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Referees share a joke at Hackney Marshes.
Referees share a joke at Hackney Marshes. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Referees share a joke at Hackney Marshes. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

'The best decision I ever made': the upside of being a football referee

This article is more than 4 years old

Who would be a referee? Anyone who wants to travel, meet people and stay involved in the game they love

By Sam Phipps for Nutmeg magazine

Doug Prentice started refereeing in the public parks of Edinburgh in 1977 and had seven seasons on the Scottish senior list from 1986 until 1992. His family is steeped in football. His father John played for Hearts and Rangers, among others, and was the Scotland manager in 1966 when they drew 1-1 with Brazil – Pelé and all. Doug’s brother Alan played for Meadowbank and Hamilton. “I wanted to be involved in the game but wasn’t good enough as a player,” he says. So he took up refereeing. “It has been so fulfilling, the best decision I’ve ever made, and I’ve made friendships around the world that still flourish today.”

Prentice emigrated to Brisbane almost three decades ago and he still referees today, aged 62. He is into his tenth season as a referee assessor on the A-League, the highest level of the men’s game in Australia. He has almost learned to be philosophical about the downsides of officiating. “Abuse of referees at all levels has been going on since the game started,” he says. “I think some people go to games specifically for that purpose. Sometimes it’s the parents of the younger team players who are the worst – I have seen them going daft, screaming and writhing around on the ground. It is not just our sport either. In Australia, they love their rugby league but it has the same issues.”

Despite the problems, he is keen to avoid giving an impression of widespread anti-ref anarchy. “Overall, I have seen far more respect than disrespect and I would say that’s true of most of us. In recent years, I have been lucky to travel back to the UK and also to the States. Invariably, it revolves around football and refereeing, where there is usually a reunion involved. The memories are priceless.”

Vikki Allan officiated at a match on Mount Kilimanjaro 4,800m above sea level.

Vikki Allan is still in her twenties but has already hit the refereeing heights – quite literally. In 2017, she was assistant referee at a game played on a crater just short of the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. The match was played at 4,800m above sea level – a Fifa world record – as part of a campaign, Equal Playing Field, to break down gender barriers in sport.

“It took us seven days to climb up the mountain, carrying all the gear, including goalposts,” recalls Allan. “We used white flour for the lines and marked them out on the volcanic ash. At that altitude, a 90-minute game of football is reckoned to be the equivalent of six hours!” The thought of all the girls around the world who are not allowed to play outside, let alone play football, kept Allan going, she says.

Growing up in Scotland, she had to overcome her own obstacles to following in the footsteps of her father, Crawford Allan, a top-level referee, who retired in 2017. “I was told again and again ‘girls don’t referee’ but I knew that’s what I wanted to do and, as soon as I turned 16, I started the training.” Within months, she had her SFA badge. Ten years later, she has officiated not just at those dizzy heights in Tanzania but also at the lowest altitude, in Jordan, as part of the same campaign. This season, she has run the line at Atlético Madrid in the Women’s Champions League and in a Euro 2021 qualifier.

Allan regularly referees in the Scottish Women’s Premier League and is also an assistant referee in the East of Scotland men’s league. “When I started out, there were few, if any, role models but that’s changed massively, especially with the Women’s World Cup and people like Kylie Cockburn and Lorraine Watson,” says Allan. “I want to keep improving and go as far as I can. Refereeing gives you a lot in real life. You become a team leader, make decisions. It’s made me more confident as a person. And I’ve also made friends all over the world.”

How does she cope with abuse from crowds? “You block it out most of the time but people also need to remember we are going to make mistakes sometimes. We also don’t necessarily switch off as soon as we leave the ground. I speak to my father and go over things from the game, discuss points.”

Arbroath v Edinburgh City at Gayfield Park. Photograph: Colin McPherson/Getty Images

Craig Jardine used to play Sunday league football. The games were tough and the standard of refereeing sometimes questionable. “One of the funniest things was when we played a game at Inverleith Park,” recalls Jardine. “Their team took a throw-in and our goalie was so bad it went straight in. We said: ‘That’s not allowed, you can’t score direct from a throw-in’. But the ref went: ‘No, it’s a goal.’ We lost one-nil.”

Another time, Jardine was crunched from behind so badly he thought he had broken a leg. “I thought, that’s a red card – I’m finished here for the game. But it wasn’t even given as a foul.” Then came a game-ending tackle too far. “I limped to the changing room, got in the car and thought: ‘I’ll show them, I’ll become a ref!’” After a series of interviews and exams, Jardine started with under-13 matches. “At that age group, it’s not the kids who are the problem – it’s the coaches. Right from shaking hands before the start, they would try to take control, suss you out.”

