Book reviews: 'Blowing the Whistle' by Stuart Carrington and 'The Social Ref' by Shawn D Madden

There's been no action on the field since March, so here's a review that I wrote for @SoccerAmerica at the end of last year of two refereeing books, by @StuCarrington07 and @SocialRefHabits

Football Books of the Year, 2019, Part 2: How to be a Better Referee
Blowing the Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing by Stuart Carrington (Dark River)
The Social Ref: How to Become a Better Referee and Umpire by Shawn D. Madden (independently published)

Within their own social circle, referees are nerds. We love to discuss seven different ways to interpret the more obscure clauses of the Laws of the Game, to enthuse about our favorite jersey designs, and to compare notes on which brand of whistle we blow. We have a story for almost every game we ever officiated, and in most of those stories we come out on top (the stories where we don't remain untold). Wayward players, loudmouthed coaches and gesticulating spectators all have one thing in common - they do not know as much as we do. It's the self-belief that keeps us going.

Arrogance, some might call it. In London-based Sports Coaching Science lecturer Stuart Carrington's excellent book Blowing the Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing, we hear that arrogance is not necessarily a bad quality in a referee. The writer believes that ego-oriented referees (who harbor an "obsessive passion" for the game) are no better or worse than task-oriented referees (who foster a "harmonious passion" more associated with examining our own errors). Ideally, the best referee will consist of a mixture of the two, combining self-reflection with self-confidence.

Not that there is an ideal type of person who is suited to being a referee. "Interestingly," he notes, "not only is each referee different, but the same referee may be different one game to the next." The nuances of human personality areamong several other factors carefully considered in this study of why soccer is losing so many referees, why verbal and physical abuse of game officials is on the rise, and what we can do about it.