a referee for.

Furburger · Post by **Furburger** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:46 am

I agree with avenell_road. If the players and crowd treated the refs with a bit more respect we'd probaby get more of them. Who would want to be a ref these days with the behaviour of a handful of idiots. We got to remember that the refs are amateurs too and the stuff up like everyone else

Jay Walking · Post by **Jay Walking** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:52 am

avenell_road wrote:There is a problem, no doubt about it. Yesterday Bob Braithwaite did the Farm v Inter game. I thought he had quite a good game but his movement was at a pace more akin to a fast walk than a sprint. This is obviously not a long term solution.

I think the idea about each club nominating a person to do a refereeing course is a good one. If this was a condition of entry to the Amateur League it would at least expose more people to refereeing and some may find that they enjoy it and take it up in an official capacity.

I also think that the league needs to be tougher on clubs for behaviours like crowd disturbances, threatening referees, all in brawls, etc. This type of thing makes the Amateur League less attractive for referees yet the same clubs seem to be the offenders. If these clubs were removed from the league (and prevented from re-forming as a new club), not only would referees be better protected but there would be less clubs and therefore less games to have to place a referee for.

Very well said Avenell. Its almost like you use to referee. I agree, we need to look at getting more referees as without them there is no game. I think that players need to take the responsibility also considering abuse from them is just as bad as abuse from the sideline. I don't think we should be banning the 'C'mon ref' comments. What we want to happen is after the game, the ref and players can share a beer and leave what happened on the park, on the park

avenell_road · Post by **avenell_road** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:13 am

JayWalking wrote:
avenell_road wrote:There is a problem, no doubt about it. Yesterday Bob Braithwaite did the Farm v Inter game. I thought he had quite a good game but his movement was at a pace more akin to a fast walk than a sprint. This is obviously not a long term solution.

I think the idea about each club nominating a person to do a refereeing course is a good one. If this was a condition of entry to the Amateur League it would at least expose more people to refereeing and some may find that they enjoy it and take it up in an official capacity.

I also think that the league needs to be tougher on clubs for behaviours like crowd disturbances, threatening referees, all in brawls, etc. This type of thing makes the Amateur League less attractive for referees yet the same clubs seem to be the offenders. If these clubs were removed from the league (and prevented from re-forming as a new club), not only would referees be better protected but there would be less clubs and therefore less games to have to place a referee for.
Very well said Avenell. Its almost like you use to referee. I agree, we need to look at getting more referees as without them there is no game. I think that players need to take the responsibility also considering abuse from them is just as bad as abuse from the sideline. I don't think we should be banning the 'C'mon ref' comments. What we want to happen is after the game, the ref and players can share a beer and leave what happened on the park, on the park

I agree, it's not the on field banter or non-abusive comments from the sideline (within reason) that need to be stamped out, as a referee who cannot deal with this should not be refereeing in the first place. It is the behaviour of players and spectators which is physically threatening which the league has to be more vigilant with.

For example, without naming names, there are players and clubs who have in the past been responsible for physically assaulting referees and other illegal behaviour, yet these players and clubs are still involved in the league. In my opinion this type of thing warrants a life ban or in the case of a club, permanent expulsion from the league.

Also now that the SAASL is part of the FFSA I assume it will have access to the full time refereeing development officer employed by the FFSA. Hopefully we see some positive changes arise from this.

Robbo · Post by **Robbo** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:32 am

For me - to get more referees then the fee structure for games has to be increased for the Refs.

The current $65 or so for a 1st team match, and $35 odd for C Team games is obviously not as inticing as it could be.

Pay more money, you will get more interest.

However as this is a direct fee to clubs - this may or may not be a good thing.

And I thought the ref at Farm yesterday did a great job, sure he is getting on old Bob, but he controlled the match very well.

nugget66 · Post by **nugget66** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:44 pm

Yeh your right we do have some good referee's in the league but most are over 50 we certainly need to start to exploring how to attract more & improve the ref's that we allready have that need improving. I was talking to one of the more experienced referee's yesterday & he blames the league for there soft stance to clubs like Salisbury Villa not backing the referee's, e.g give them a life ban then let them back in? What's with that? This is why i say we the clubs need to make a stand to try to come up with solutions with consultation from the referee accociation. If we dont take action soon to rectify the situation can you imagine what our game will become in the coming years

rooboy1986 · Post by **rooboy1986** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:24 pm

I was speaking to some french ref, he was doing a fed 23s... he was doing a pretty high level in france, he's just proving himself here a bit. I asked him what the main difference was between the french "local" games and here?

He said that the main difference was the ill-discipline of players, coaches and worst of all the spectators. He said he couldn't believe some of the things that were said directed at him personally from crowds... and that was just with fed refereeing, i told him he should come referee an amateur game, you know what his response was? "You couldn't pay me enough!!"

And this from a guy who has only been here a short time... pretty bad... maybe a lesson to be learnt here?

Di Canio · Post by **Di Canio** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:34 pm

The crowds in the federation are quite reserved imo, in France the spectators must be really tame.

