PATRON:- Pam Wells 01483 833394 PRESIDENT:- Peter Guest :- 01483 771649

CHAIRMAN Vince Penfold

VICE-CHAIRMAN:- Rick Green SECRETARY Roy Butler 07747 800687

TREASURER 01483 423808 & MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY:- Bryan Jackson 1 Woodstock Grove, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 2AX TRAINING OFFICER:- Corin Readett

SUPPLIES OFFICERS: - Tony Price 01483 836388 / 07766 973304

R.A.. DELEGATES :- Brian Reader 01483 480651 Roy Butler WARBLER Editor :- Mac McBirnie, 16 Robins Dale 01483 835717 / 07770 643229 Knaphill Woking Surrey GU21 2LQ [email protected]

COMMITTEE:- Derek Stovold LIFE MEMBERS :- David Cooper Gareth Heighes Cedge Gregory Chis Cook Chris Jones Meril Readett Ken Chivers Colin Barnett Neil Collins Friends of Woking Referees Society Roy Lomax ; Saundra Evans ;

INSIDE THIS MONTH’S WARBLER Page 1: Agenda Page 2 : From the Chair Page 3 : Accounts /Membership update Page 4 : Mac’s Musings Page 5/6 : Tony Pullis’s proposal Page 7 :It wasn’t obvious obviously Page 8 : The art of catching rabbits Page 9/10/11 : Before we criticise the law, we must first try to understand it Page 13 : The Wisdom of Willard Page 14 : It’s a Family Affair Page 15 : Red card threat player jailed for driving at referee Page 17 : The Good Old Days Page 18 : Murphy’s Meanderings Page 19 : Belgium 2011 Page 20 : Dates for Your Diary Page 21 : Lee Cable—A Profile Page 24 : Plum Tree Page 26 /27 : What would you do Answers / What would you do?

The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Meadow Sports Football Club Loop Road Playing Fields, Loop Road, Kingfield, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9BQ 7.30pm for a prompt 8pm start

AGENDA

 8am CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME

 OUR GUEST SPEAKER

Lee Cable Woking RA Member, FA Regional Referee Coach, Football League Assessor, Former Football League Referee ―Failing to prepare is preparing to fail"

 BREAK

 SOCIETY BUSINESS

 10pm CLOSE NEXT MEETING January 10th December 2011 Guest Speaker Dean Mohareb FA National Referee Manager – Workforce

The Deadline for the January Warbler is Friday 26th November 2010

1 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Welcome to the December Warbler.

Our thanks go to Ian Blanchard for a very interesting and interactive November meeting. Ian’s subject was refereeing with courage. I think all of those that were at the November meeting recognised how having the courage to give the correct decisions can only help the game and our refereeing. Thanks again Ian for a very enjoyable and informa- tive evening.

This month we welcome our very own Lee Cable. Lee has operated at the very highest level and is now an assessor on the football league and a level 3-referee coach. Lee has always supported the society and always delivers a very good and interesting subject. Pam our patron has very kindly agreed to lay on a spread for Lee, sorry I mean the pre Christmas meeting and the Christmas raffle will be drawn so please come along and show your support.

With a thick frost and biting wind Winter is well and truly here, the Scottish have gone on strike, the draw for the third round of the FA cup is about to happen and I have lost my first game to the weather. Having lost my game fairly early in the morning it gave me the opportunity to arrange to go and watch a colleague. What was interesting for me watching a game that was at my level, it really helped me to understand that even when the referee is doing his job and doing it well, the players still moan about every decision. It gave me great reassurance that actu- ally when they are on our case it’s less likely to be down to our performance but more like their ability to only see things from one side. That’s not to say I don’t ever make mistakes but it does put the winging and moaning into perspective.

If you agree with what has gone on north of the boarder or not, what it does show is that referees everywhere show an unbreakable solidarity. It’s this soli- darity that I believe sets us as a group of people apart from any other. It’s a great opportunity for me to thank all my colleagues within the refereeing fraternity for always showing me support throughout my refereeing career. It’s also a timely opportunity to remind any new referee that we, your colleagues, are here to help and support you. I for one and I know I speak for others, am always happy to talk about football and refereeing at any time.

Don’t forget to see Roy Butler and confirm your place on the Belgium trip May 2011. Roy will be happy to take stage payments to ease the pain of one big pay- ment nearer the time.

Unfortunately I am unable to attend the December meeting so I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Vince

2 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

RA Membership in Surrey as at Oct 10 Month end Mar-08 Mar-09 Mar-10 Oct-10 Surrey 545 503 532 421 Croydon 98 92 93 87 Dorking 27 33 27 18 Farnham 30 29 34 23 Guildford 61 60 63 48 Kingston 27 33 44 44 Redhill 90 69 68 36 Sutton 42 42 57 44 Wimbledon 51 42 29 21 West London 17 14 14 12 Woking 89 89 103 88 STOP PRESS !! The Surrey Primary League has appointed a new Referees Secretary: Scott Brundish The SPL are currently recruiting new and experienced referees for Sundays. If you are interested, please contact Scott, who is a Referee and league officer, on 07956 321741 or [email protected]