Once Jardine was officiating an under-14 game in Musselburgh. “Five minutes in, a player ran in front of me and tripped over my foot. The other captain burst out laughing and I laughed too. It was so funny but the player who tripped went down injured and the manager came on and said, straight-faced: ‘Ref, you’ve injured my player’. I said: ‘No, he just fell over.’ Right then, the whole dynamic changed. The problem is when something like that happens, you can’t help liking the other team! But you can’t do that, you’ve obviously got to keep impartial. We carried on and it was fine.”

The most torrid game Jardine ever refereed was an under-17 Scottish Cup semi-final on Leith Links between a big Glasgow team (he still prefers not to identify them) and Leith Athletic. “It started off with a crowd of maybe 100, but people would see the visitors’ kit and flock to the game. Eventually there were hundreds. I was on my own.”

Leith were the underdogs but, towards the end, they went 3-0 up. “That’s when the Glasgow team tried to influence the game. They were shouting at me, coming on to the pitch. I was struggling to control things. A Leith player made a strong tackle and I was about to book him, but the other team’s manager came on and screamed at me. There were some horrendous challenges after that and fights were breaking out. The Leith manager came on to help me keep players apart. The other team were trying to get the game abandoned so it would be replayed. We just about managed to get through to the final whistle. And I’m just thinking: ‘I want to go home. It’s Saturday afternoon, I’m tired!’”

Even that was not the end of it. The team from Glasgow complained to the SFA, saying the Leith manager had assaulted one of their players. Jardine got a call from the SFA. “They said: ‘Tell us what happened, or we’ll either have to replay or knock Leith out of the competition’. I told them the truth – that the Leith manager was fine and respectful. He just helped me with the situation. If you have to replay, I’m leaving the refereeing fraternity. They took my word, which was great.”

Glan Conwy v Llanrwst United in Wales. Photograph: Matthew Ashton/Getty Images

Derek Hall took up refereeing in the late 1970s and has coached other referees for about 30 years. “Back when I started, you got your badge or diploma and were put straight out on your own into public parks football,” he says. “Remember, for most games at the start of your career, you’re on your own – no one is running the lines. It’s a huge test of character and you find out things about yourself.

“These days it has come on in quantum leaps in terms of support. But a ref can still be starting out at the age of only 16 and a small minority of parents on the touchline can be a problem. Or much older players not taking kindly to finding out they’re not the ones in charge. But the vast majority of clubs realise they wouldn’t have the game without a ref, so they tend to be supportive.”

“It’s about balancing expectations with reality. Some parents might be expecting Pierluigi Collina to turn up and ref their son or daughter. You don’t expect every midfielder to have that brilliantly creative pass, or every striker and defender to excel all the time. And, if players need time to develop, then young refs need it too. They’re going to make mistakes.

“When I was in coaching, a key message was always: if anything has happened on the pitch that you’re not happy about – whether that’s your own mistake or something else – don’t sit on it and worry. We always try to be as positive as possible and easy to contact. Failure to provide that kind of support is likely to be one of the reasons why you might lose a young ref. And retention is probably going to remain one of the most difficult things, with so many competing attractions. It can be very intimidating to a young referee. Young referees, at 16 and 17 years of age, are classed as vulnerable adults. As such, they are offered more protection by the law, just as young players of the same age are afforded the same protection from abuse.

“Also, if what’s coming from the sidelines, particularly from parents, is getting to you and affecting your confidence and performance, at a stoppage in play, you should approach club officials. Never, ever go near a spectator. You go through the club officials and say: ‘That gentleman or lady is supporting your club and what they are saying is totally unacceptable.’ The club has to deal with that, even in a public park.”

Thankfully, physical assaults are very rare, Hall says. “I’ve never been assaulted and that is also true for the vast majority of refs. But when it does happen, it gets a disproportionate coverage and that sometimes doesn’t help. If anything was to happen to one of our refs, I’d always say to get the police involved. It doesn’t matter if the culprit is young or old.” But why are so few players sent off for intimidating language? “Refs only deal in facts and, unless you’re looking straight at a player, you might have no idea who has done it.”

Hall’s own donning of the black came about in a similar way to his friend Prentice’s. “I was a particularly poor goalkeeper but I really wanted to get involved. It was either physio or admin – or get out on the park. It can take you anywhere. I refereed at a tournament in China a few months ago. One of my friends was lucky enough to be on the line when Barça visited Hearts and Hibs. Messi and Eto’o were playing. Unbelievable. And all from answering an ad in the Edinburgh Evening News years before.”

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