I was appointed to referee Premier League matches in Lae, Papua New Guinea yesterday, at the main stadium and I must report their skill levels are very good and their attitude towards each other is nothing like Australia, or should I say GHFA, they play with passion and commitment and some of their touches are the best I have witnessed over 35 years of refereeing in Australia, their attitudes towards each other are fair and when they foul each other they shake hands and go hard again, they even thank the referee when cautioned or sent from the field

Death to all GHFA referees.

cool story bro

Unfortunately today aussies take alot of things for granted... fuc%*ng generation haha I play hard as anyone, but i seriously dont see the point in making the ref's life hard. whats the point? your just ruining it for the other players in the game, and also for the referee population In fact, those players with mental issues and extremely low emotional intelligence probably make up all the snobby impatient SUV drivers on the sydney roads that everyone from Melbourne hates

And thats probably why they have never got anywhere in football. Thanking a ref when they are sent? WTF? I'm all in for playing fair, but when your on the field it's like war. and the opposition are exactly that. If you want that kind of thing to go on, go ref girls or Over 35's! hahah **awaiting angry 35's to get involved**

Shame the Ghfa comp is poorly run and has riles no other comp has in place. When the ref's get good and the competition is better organised then maybe this may happen.

Frank Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And thats probably why they have never got > anywhere in football. > > Thanking a ref when they are sent? > > WTF? > > I'm all in for playing fair, but when your on the > field it's like war. and the opposition are > exactly that. > > If you want that kind of thing to go on, go ref > girls or Over 35's! > > hahah **awaiting angry 35's to get involved** Youve almost completely missed the point, but anyway Im in my 20s and im ashamed of how we act, grow up some of you. Everything from the bullshit on the field and the 2 sided biased arguments against the ref every single time. Theres nothing wrong with the refs, its the stubborn people who cant see the big picture.. "duh.... lets all argue with the ref for the sake of it... duh...."

We are extremely well served by our referees association compared to other areas of Sydney.

Virtually all our games are covered by appointed referees AND assistants. Ku Ring Gai and Manly associations and no doubt others, only have refs/lines for the top two divisions, ie PL & SL.
Every other senior division in KDFSA/MWFA have team player referees and there are NO linesman. Player referees have still done the refs course and get paid but because they have effectively been forced into doing it, their performances are more often than not poor. And of course perceived and real bias is a given. With refs refereeing mates what else would be expected. Without having 2 ticketed referees in each team the team will not be registered.

So just be thankful we have a fantastic set up in GHFA and long may it continue. How we as players and supporters treat the refs/assistant refs will be the reason that full coverage continues or not. Abuse of referees is the primary reason they quit. The money is pretty good but not worth being abused for 4 hrs.

I refereed GHFA Premier League for many years and I learnt my skills from some great referees and some not so great referees, but we take a little from each person we work with and mould our own personalities, much like players do. Some clubs disliked me and others loved me, just depends on the attitude of the players on the day. Some P/L players were very good at asking a question about a decision and it was the manner it was asked that got my respect, others just screamed and shouted and this won no points, but instead want an easy yellow card

I think what people fail to realise is that without refs the whole association goes to rubbish. From what ive seen on my limited time in the PL/SL 95% of the time 3 officials turn up for reserve grade and first grade which is almost unheard of in amateur football. It's usually reserve grade ref, first grade ref and a junior(which is great for getting them to come through the ranks). Also agree with Swanee above in the manner to talk to ref's. Speak to them like you would a normal person and most of the time they will respond normally. Be forceful or aggressive and expect him a ticket. Having said that, some refs hate being spoken to which I see as being part of the game. Can't win them all.... but its a small drawback from a bucket full of positives!

If I can give you a referee's perspective, you get to know the teams and players after your first couple of years in Reserve Grade, by this time you have you worked your way into Panel A which minimum requirement is the old Class 1 which is difficult to achieve. You await for your appointments which come out mid week and then you see you have the grudge match of the round and like players do, you begin to prepare for the match mentally because you usually know the personalities in the teams and you know that you have to let the game flow and play advantage where you can, but there is niggle in the match and if you don't keep control the game can get away, if you let the back chat start it will go on all game, nip it in the bud early, hence cards

Swanee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If I can give you a referee's perspective, you get > to know the teams and players after your first > couple of years in Reserve Grade, by this time you > have you worked your way into Panel A which > minimum requirement is the old Class 1 which is > difficult to achieve. You await for your > appointments which come out mid week and then you > see you have the grudge match of the round and > like players do, you begin to prepare for the > match mentally because you usually know the > personalities in the teams and you know that you > have to let the game flow and play advantage where > you can, but there is niggle in the match and if > you don't keep control the game can get away, if > you let the back chat start it will go on all > game, nip it in the bud early, hence cards Thanks kiwi for your input

Really interesting insight to the preparation of a Ref. So would it be fair to say there are certain players that you would attempt to control early in a match more than others? Ie the ones that "spur" the other ones on? Similarly as players we would try and keep the big players quiet from the opposing team.

Are you the same Rock that got 4 weeks for telling me to F off a few years back at holland Res.

For the record i got 4 weeks for asking a linesman is he f%^$ joking when the striker passed a ball out and he awarded a throw. Not telling him to F... Off. Big difference!