Referees don't cop that much sh1t if they do a good job. When they ruin games like they so often do they deserve all the verballing they get.

sepultura · Post by **sepultura** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:48 pm

nominated person from every club do their c and b teams and the amateur league pay them $50 per game.

A team games referee's are supplied by the amateur league and payed accordingly.

The amateur league has got the cash.

Its as simple as that.

rooboy1986 · Post by **rooboy1986** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:40 pm

sepultura wrote:nominated person from every club do their c and b teams and the amateur league pay them $50 per game.

A team games referee's are supplied by the amateur league and payed accordingly.

The amateur league has got the cash.

Its as simple as that.

Mr Bailey said that the club should pay $25 to someone from the club to do the game.... ummm wow... $25 big ones!!! worth it? i think not!!! i'd rather stay on the sidelines and drink piss...

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:29 pm

cant beleive they pay some of these ref $65. should be the other way around. seriously though. the banter that refs get from the sideline is no more than most of the players get. and i dont think that is the problem. the main problem is the league wont back the refs and get rid of the clubs that constantly attack them or have all in brawls. like most of the players , they are out there because they enjoy and love football. when it starts becoming a health risk it is time to give it away. yes i do know that some do it just for the money, but thats life

nugget66 · Post by **nugget66** » Wed May 02, 2007 7:13 pm

onthepissagain your onto something................ wasn't Salisbury Villa & the Black Eagles formerly known as (Albanian Blue Eagles) kicked out the league after years, & years of constant warnings about physical & threatening behaviour towards referee's? Yet both clubs allowed back into the competition a few years latter. If you talk to any of the older referee's about the problem we have with referee numbers & quality of those numbers all of them will tell you that we have lost huge numbers because of the league's weak stand with clubs like these in relation to referee abuse over a number of years. I believe that clubs have a responsibility to protect the match officials & when clubs fail to do so it then is the league's responsibility to protect them & take action against those clubs. I believe allowing these clubs back into the league is a backward step & can''t understand the league's logic. I bet the league haven't even got both the clubs on a 1st & final warnings. We can all do our bit & try to help with the referee problem but when the league dose things like this what hope is there to ever fix the problem!

Aldo Serena · Post by **Aldo Serena** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:27 am

nugget66 wrote:onthepissagain your onto something................ wasn't Salisbury Villa & the Black Eagles formerly known as (Albanian Blue Eagles) kicked out the league after years, & years of constant warnings about physical & threatening behaviour towards referee's? Yet both clubs allowed back into the competition a few years latter. If you talk to any of the older referee's about the problem we have with referee numbers & quality of those numbers all of them will tell you that we have lost huge numbers because of the league's weak stand with clubs like these in relation to referee abuse over a number of years. I believe that clubs have a responsibility to protect the match officials & when clubs fail to do so it then is the league's responsibility to protect them & take action against those clubs. I believe allowing these clubs back into the league is a backward step & can''t understand the league's logic. I bet the league haven't even got both the clubs on a 1st & final warnings. We can all do our bit & try to help with the referee problem but when the league dose things like this what hope is there to ever fix the problem!

Albanian Blue Eagles?!? I am pretty sure they were called Vllaznia previously, and the Adelaide Eagles were an Albanian-backed side a few years back.

mightyreds · Post by **mightyreds** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:35 pm

The Amateur League need to start encouraging younger guys coming through as some of the referees getting around are that old they can hardly run...Also a lot of the older referees seem too scared to make a decision & are very easily sucked in...

BULLDOG · Post by **BULLDOG** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:51 pm

i think ref's are the salt of the earth.love em,great chaps they are, heroes even.

the_gun · Post by **the_gun** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:58 pm

i agree referees are a huge problem at the moment 1. they suck & not just in the amatuer leagues and 2. yeah theres not many, lets train them like they do in europe.

Rob Lozza · Post by **Rob Lozza** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:00 pm

Aldo Serena wrote:Albanian Blue Eagles?!? I am pretty sure they were called Vllaznia previously, and the Adelaide Eagles were an Albanian-backed side a few years back.

Correct, Aldo. Adelaide Eagles were a very good team but their intimidatory tactics both on and off the field - unnecessary given the talent they had - significantly contributed to their on-field successes.

Hawkesy · Post by **Hawkesy** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:46 am

In the short term ensure clubs have enough people who have taken the basic "club referees" course. If no official ref is available then the home team must provide a qualified person to take the whistle. If no one is available then you forefeit the game. (that would ensure that clubs make sure people take the course).

In the long term then the league needs to do some active recruiting. What would everyone think of approaching schools, after all how many part time jobs pay as well as refereeing for kids. Personally, I would rather have a 16 year old impartial ref than a 30 year old "club referee".

BADA BING · Post by **BADA BING** » Fri May 04, 2007 11:06 am

Hawksey even if the home teams provide a qualified person to take the whistle it wont make much difference, take Bosna & Pontians as an example, both ref's for these clubs run around with the official uniform on for B games but my god they do there very very very best to get the home team home.