Information on registration, matchday, reporting and discipline
The League is very lucky to have a growing list of referees willing to officiate on our matches, and will appointed referees to as many matches as possible, mainly on the Under 13 to Under 21 age groups, with priority given to Cup matches and older age groups. We can put referees on matches for younger age groups if referees are available.
Note that on some weekends the League may not be able to cover every match, especially when there are County Cup matches as these take priority and use a lot of referees particularly in the first half of the season.
We are keen to add more referees to our League appointments list and would like to hear from any experienced or newly qualified referees. If you would like to officiate on the League as a referee note we use an app called Centre Circle to manage all appointments which you need to download from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You must also complete the online referee registration form .
Around a week before referees will be asked about their availability for the following week and a quick response would be much appreciated so the Referees Secretary can sort out the appointments. To confirm your availability please select the appropriate dates & times in the Centre Circle app, showing when you can referee. The appointments list will be circulated to referees on Wednesday showing the games for the coming weekend (and midweek if appropriate). If you can no longer officiate on a game, please let the Referees Secretary know asap by rejecting the game in Centre Circle. Referees will receive an email from the Referees Secretary via FA Full-Time system.
Club fixture secretaries, managers and team admins will also receive the appointments list and they should confirm the fixture details with each referee at least 3 days in advance of the fixture. Once you receive this, please acknowledge the details and confirm that you will be attending the game.
If a club does not confirm the fixture details or you have any problems, please contact the Referees Secretary.
If a referee confirms an appointment but does not turn up to officiate on the appointed fixture(s) without good reason, they will be reported to the County FA.
For U12s and upwards both teams must provide team sheets, indicating players & substitutes for that game.
Please take a photo of these and submit via the Centre Circle app, prior to the game commencing
If one or both teams fail to provide a team sheet, please indicate as 'none' provided on the Centre Circle match report.
AGE GROUP | FORMAT | REFEREE FEE | ASSISTANT REFEREE FREE |
---|---|---|---|
Under 7-Under 8 | 5v5 | £20.00 | n/a |
Under 9-Under 10 | 7v7 | £25.00 | n/a |
Under 11-Under 12 | 9v9 | £30.00 | £25.00 |
Under 13-Under 14 | 11v11 | £35.00 | £30.00 |
Under 15-Under 16 | 11v11 | £40.00 | £35.00 |
Under 17-Under 21 | 11v11 | £45.00 | £40.00 |
Where a referee is appointed to a cup match, both home and away clubs will share the referee fee equally. |
Once the fixture has been played, appointed referees must complete a Referee Match Report within 48 hours of the fixture date. This report is now done in Centre Circle. In this report you will be letting the League know how the match went, including fair play marks out of 10 for each team (with separate marks for players, spectators and team officials).
Any sin bin cautions, other cautions, dismissals or misconduct should be reported through the Whole Game System - see Resources section.
The League has the right to appoint referees and assistant referees to any match organised by the League and, if they are appointed, the Club must use them. Normally only a referee will be appointed for most matches. Assistant referees are usually appointed to cup finals only (however, the League can appoint them on other matches where they feel this may be apppropriate).
Clubs may be able to use their own club referees for games as long as their details have been sent through to the Referees Secretary at least 7 days in advance and have been approved by the League. Like League referees, club referees must be qualified and be registered with their County FA for the current season (if they are going to do 9v9 and/or 11v11 formats), though someone who has completed the Mini Soccer Referee Course would be approved to officiate on 5v5 and 7v7 games..
Club fixture secretaries/team admins will receive the referee appointments list via Full-Time, and confirmation of individual fixture appointments by Full-Time. Once received, clubs should confirm the fixture details with each referee at least 3 days in advance of the fixture and by Friday at the latest.
If you have problems contacting a referee, please contact the Referees Secretary.
If there are any late changes, e.g. change of venue, ring the referee to give them the updated information.
AGE GROUP | FORMAT | REFEREE FEE | ASSISTANT REFEREE FREE |
---|---|---|---|
Under 7-Under 8 | 5v5 | £20.00 | n/a |
Under 9-Under 10 | 7v7 | £25.00 | n/a |
Under 11-Under 12 | 9v9 | £30.00 | £25.00 |
Under 13-Under 14 | 11v11 | £35.00 | £30.00 |
Under 15-Under 16 | 11v11 | £40.00 | £35.00 |
Under 17-Under 21 | 11v11 | £45.00 | £40.00 |
Where a referee is appointed to a cup match, both home and away clubs will share the referee fee equally. |
Managers (both home and away) must remember to include a mark for the referee's performance when completing the match statistics in Full-Time after each match. Failure to include a mark will make the club liable for a fine (Rule 13 (H)). A guide to marking is given below.
The referee mark is split into three sections:
If the total mark given to a referee is 60 or less, then a report must be entered in the box provided. This should be constructive to help the referee improve and a low mark should not be given just because of one decision in the match. Equally unacceptable is to say that the referee was biased as he/she was a parent/coach of the home team.
Overall Decision Making | |||
---|---|---|---|
Did the Referee: | Recognise patterns of play and not invade player/game space | ||
Correctly recognise and award throw-ins, goal-kicks and corners | |||
Demonstrate consistent and credible recognition, detection and interpretation of 'normal' Law 12 offences i.e. but not limited to; foul tackles, holding, aerial challenges, handball etc. | |||
Recognise Law 11 + 12 offences and advantage application opportunities, not merely possession, applied in credible areas and/or applied without detriment to match control | |||
Demonstrate awareness of when appropriate to use the range of management techniques available, before resorting to formal disciplinary action i.e. the STEP process | |||
Recognise where player(s), teams(s) are using time consuming tactics and takes positive appropriate action i.e. preventative actions | |||
Demonstrate high levels of fitness and work rate throughout the entire game to meet the demands of the game | |||
Judgement of Major Decisions (Cautions/Non-Cautions, Send Offs/Non-Send Offs, Penalties/Non-Penalties, Goal Awarded/Disallowed or other significant game changing decisions) | |||
Did the Referee: | Demonstrate identification of 'significant game impact' incidents and offences with appropriate action(s) applied | ||
Demonstrate the ability to recognise the importance of potential key match decisions and effectively move towards/gain an optimum viewing angle to (a) judge, (b) enhance credibility and (c) adds value to the decision | |||
In the highly unlikely event of there being no major decisions, a standard mark of 15 should be awarded to the Referee. | |||
Overall Control and Player Management | |||
Did the Referee: | Act in a positive manner in their Pre-match Communication and Off-Field Behaviour | ||
Lead their team, ensuring all officials worked in harmony without contradictory decisions (where ARs are appointed) | |||
Display empathy for the game, managing game situations in an empathetic manner recognising the ever-changing ebbs/flows, nature and temperature of the game and adapts refereeing style to suit | |||
Recognise when/how to raise his/her profile to aide their match control and remain in self-control of emotions, demonstrating composure | |||
Recognise when appropriate to enter face-to-face dialogue with the Assistant Referee(s) (where applicable), to aide visual co-operation and major decision making | |||
Effectively manage, when appropriate, two-way interaction with players, technical staff etc. | |||
Demonstrate a natural authority/confidence - not influenced by players, spectators or team officials |