Respect the Ref

Respect The Ref

Durham FA proud to be supporting the nationwide Respect the Referee campaign. 

Respect The Ref Is A New Nationwide Campaign Launched By The FA To Help People Think About Their Behaviour Towards Referees.

Match Officials are essential for grassroots football to thrive.

What’s Respect the Ref?

Every match. Every league. Every championship. It’s the referees who are integral to a smooth-running game.

They work hard, train hard, show up and play hard – all to keep the game beautiful. They give their time and yet face negative attention and abuse in almost every match. Enough is enough. We can all play our part to show the ref some respect, to help make the game the best it can be. So, are you in?

For more information regarding the Respect the Ref nationwide campaign then please click here

How we support referees

We’re committed to nurturing and developing new referees: 

  • We offer support to our match officials in their first year with mentors and points of contacts
  • We liaise with local Referee Associations to offer a support mechanism for all referees.  
  • Provide Respect arm bands for new and under 18 referees
  • Offer post course sessions to support newly qualified referees in the first few months of their journey.

We’re also committed to developing the skills and experience of existing referees:

  • We offer CPD to help you deepen or expand your skills.
  • We provide opportunities within our county CORE (Centre of refereeing excellence) programmes to engage and develop potential within our referees.
  • Through workshops and courses, we can also help you expand your refereeing experience to successfully officiate other formats, such as Pan-Disability football, Futsal and Walking Football.

We’re committed to supporting mental health:

  • As a County FA, we have our very own Referee mental Health Champion, Laura Summers. You can contact her on laurasummers78@gmail.com.
  • The FA introduced ‘sin bins’ to all levels of grassroots football to encourage respect and fair play 

Becoming a referee is not for the faint hearted:

  • You need to run fit, think fast and be on top of every game. You’ll be in the thick of the action, keeping the play moving and the players, managers, and supporters on side. So, what’s in it for you?
  • You’ll develop skills that will serve you in all areas of your life. Leadership, negotiation, personal development, confidence and staying power. There’s nothing quite like it!

MEET OUR REFEREES

 

Name: Courtney Mole

 Age: 18
Level: 7
Location: Durham FA

How many years have you refereed? 

This is my 5th season refereeing 

What do you enjoy about refereeing?

You never know what to expect, every game is different!

What do you hope to achieve in refereeing? 

To go as far as possible through the promotion pathway

Why would you recommend refereeing?

Refereeing is rewarding and is a great way to give back to the game  

Key skills needed to be a referee? 

Confident, calm and consistent.