From the Treasurer

2010 Current Status General £990.60 Supplies £610.64 Belgium £0.00 Youth Fund £113.50 Total £1,714.74 Membership 89 Full Members 1 Associate 5 Friends

3 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

I’ve had a few incidents to this year with young men wearing bits of metal in their ears. These are not earrings as such hanging from earlobes, but metal studs through the piece of flesh at the front of the ear, which I’m informed by a website I found, is called the Targus. The give-away is the piece of sticking plaster on the ear. On enquiring whether they have a wound the answer in inevitably no, it’s a stud. Naturally on suggest- ing they remove it we are told they can’t possibly take it out. I always say in that case they can’t play and most times the offending article would be out within a matter of seconds. This year I’ve had one case where the player either couldn’t or wouldn’t remove it—so he didn’t play and one where he struggled until half time to get it out. Eventually Mum turned up with a pair of wire cutters and it was snipped out. Amusingly the Mum then turned to me and said ― Thank you so much, I really hated the thing‖ The point, however, is that I’m always told that the ref last week let him play with it in. Obviously they could be trying it on, but I’ve had managers say the same thing, which is very worrying.

We as referees are often told by players and managers that they find lack of con- sistency a real problem. There will always be an element of this due to differ- ences of opinion regarding what is and what isn’t a foul, or whether it’s actually been spotted, the tempo and feel of the game etc. Language in particular can be open to interpretation, but for something as straight forward as a visible piece of jewellery there can only be one answer—NO. So if there are any officials out there who are letting players play with jewellery would they please stop as they are making those of us who are trying to prevent young lads having to go to casualty with bits of metal embedded in their heads, more difficult.

The biggest refereeing news at the time of going to print is the strike by the Scottish Referees. Des Kelly in the Daily Mail on Saturday 27th speaks of his ad- miration of our colleagues north of he border where as he says they have been the victims of systematic abuse and vicious accusations of bias. I quote‖ there have been disgusting comments this week suggesting that refe- rees should accept getting it in the neck because it’s part of the job and they de- served to be demonised.‖ …‖When the Chairman of Celtic started to demand in- dividual sackings and calling for the dismantling of the SFA, claiming his club were constantly victimised official decided enough was enough.‖ What I don’t quite understand is why aren’t the clubs and managers who are making these accusation fined by the Scottish FA as they would in this country.?

Interestingly the Polish and Portuguese referees who we were told would take charge of the weekend’s games have backed down, but officials from Israel, Malta and Luxemburg were drafted in. So much for solidarity . In Sundays paper I read that Hamilton Boss Billy Reid led the chorus of praise for the stand ins, but I wonder how long that will last.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year Keeeeeeep Whistling ! ( Widdy for PM!)

Mac

4 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Tony Pulis's idea of relegating referees could work – with a tweak Managers are unreliable witnesses but a group of assessors could mark the referees – with the worst being relegated If I was going to invent something crazy, just to add even more spice to the mix, I might have come up with the idea of promotion and relegation for referees, based on votes from each club at the end of the season, but sadly I don't have the imagination, and in any case has just got there first. The first thing to say about the Stoke City manager's stimulating idea is that he has not dreamed it up just to add to the general wackiness of life. He is fed up with refereeing decisions going against his club, or at least he was until his last result, and any fair person reviewing the sequence of "bad luck" to which Stoke have been re- cently subjected would agree he has a right to be. Bad luck is supposed to even itself out over the course of a football season, and it might just about do that, though there is no reason to suppose bad refereeing decisions will do the same. Particularly if you happen to be the smaller, more expendable type of club, with perhaps a reputation for being ef- fective without being as easy on the eye as Arsenal or Manchester United. Pulis's point is that by the time Stoke's luck evens itself out, bad refereeing decisions could well have cost them their top-flight status, so it would seem only fair that referees themselves should have something equally large to lose after a run of poor performances. One prob- lem with Pulis's logic is that Stoke appear to have been on the end of bad decisions from a string of different referees, so merely identifying the worst two or three and booting them out at the end of the season would not necessarily ease his difficulty. It ought at least to raise overall standards, however, and if nothing else it would address that con- stant bleat from managers that while refereeing errors frequently cost clubs points and money, the officials themselves never have to suffer anything that threatens their liveli- hood. If promotion and relegation is fair for clubs, it ought to be acceptable for referees as well. So far so good. Not only would Pulis's suggested system reward the best and pun- ish the worst, it would add an extra layer of interest to a season and throw up even more controversy and talking points than we see already, but in a positive way by highlight- ing the important job the referee performs and helping explain the decisions that he must make. This is what referees all say they want. Not promotion and relegation, but some positive projection and a greater understanding of what it takes to be a good refe- ree. If promotion and relegation can help bring that about, and one can see that it might, why should anyone object? In addition to the dogfight at the bottom end of the table one imagines there would be rivalry going on at the top as well, for if referees are going to be marked on performance there will inevitably be a champion as well as a wooden spoonist each year. The marking, of course, is where the whole system is likely to fall down. Pulis suggests each club should have a vote at the end of the season, conveniently ignoring the fact that most clubs seem to know their least favourite official at the start of each season. What would probably happen is that almost every referee would find himself on some- one's hate list, and instead of a broad consensus at the end of a season about who needs a refresher in the Championship, upwards of half a dozen officials would find them- selves in fear of the chop. While that might be quite amusing for fans of the X Factor and public executions, it would hardly be fair or positive. As any supporter who has ever debated a refereeing decision with a rival supporter will know, anyone with any sort of club attachment will be far too partisan to offer an objec- tive appraisal. Managers are even worse. 5 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society They usually know perfectly well when they are playing the age-old game of heaping the blame for a poor performance on to an official's shoulders, and have even been known to apologise to the referee in private for doing so. David Elleray used to recall a manager tearing him to shreds in the press room then promising him a good mark on the official paperwork, and many more officials have been ruined in the press than have been reported to their superiors. Clubs and managers are unreliable witnesses, unless you actually desire to build a crisis into the constitution and have a forum for old scores and slanging matches to be re-aired each year. The marking would have to be scrupulously independent, conducted by refe- reeing assessors as of old, with the vital difference that their evaluation would be made public on the same day. All it would take for Pulis's system to work is for an assessor to award the official a mark out of 10 or 20 after each game, and for that mark to be pub- lished and totted up each weekend. Not only would that be fair it would be transparent. At present, if a referee drops a clanger and influences the outcome of a game, all that happens is a one-sided conversation. Managers, pundits and radio phone-in merchants foam at the mouth for hours on end, then a few days later the erring official is quietly demoted for a weekend or two. A mark on the day would immediately show what the assessor thought of an incident, and a referee on the receiving end of a couple of low scores would have more incentive to improve before the end of the season. It seems worth a try to me, although I don't doubt for a moment that refereeing assessors are just as capable of making mistakes or missing incidents as referees themselves, and that before long they too will have to be independently scrutinised and subjected to pro- motion and relegation. Maybe it would be simpler to accept that refereeing perfection is an impossible ideal, though were I in Pulis's shoes I don't think I would be happy about being fobbed off thus. Regardless of the apparent handball in last night's winner against Birmingham, he has a point about the way decisions go against smaller clubs. Mark Hughes has just agreed with him, and you rarely meet a supporter of a bottom-half team who does not feel the same way. There is a case to answer, not all clubs are treated equally, and it is up to referees themselves to reassure us all otherwise. Courtesy of Paul Wilson, The Guardian

The Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis, wants referees to be made more accountable for their performances. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images 6 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

It wasn't obvious obviously Some of footballs laws are more ambiguous than others. Most red card calls are sub- jective judgements and as such will depend on the individual assessment of the refe- ree. Whether a tackle is careless, reckless or uses force to excess is something that opinions will always be divided on though some are clearly more obvious than others. The decision as to whether a handball is 'deliberate` and therefore 'denying the oppos- ing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity` seems to create more uncer- tainty than it should. Most deliberate handballs are, or should be evident enough. In an effort to clarify one particular law I wonder whether the game has made the situation more confusing.

A change in the law enabling professional fouls to be defined as 'serious foul play` and thereby a red card offence was introduced in 1982 following the spectacularly obvious foul by Willie Young on Paul Allen in the 1980 FA Cup final. With some tinkering in be- tween the law was changed after 1998 to define what is now included as part of Law 12. The change calls for the referee to determine, under Law 12 whether a player has committed the offence of 'denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player`s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick`. On the surface it sounds clear enough except perhaps for the inclusion of the word obvious. It is an ambiguous enough law for the game to seek to establish its own criteria to decide whether the opportunity is obvious enough. This is usually promoted as the unwritten and therefore non-existent 'last man` rule by which if another player is close enough to impede the player then it might be determined that if an opportunity existed it wasn`t an obvious one. Similarly judgements are made as to whether the player was in control of the ball notwithstanding that he might have been if he hadn`t first been fouled.

Incidents over the season and particularly over the last two weekends make me won- der whether we might tinker with this law a little more. Koscienly was sent off against Newcastle having been judged to have brought down Nile Ranger closer to the touch- line than the penalty area. An opportunity to score a goal might have resulted had he been able to go on but from that angle and the distance he still had to travel I wonder how obvious it might have been. The same referee, Mike Dean awarded a penalty against Wes Brown in the ManU/Villa game at the weekend. Though Browns defensive partner was also very near the play the ball had passed him and he had no chance of playing a part in defending the attack. That an obvious goal scoring opportunity was denied seems obvious enough, certainly far more obvious than Koscienly`s but Dean chose not to issue a red card for the denial on this occasion. Similarly Squillaci seemed to deny Saha an opportunity to score a goal in the game against Everton yesterday. This supposedly was deemed not to be obvious because Clichy might have been able to get to him though almost certainly not before Saha had got into the penalty box. The only factor that might have made the anticipated chance not an obvious one would probably have been that Saha would have had to take it with his right foot but that an opportunity would have arisen seems clear.

Maybe a red card is fair punishment for denying a genuine opportunity but for the most part it is invoked quite often when the opportunity isn`t such an obvious one so perhaps a different more appropriate punishment might be made. Instead of issuing a red card any professional or deliberate foul on a player through the last line of defence, outside but within a given distance of say 10 yards from the penalty box should be punishable with a penalty. It won`t stop opinions being divided over whether it was a foul or not or whether it was deliberate or not but obviously at present not all goal scoring opportuni- ties are obvious either. (Courtesy of Vital Arsenal)

7 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society ~When Insults Had Class...

