Who are Referees? A referee is an official in charge of different sports and competition; he has the responsibility of enforcing the rules and regulations of any sport. This also include some sportsmanship
decisions such as ejection.
The official with this responsibilities can go with any name depending on the sports he or she is in charge of, including umpire , judge , arbiter (chess), commissar, or technical official (by the International Olympic Committee ). Referees may be assisted by umpires, linesmen,
timekeepers, or touch judges.
Referees are expected to be assisted by umpires, linesmen timekeepers, or touch judges depending on the sports
In Football, a (soccer) match is presided over by a referee, who has the full backing of the Law of and he is being given the “full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed” (Law 5).
A Football referee is professionally assisted by two assistant referees, and- if it’s a professional match- a fourth official.
In Football, a referee is expected to carry with him or her a yellow card and a red card which is expected to be issued to a player with misconduct or to send-off a player.
These cards were introduced into the beautiful game by Ken Aston , a former chair of the FIFA
Refereeing Committee. As described by Law 5, these are the powers given to a referee:
Powers– He has the power to either stop, suspend, or terminate a Football game if there is any
infringements of the Laws by the players, fans or outside interference;
He/she has the power to stop a match if he feels a player is injured, and he is expected to hold the game until the player is removed from the field of play. This injured player is to return to the match after it has been restarted, and until the ball is out, he is not expected to resume play. He is to allow play to continue until the ball is out of play.
He or she is expected to take a disciplinary action against a player guilty of caution-able
and sending-off offenses.
Apart from the players, he is expected to take decision against the team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner.
DUTIES (According to FIFA)
Enforcing the Laws of the Game;
controlling the match in co-operation with the assistant referees and, where applicable, with the fourth and other officials;
Ensuring that any ball used meets the requirements of Law 2;
Ensuring that the players’ equipment meets the requirements of Law 4;
Acting as timekeeper and keeping a record of the match;ensuring that any player bleeding from a wound leaves the field of play. The player may only return on receiving a signal from the referee, who must be satisfied that the bleeding has stopped;
punishing the more serious offense when a player commits more than one offense at
the same time; acting on the advice of the assistant referees regarding incidents that the
referee has not seen;
Ensuring that no unauthorized persons enter the field of play; indicating the restart of the
match after it has been stopped;
providing the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players or team officials, substitutions and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match.
The appointment of match officials is always announced every Monday. However, If there is Monday night football, these appointments of match officials will be announced on the following day ( Tuesday).
The Appointments are usually made by the Professional Game Match Officials Board/hierarchies.
CRITERIA TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING REFEREES:
The referee’s overall experience.
Their current form
How often they have refereed the clubs involved,
Which team the referee supports and,
Any forthcoming international appointments.