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SPECIALIST ASSISTANT REFEREES

Specialist Assistant Referees pilot scheme will launch for 2008/09 season

Following approval from the FA Referees’ Committee and the PGMOL Board of Directors, a two year Specialist Assistant Referees pilot scheme will begin at the start of the 2008/2009 season.

The following seven current FIFA Assistant Referees have been invited on to the list:

Darren Cann

Peter Kirkup

Mo Matadar

Mike Mullarkey

Dave Richardson

Phil Sharp

Adam Watts

Those taking part in this pilot scheme will be classified as Level 3 referees (where relevant they forfeit their Level 2 status) but will operate almost exclusively as assistant referees; occasionally refereeing to maintain their awareness of a football match from the referee’s perspective.

Rationale

The skills required to be a top quality assistant are not the same as those required to be a high quality referee.
At the highest levels some officials are clearly very skilled assistants and either do not have the ability/potential to progress further as referees or wish to focus on lining.
Retention as a top level assistant can be threatened because of the quality of their refereeing or because of the very high time demands resulting from refereeing and lining in the upper levels of football. English football thus risks losing some of its best assistants for reasons unrelated to their lining ability.
Virtually every other major footballing country has ‘specialist assistants’ at the highest levels which more than suggests that specialist assistants are successful; FIFA created specialist assistant referees over 15 years ago

Benefits

Officials can focus exclusively on enhancing their lining skills
No pressure to perform as a referee or to complete a minimum number of Level 3 matches
Greater availability of top assistants for PGMOL, FA and international matches
Motivation for other officials who have reached their refereeing ‘ceiling’ but have the potential to progress to the highest levels as an assistant

Evaluation

Scheme to be regularly evaluated by The FA and PGMOL during the 2 year pilot period to assess the impact of the scheme
The list will be reviewed annually by The FA and PGMOL
The number of appointments offered and retention on the Select Group will depend solely on the evaluated performances of each assistant referee

The move to Specialist Assistant Referees will support and assist the development of those who wish to dedicate themselves to performing to the very best of their ability as assistants. This move should enhance their performances at PGMOL level as it will allow them to focus on a role which is becoming more and more demanding and difficult.

Neale Barry

Head of Senior Referee Development

The Football Association