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy." -Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." -Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleas- ure." Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." -George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second.... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." -Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." -Charles, Count Talley- rand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.." - Oscar Wilde

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -Groucho Marx

8 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Before we criticise the law, we must first try to understand it Ciaran Cronin argues that the biggest issue in the officiating of football is not always that referees need to go to Specsavers, but that players, managers and fans need to refocus and see how the rules have changed Tony Pulis knew precisely what he was doing. In going public with his plans to rate refe- rees over the course of a season, and in turn relegate from the Premier League to the Championship those officials with the lowest rating, he may as well have been advocat- ing another bank holiday, or an end to taxes, so populist was his suggestion. Everybody who contributed to the topic – from Premier League managers in press conferences, to Rio Ferdinand on Twitter – believed there was the kernel of a good idea in Pulis's words but nobody brought up the important point that referees are already rated and, as a re- sult, can be relegated from the of match officials if their marks aren't up to scratch. That is part of the problems with referees. Bar the input of a few retired officials every now and then, it is a one-way argument but in this case the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOB) would have served their members better by explaining how referees are currently rated. In the absence of then doing so, here's how it actually works. At every Premier League, there are two men present to watch the match offi- cials: an assessor, always a former referee, who is there to judge the officials in a tech- nical sense and a delegate, who is a former player, manager or football administrator, there to offer a view on how the men in black did with regards the game as a whole, in- cluding the overall spectator experience. Immediately after a game the assessor talks to the referee about what went on, while the delegate talks to the managers of the two clubs involved within 48 hours of the final whistle. Both men then prepare and send their reports to the Premier League Match Officials Board with a rating attached. The results aren't actually published – which is perhaps the argument Pulis should have been making last week rather than promoting his own flawed scheme – but they do have a knock-on effect in terms of career progression. Referees who get significant de- cisions wrong on a Saturday are routinely given a match in the Championship the fol- lowing weekend as a form of punishment, while a number of referees, the likes of Andy D'Urso, Keith Stroud and Steve Tanner, have all been demoted from the select group of referees in recent seasons. It doesn't exactly tally with Pulis's X-Factor idea of democ- racy, but that only serves to make it fair, reasonable and objective. Is it enough? Pulis doesn't appear to think so but then again he wouldn't, given Stoke City's recent run of unfortunate decisions. But a few questionable decisions here and there does not constitute a refereeing crisis. From an objective point of view, away from the heat of battle, the loss of a late goal and the dropping of a point, or indeed three, it would seem that there are two main problems with officialdom: referees and their assis- tants not seeing an incident properly due to the sheer pace of the game; and players, managers, and supporters – and sometimes referees – not understanding the laws of the game properly, as the following examination of recent controversial incidents show. 1. Koscielny's sending off The laws of the game are fascinating once you sit down to read them. Even more fasci- nating is how they are divided up. In the English edition, the 17 laws of the game take up just 42 pages. They are short and sweet. However the interpretations of those laws last for 72 pages, which shows the extent of the potential for trouble. 's sending off for Arsenal against Newcastle was a case in point. Players, ac- cording to the laws of the game, can be sent off for "denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal". The interpretation section of this particular law suggests that the referee, Mike Dean in this case, should take a number of circumstances into consideration before making his decision, including, "the distance between the offence and the goal", "the likelihood of [the player] keeping or gaining control of the ball" and "the location and number of defenders". That last point, however, can be interpreted a number of different ways. 9 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Arsenal's argument in appealing Koscielny's red card was that there was another de- fender capable of making it back to challenge Newcastle striker Nile Ranger. But nowhere in the interpretation does it say that the presence of a covering player means that "an obvious goalscoring opportunity" is negated. Dean obviously felt that even with a covering defender on the scene, Ranger would still have been presented with that goalscoring opportunity. Which he is perfectly entitled to conclude given the words in the law book. 2. Advantage clattenburg The spirit, and words, of the law often come into conflict. But Mark Clattenburg's deci- sion to allow Nani's goal at Old Trafford a couple of weekends ago was not one of those occasions. The words on this matter are abundantly clear. In the laws of the game it states: "a referee allows play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage and penalises the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time." Clattenburg, therefore, was per- fectly right in allowing Tottenham the advantage in the first place when Nani handled the ball, but when Heurelho Gomes put the ball on the ground with the United player lurking beside him, that anticipated advantage was put in doubt and he should then have blown his whistle for the original offence. And all that is not putting much emphasis on the fact that the law book clearly shows what the correct signal is for advantage. And it's not a shrug of the shoulders. 3. Referees caught out by speed of play These are the incidents that are perhaps most unfair on referees. Premier League foot- ball is impossibly fast at times and when David Bentley swerved his way into the penalty area for Tottenham against Sunderland on Tuesday, Howard Webb had about a second to decide whether the winger had been hacked down by Bolo Zenden, or whether he had in fact dived before he was tackle From the East Stand at White Hart Lane, where your correspondent was sitting, the decision could genuinely have gone either way given that Bentley appeared to be on his way down – more through losing his balance than a deliberate attempt to deceive the referee it seemed – when the Sunderland midfielder tackled him. It was interesting to note the words of after the game, who stressed that having seen a replay of the incident, he had no doubt it was a penalty. But Webb wasn't allowed the luxury of a replay and in having to make a call on the spot, it was not unreasonable of him to come to the conclusion that Bentley had dived. The same can be said of Martin Atkinson's decision not to award Stoke a penalty against Sunderland last weekend. At full speed, Cattermole did seem to handle the ball but it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that the Sunderland player had actu- ally used a combination of his shoulder and head to keep the ball out of the net when defending a set-piece. Again, it was only with the help of a replay that you could defini- tively conclude that Cattermole actually handled the ball twice. But Atkinson didn't have that luxury and had to decide on the spot. Truth is, supporters, players and managers are just going to have to suck these incidents up until FIFA decree that referees are af- forded the opportunity to review incidents on video in coming to their decision. 4. Any challenge by Lee Cattermole... Getting the ball first in a challenge, as we're all beginning to realise, doesn't mean that a player hasn't committed a foul. It doesn't mean he can't be sent off either. It's a problem area that has become a little clearer over time, mostly because referees have penalised players with greater frequency. These types of tackles fall into two categories. The first is when a player recklessly follows through, as Lee Cattermole did with Luka Modric on Tuesday. The key phrase in the law book in this kind of challenge is "excessive force", defined as when a player "has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent." The second strand concerns when a player has taken his feet off the ground before making a challenge. Again, whether or not he plays the ball first is largely irrelevant. The interpretation section of the laws states: "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind 10 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play." It is precisely why Cesc Fabregas should have been sent off for his challenge on Stephen Ward on Wednesday, as he very clearly had one foot off the ground. It also explains why Chelsea's Michael Essien was shown a red card against Fulham for his two-footed leap in front of Clint Dempsey on the same night. The law, quite clearly, is open to interpretation on the referee's behalf on what represents "excessive force" and, also, what exactly constitutes a "lunge", but it has become obvious is that jumping into a challenge, even if you get the ball, will lead to trouble. 5. The weekly offside debate Tom Huddlestone's goal against Fulham with William Gallas offside. Nicklas Bendtner's bodycheck against Newcastle which took out Mike Williamson as he prepared to chase Theo Walcott. Mikel Arteta's goal against Liverpool with an offside Tim Cahill standing in front of Pepe Reina. The offside law is supposed to be a mess, but only because players, managers and supporters don't know it. And referees make mistakes from time to time. Read through it this week and be prepared to be surprised. It is not what you might expect it to be on account of the many 'new' interpretations of the law that were committed to print in 2005. Did you know, for example, that if a striker is in an offside position when a ball is crossed towards him, and a defender knocks the ball out for a corner, the corner is awarded? Or that if an offside player who runs toward the ball is beaten to it by a teammate who is onside, then no offside is awarded? Don't cloud your mind with terms like "different phase of play" and all that malarkey. There are four key phrases that should guide you from now on. The first is that a player is only offside if his "head, body or feet" are nearer to the oppo- nents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. After that, a player is offside if he is "interfering with play", that is, if he touches a ball passed by a teammate. A player is offside if he is "interfering with an opponent", for example, if he prevents an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing an opponent's line of vision or movements. A player is also offside if he "gaining an advantage from being offside", principally, if he is offside when a shot hits the post, crossbar or an oppo- nent and he then puts it into the net. God grant patience to any man attempting to ex- plain these offside laws to his female companion. And to his female companion, too.

