Monday 3 April 2017

Sad confessions of a needy amateur ref

Game 44, 2016-17

How important is refereeing to me? I found out this weekend, when it looked like I wouldn't have a game. I had no idea what to do with myself.

Yellow fruit instead of yellow cards. 
It's alright when I travel out of town for the weekend. I don't even think about it. But if I'm at home and available on both Saturday and Sunday, then I am almost always assigned at least two games. This weekend I was only assigned on Sunday morning as a mentor to a newly qualified referee on a boys U13 game. Standing on the touchline taking notes - I don't mind doing it, but it's not the real thing.

On Friday I sent an email to the game assignors. Just to let them know I was around, like, and available if anyone called off at short notice. I got a sniffy email back saying there were plenty of refs this weekend, thanks, and that I shouldn't bother them by lobbying for games. Blimey, I was just trying to help. Or do they get a dozen emails like that from needy refs every Friday afternoon?

Want to read more? Click here to order Reffing Hell: Stuck In The Middle Of A Game Gone Wrong by Ian Plenderleith (Halcyon Publishing), published on August 8, 2022.  

2 comments:

  1. Maybe Mrs RT ought to dissent, commit reckless fouls and play offside during your walks around the fruit and veg market...

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  2. Heh heh. There's always plenty of dissent, but sadly I'm not authorized to show any cards. "Shall we get some of those nice seedless black grapes, dear?" "No, I want apricots and yellow plums." She did come and watch me ref once last year, and is still dining out on the story of how much she enjoyed watching me be abused by several dozen players, coaches and spectators for a full 90 minutes on a sunny afternoon. Afterwards, we blew my earnings on a pint of beer and a sausage.

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