Referees That Don't Turn Up

[pescara]

Hello to all

I wish to address this issue head on and make everyone aware of the current situation at hand.

As mentioned last week I had internet issues and was unable to issue the referee allocation for CSL matches. This week they will be e-mailed and as a precursor there may be some matches again without a match official.

I stress that much work is done by the FFSA and CSL as well as all parties involved in football to resolve the genuine shortage of referees available week to week and the "name and shame" approach in mustering pressure on the FFSA will do nothing more than damage the relationship we have as well as put offside referees themselves who may have legitimate reasons. We follow-up with the so called "no shows" and seek explanation which are not always made public to you all given in most if not all, offenders can easily give legitimate reasons without validity and genuine recourse.

And what recourse do we genuinely have when there is a shortage and a need for these same referees to provide their services and time. Recourse can only be effective if there is an adequate supply of referees and those not towing the line can then be dealt with - appropriately.

I encourage solutions rather than finger pointing and this will require us to encourage all clubs to have volunteers within their club trained as officials. In fact training courses have been offered in the past and I must say with very little take up on the part of those making the loudest complaints.

I for one took up the call to arms to alleviate the problem for the benefit of our league as well as Men's and Women's Seniors, and Juniors for which I also officiate for. For me its about the advancement of football and yes to ensure juniors and parents and everyone involved have a worthwhile experience in our code for the money they outlay.

So please from here on in, no more finger pointing and naming and shaming but as chelsea pointed out viable solutions which we are all endeavouring to find that will be amenable to all parties for the good of the sport.

Cheers

[Ross30]

I understand the points you've made Dino and they are all valid.

All we want is for the referee appointments person to do the job they are paid to do. Appoint referees in a fair and logical manner and, if there are games without referees, let the affected clubs know by Wednesday or Thursday, not Friday afternoon. And there needs to be someone we can contact on a Saturday when it's 10 minutes before kick-off and an appointed referee has not turned up, someone who can make a call and get back to us to say whether the referee is on their way or not.

I don't doubt they have a hard job, but FFSA are being paid to provide a service. In that sense, are the above things too much to ask?

[Ross30]

Crusader - I think that there is a difference between between a CSL game without an official ref and a game between a CSL team and a SAASL team. The former is an official match sanctioned by FFSA, regardless of whether an official referee is able to be there. The latter is a a match which is not sanctioned by FFSA and, as such, FFSA will not appoint referees to such games.

It is possible that I am wrong, but I think the key to the applicability of player insurance for a particular match is whether the match in question is one sanctioned by FFSA, not whether an official referee is present.

[pescara]

In reference to player insurance - Ross is correct a FFSA sanctioned match will be covered for insurance just as players are covered whilst at club training.

Because the CSL and its clubs are part of the FFSA insurance cover applies to all players when undertaking any activities on the field for which the insurance cover would provide.

Matches not sanctioned by the FFSA, i.e. a friendly between a CSL club and a SAASL club would not be covered.

The presence of a match official is not the determination of whether or not insurance cover is provided.

It is important however that where a person is injured and wanting to make a claim it is either recorded on the match sheet or if incurred whilst training a written submission by the head of the club would be required to be provided.

[nobody]

Well done to Pulteney today. We were not allocated a ref today because certain people can't get their act together. Anyway, neither of us wanted to play without an official ref because it is a joke. So Pulteney got on the front foot and called their div 3 team and got the ref to come and officiate our game. Now why couldn't the league do that. Simply ask the refs officiating the single 1pm game if they want to travel to Windsor to do another game. This guy was more than happy to do the game. It isn''t rocket science. Isn't that the reason we play at 3:15?'

[Balotelli]

And what was the result of the Windsor vs Pulteney game? It's not been entered on the league website yet.

[nobody]

Windsor 4-0

[hellas]

CBC vs Norwood game had Damir Dokic refereeing, and he was terrible, apparently he had a sore back, but he was ordinary. Federation needs to go out ad watch this embarrassment

[Squeezy Cheesey Peas]

Without going onto details, we had a shocker of a ref on Saturday too.. He didn't move out the centre circle for both games and gave nothing to either team once in the last third..
Problem is he was an offical ref, he turned up and did 2 games and was better than nothing.
There is a definite shortgae of refs and until this can be sorted (not a quick fix) we will have to take what we can I suppose.
Glad to hear the WG game hgot a ref as that would have been out of order to have a potential top three game with no ref whilst lower grade games get one......
Wish there was an easy answer to this problem but common sense seems to be a good start

[nobody]

Unfortunately the quality of referees isn't going to be the best. But we have to accept what we get and we can't expect the best refs in the state. Better than getting no referee at all. Had we not found a referee ourselves the rules state that the home side must provide a ref. This would have been an absolute disaster being a very close game and one bad decision from a non official ref would spark chaos.
Unfortunately the fact is we do not have enough referees for the expanded league. It has been my issue every time the powers to be want to expand the league. The number one priority is quantity over quality and we are seeing the outcome.