The law is an ass... Oddities of the football rulebook revealed If a spectator blows a whistle and the referee considers the whistle interfered with play (eg a player picks up the ball with his hands, assuming that play has been stopped), the referee must stop the match and restart the play with a dropped ball In celebrating a goal a player must be booked if "he covers his head or face with a mask or other similar item" Choreographed celebrations are not to be encouraged when they result in excessive time-wasting A substitute who has not completed the substitution procedure by setting foot on to the field cannot restart play by taking a throw-in or corner-kick If the referee applies advantage during an obvious goalscoring opportunity and a goal is scored directly, despite the opponent's handling the ball or fouling an opponent, the player cannot be sent off but he may still be cautioned When a goal has been scored and there is no doubt about the decision, the referee and assistant referee must make eye contact and the assistant referee must then run quickly 25-30 metres towards the half-way line without raising his flag November 14, 2010

Courtesy of Tribune Sport

11 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

12 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society THE WISDOM OF WILLARD

Kingston Referees’ Society was delighted to welcome ex FIFA and Premiership referee Gary Willard to a recent meeting.

Supported by video clips of a range of careless, reckless and challenges made with excessive force, Gary helped us think about when to give just a free kick, and when a yellow or sometimes a red card was appropriate.

Careless: an honest but mistimed tackle from a reasonable proximity. (Free Kick)

Reckless: clear risk of endangering the opponent, paying no regard to the pos- sible consequences of the tackle. (Free Kick + caution)

Excessive Force: violent, with a total lack of regard for the safety of the oppo- nent. (Free Kick + dismissal)

The skill level of the players is an important factor in making these distinctions. In local park football most fouls are careless, sometimes reckless, but only very occasionally do they employ excessive force.

