Respect Referees - Do You?

We have a serious problem - we do not have enough referees to officiate at all scheduled games. At the Junior Football level, the games are officiated by young people, usually players. We lose as many as we train each year - why - primarily because of the abuse hurled at them by adults (coaches and parents) on the sideline. Its disgusting. Why would any young person put up with this situation? They don't, but I'll bet the Clubs continue to allow the adults to coach or stand on the sidelines. Clubs need to get on top of this situation. Top priority!

The FA's Respect Programme enlists the help of Hollywood star Ray Winstone. See the video in this post...

Winstone, who was an FA englandfans ambassador at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, believes that parents need to lose the “win at all costs” attitude and bring some enjoyment back to the game: “Kids want their parents to watch them play football but they want to be supported by them, not embarrassed.

Two year ago, an FA consultation showed that 98% of referees had been verbally abused from the touchlines, while 5,000 match officials quit the game last season with spectator abuse cited as the main reason for dropping out.


With one in three matches taking place across the country without a qualified match official, The FA is aiming to recruit 8,000 new referees by 2012.

Winstone admits that while his youngest daughter has only just started kicking a ball around the garden, he won’t be sharing a football touchline with over-enthusiastic parents anytime soon.
“It must be a right headache to stand next to these mugs every week who are arguing over kids football. It’s tough on the referee and difficult for the other parents who are trying to enjoy the game.
“It’s as if they’re living their own dreams through their kids and it’s not right.”
Winstone believes that all adults involved in grassroots football should watch The FA Respect Guide and make the game more enjoyable for players, referees, coaches and parents.
He added: “Football’s our national sport and something has to be done, otherwise kids won’t want to play anymore and no-one will be interested in refereeing which means we won’t have a game left.”
“You’ve got all these adults screaming and shouting on the touchline but seven- and eight-year-olds aren’t interested in tactics. The kids just want to play the game, be their hero for the day and dream of scoring a goal at Wembley Stadium.”