Further points to consider in judging tackles:  Many robust challenges are fair  95% of challenges from behind will be unfair. Be aware of the other 5%  The difference between clumsy and deliberate is important  The effect of the foul as well as its severity is important. Those that break up promising attacks must be dealt with more severely  What is the next phase of play going to be? Is there an opportunity to play advantage?

Gary also helped us consider what constitutes denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

He said that ―obvious‖ was the most important word which means that the referee must have no reason to doubt that a goal scoring opportunity has been denied.

Factors to be taken into account were:  Was the fouled player in control of the ball?  Distance of the incident from the goal  Direction of movement of the player  Direction of movement of the ball  Position of defenders and goalkeeper Jim de Rennes

13 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society Get Into Football A family affair Tuesday, 19 October, 2010 A big day for the Smith family referees. It was a big day for the Smith family last month, as Adam Smith took charge of The FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round game between Long Eaton United and Radford in late September, as his assistants were his father Roland and his uncle Stephen (who hap- pen to be twins).

As usual, it caused a few players and club officials to see double with the assistants and hearing that the referee Adam was one of their sons caused a sense of amazement with players, supporters and officials.

The game went into extra time with Radford coming out winners 3-2. So it was probably a good job young Adam was refereeing.

Both Roland and Stephen started refereeing after playing local amateur football in the Derby area for over 20 years. Both will say that they have great en- joyment playing football over the years and refereeing was a way of staying in the game and giving something back to the football community.

Adam started refereeing when he was 14 and has since progressed to level five in just four years. He is hoping to gain promotion this year to level four. All three are active members of the Erewash Referees Association.

Not to be finished, the family now has another new recruit, with Adam’s younger brother Ross, 14, having just qualified and started refereeing.

Courtesy of FA. com

Courtesy of the Guardian

14 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Red card threat player jailed for driving at referee

A Sunday league footballer who drove his car at a referee who wanted to send him off has been jailed for 24 weeks. Joseph Rimmer, 28, reacted angrily when David Harkness reached into his pocket during a match at Portland Street playing fields, Southport. He left the field and came back in his 4x4 vehicle, causing the referee and play- ers to run for their lives, Liverpool Crown Court was told. The match in February between Rimmer's team Lonsdale and local rivals Har- rington had initially passed without incident, the court heard. But Rimmer flew into a rage after Mr Harkness ignored the player's claim he had been fouled and then awarded a free kick against him for dissent. He continued to hurl abuse at the referee, who reached into his pocket to book the player, said Derek Jones, prosecuting. Rimmer told him: "If you book me or send me off, you know what will happen." Mr Harkness took that as a threat, Mr Jones said, but before he could be shown the red card the player stated: "I'm going to run you down." "He then walked across a neighbouring pitch as another game was going on," Mr Jones added. When other players shouted to him to get off, he told them to watch him "run the ref over". "He went over to his Range Rover and drove toward the pitch," he added. The vehicle came within five yards of the referee, the court heard. Witnesses statements read to the court said people reacted with "panic and fear" and some had to run or arch their backs to get out of the way. When Rimmer got out of the car, he made a gun shape with his hand and shouted towards Mr Harkness: "I'm going to shoot you." In his victim impact statement, read to the court Mr Harkness said he feared for his life. "After 35 years I now fear I cannot continue as a referee," he added. "I have not slept through fear that the defendant will find out where I live and carry out his threat to shoot me." Philip Tully, defending, said in mitigation that Rimmer was "ashamed" of his con- duct and accepted that Mr Harkness was refereeing to the "best of his ability".

Thanks to Tim Lawrence for this

The following note was sent out to the U18s managers of the Surrey Primary League. It would be interesting to know if these clubs have Charter status.

Hi all, I have been notified that the Surrey FA are receiving several misconduct reports about our age group, and another one being reported from a match today, with this be- ing my last season with SPL i dont want it to be soured by unsavoury incidents, and most, if not all reports are to do with managers/coaches, and not the 17/18 year old lads.

15 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

I HEREBY WISH TO BECOME A MEMBER OF WOKING REFEREES’ SOCIETY, AND ENCLOSE MY SUBSCRIPTION / WILL SEND MY SUBSCRIPTION VIA INTERNET BANKING AS FOLLOWS:-

COST AMOUNT £35.00 FULL MEMBER - OVER 18

(INCLUDES RA & COUNTY RA SUBSCRIPTION + INSURANCE) Expires 31/3/2011 £28.00 FULL MEMBER – UNDER 18

(INCLUDES RA & COUNTY RA SUBSCRIPTION + INSURANCE) Expires 31/3/2011 ASSOCIATE MEMBER £20.00 (i.e. Full Member of another Referees Society) Expires 31/3/2011 FRIEND OF WOKING SOCIETY £20.00

Expires 31/3/2011 DONATION £1,£2,£3,£4,£5,£10 or Whatever ? TOTAL

NAME……………………………………………………………………………………………..

ADDRESS…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

COUNTY………………………………………POSTCODE……………………………………

TELEPHONES (H)………………………………… (M)…………………………………….

E-MAIL ADDRESS……………………………………………………………………………….

LEVEL……………………… DATE OF BIRTH…………………………

I AGREE TO ABIDE BY THE RULES OF THE SOCIETY

SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………DATE……………………

RETURN TO :-BRYAN JACKSON, 1 WOODSTOCK GROVE,GODALMING,SURREY,GU7 2AX. Tel: 01483 423808 Email: [email protected] CHEQUES PAYABLE TO:- WOKING RA or Send funds direct to 30 94 77, a/c no 02710897 www.wokingreferees.co.uk 16 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Courtesy of The Chiltern Referee

17 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Courtesy of The Chiltern Referee 18 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

FRIDAY, 27th MAY returning to the UK on MONDAY, 30th MAY (THE WHITSUN WEEKEND).

In 2011, Woking Referees Society are intending to cross the English Channel once again to defend the trophy they won so admirably in 2009, along with the Sportsmanship Trophy they also won for the second time in a row. The latter is awarded from marks given by the Tournament match referees.

We would also like to advise you all, that we intend to make this trip more of so- cial event so that families alike can enjoy some of the local culture like funfairs, and trips on the canal etc. Obviously if there is something you would like to visit whilst in Belgium, I am sure we can cater for everyone’s needs.

We can also, within the Society, for those members who wish to do so, run a monthly savings scheme of approximately one match fee per month. This will ensure that a lump sum payment for this trip can be avoided.

If you would like pay a visit to the land of mussels and chips, chocolate and lace in the convivial company of the Woking Referees Society then please contact Roy Butler on [email protected]

Roy

The woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day.

One day, when he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer. As she sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, "You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you stayed right here. When my health started failing, you were still by my side. And you know what?"

"What dear?" she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.

"I think you're bad luck."

19 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

2010 August 9th ; Society Meeting Guest Speaker—Peter Shreeves

September 6th : Society Meeting, Guest Speaker—Jeff Pettit, Former Football League Official

October 4th : Society Meeting, Guest Speaker—Tim Lawrence, Surrey County FA Referees Development Of- ficer

November 1st : Society Meeting, Guest Speaker—Ian Blanchard, FA National Referee Manager

December 6th : Society Meeting with Christmas Raffle Guest Speaker—Lee Cable, Woking RA Member, FA Regional Referee Coach, Football League Assessor, Former Football League Referee

2011 January 10th : Society Meeting, Guest Speaker— Dean Mohareb FA National Referee Manager – Workforce Subject—Confrontation

February 7th : Society Meeting, Guest Speaker—Surrey County FA Disciplinary Roadshow

March 7th : Society Meeting Guest Speaker— Keith Hackett, Former Football League Referee

April 4th : Society Meeting Guest Speaker—Martin Yerby, Premier League Assistant Referee

May 9th : Society Meeting Guest Speaker—TBA

May 27th to May 30th : Trip to Belgium

July 15th & 16th : RA Conference, Hinckley Island Hotel, Hinckley.

20 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

NAME: Lee Cable

AGE: 43

OCCUPATION: Own a small building business - LEC Brickwork Ltd

MARITAL STATUS: Married to Becky with two children – Lauren & Charlie

 Commenced refereeing in November 1982 aged 14.  Progressed through local leagues gaining class 2 in 1986 and class 1 in 1988  Progression has been to the National Referee’s list via the Southern League in1989  National list of linesman 1991 -1998  Referees list of the Panel competitions 1993 - 1998  Assistant referees list of the FA Premiership 1994 - 1998  National list of Referees for the Football League 1998 – 2004 Resigned.  SCRA & FA Development Group co-ordinator 2005 - 2009  National list of Assessors for the PGMOL 2005 - current  Registered FA Assessor 2006 - current  Registered Mentor 2007 – current FA Regional Referees Coach 2009 - current

Honours:

 1995-96 4th Official Friendly International at Wembley vs. Switzerland  1995-96 UEFA Cup matches as an Assistant referee  Bulgaria – Slavia Sofia vs. Olympiakos  Norway – Viking Stavanger vs. Auxerre  1995-96 FA Youth Cup Final 2nd Leg - Assistant Referee  1997-98 FA Vase Final at Wembley - Assistant Referee  1997-98 The Surrey Senior Cup Final - Referee  1999-00 Women’s UEFA Cup Qualifier England vs. Switzerland - 4th official  2003-04 England U21 vs. Croatia U21 Friendly International - 4th official  2005-06 Assessor for the Surrey Senior Cup Final  2007-08 Assessor for the Surrey Senior Cup Final 2008-09 Assessor for the 1st leg of Conference Play off semi final

Interests & Hobbies

Woking RA member since 1982 holding various posts including Chairman. Watching other sports, Playing golf, Relaxing and eating out.

21 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

From whistles to watches, flags to record cards, shirts to socks , Tony’s got the lot in his big black bag Help support the society and make sure you give Tony a call for all your refereeing needs 01483 836388 / 07766973304 [email protected]

Courtesy of The Guardian

22 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Classes here now FOR ALL LEVELS OF FITNESS MALE AND FEMALE OF ALL AGES

HAVE FUN GETTING FIT

For Details Contact Gareth Price on 07735067158 Winston Churchill School Every Tuesday at 19.00 - 20.00 hrs

Ash Taxis 6 Seater Taxi Airports , Docks, Social Functions

Competitive Prices 24 hours by appointment

Contact —Colin Barnett on Tel. 01252 328957 Fax 01252 654811 Mob 07831 404 066 E-mail [email protected]

23 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Surrey County Cups Saturday Junior Cup 2nd Round Crescent and Star FC (GWA) v Summertown FC (KIN). Referee : Robbie Luck

Saturday Intermedaiate Cup 3rd Round Dorking Wanderers v Wrecclesham Referee : Paul Gorringe

U18's Youth Cup 2nd Round Guildford City Youth F.C. V Chipstead Youth F.C. Referee: Tony Price

Lower Junior Cup, 1st Round NCL v Shelford Social Referee . Dale Leacock

Lower Jumior Cup 2nd Round Freedoms Sparton Athletic v AFC Crown and Anchor Referee Dale Leacock

Lower Junior Cup 2nd Round F.C. Miners v. Charlwood Village Reserves. Referee: Roy Butler

Surrey County Youth Cup U15's Leatherhead Youth v Croydon Youth Referee: Bill Collis

Surrey County Youth Cup U16's Lower Green Youth v Leatherhead Youth Referee: Bill Collis

U.18 SCFA Youth Floodlit Mid-Week Cup 1st Round Godalming Town Youth v. Horley Town Youth Referee: Bruce McLaren Assistants:- Roy Butler & Nick Arbuckle

2nd Rounds Guildford City Lions Youth v. Walton & Hersham Youth Assistant Referee: Roy Butler Woking Youth v. Westfield Youth Referee: Bruce McLaren

FA Youth Cup 2nd Round Proper Brighton and Hove Albion U18s v Torquay Utd U18s Referee: Michael Webb

Combined Counties Division 1 Local derby Westfield v Sheerwater, Referee : Martin Read ( Martin adds – 200 spectators, 1-0 to Sheerwater, better than your usual 4 men and a dog )

I doubt that any of our members will ever referee Real Madrid FC, but this afternoon I'm due to referee Fake Madrid FC in the Surrey University Inter-Mural League. Brian Reader

24 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Advice on the prevention of Stalking and Harassmentment

Hamish Brown MBE

Retired Scotland Yard Detective Inspector

UK’s leading authority on stalking and harassment. Hamish has been personally requested by high profile individuals and organisations to:

Advice and Lecture on this specialist subject

Website: www.hamishbrownmbe.com Email: [email protected] 25 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Courtesy of the Chiltern Referee 26 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Courtesy of the Chiltern Refereee 27 The Warbler The Magazine of the Woking Referees’ Society

Courtesy of the book of football quotations 28 WARBLER REFERENCE GUIDE 2010/11

THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION Wembley Stadium PO Box 1966 www.TheFA.com London SW1P 9EQ FAMAO National Managers Janie Frampton Education 07984 003476 “name”@theFA.com Ray Olivier Workforce Roger Vaughan Recruitment and Retention Surrey County Football Association Connaught House 36 Bridge Street Leatherhead, www.surreyfa.com Surrey, KT22 8BZ 01372 373543 Referee Competition Manager Mark Wood [email protected] Appointments Secretary Rod Wood 0208 979 2477 & 07860 400995 [email protected] Referee Development Officer Tim Lawrence 01372 373543 Promotion Assessor Co-ordinator 07769 793493 [email protected] The Referees’ Association Unit 12, Ensign Business Centre www.footballreferee.org Westwood Way [email protected] Westwood Business Park Tel 024 7642 0360 Fax 024 7767 7234 Coventry CV4 8JA Surrey County Referees Association [email protected] Honorary Secretary Brian Fish 01483 420007 [email protected]

Guildford & Woking Alliance League Terry Hawkett 01932 887058 07778 628547 Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Surrey County Intermediate League Adrian Freeman 01483 894351 / 07814 516911 (Western) Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Suburban League Tony King 01344 883453 Assistant Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Combined Counties League Philip Nash 07951 415046 Assistant Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Southern Youth League Peter Harris 01252315856 / 07967 988840 Assistant Referees’ Secretary Peter.harris1767ntlworld.com Camberley & District Sunday League Philip Nash 07951 415046 Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Surrey & Hants Border Sunday League Bob Dick 01483 300155 Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Farnham & District Sunday League Colin Barnett 01252 328953 Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Surrey Elite Intermediate Football League Nick Clark; 01737 851388. Referees’ Secretary [email protected] Surrey Youth League www.wsyl.org.uk Referees’ Secretary Alan Wiggins 01932 789376 [email protected]

Surrey Primary League Scott Brundish 07956 321741 Referees Secretary [email protected] Middlesex County FA 39/41 Roxborough Rd Harrow, Www.middlesexFA.com Middlesex, HA1 1NS 0208 424 8524

Hampshire County FA Winklebury Football Complex, Winklebury Way Www.hampshireFA.com Basingstoke, RG23 8BF 01256 853000

Berks and Bucks County FA 15a London Street, Farringdon Www.berksandbucksFA.com Oxfordshire, SN7 8AG 01367 242099

London FA 11, Hurlingham Business Park, Sulivan Rd Fulham Www.londonFA.com London SW6 3DU 0870 774 3010 Kingsize Menswear Specialist

For a full range of casual to formal clothing.

01483 772896

7 York Road,Woking, GU22 7XH www.kingsize-menswear.co.uk Free Customer Parking – Est. 1931