2010 WORLD CUP REFEREES

The FIFA Referees Committee, chaired by FIFA Vice-President Ángel María Villar Llona, selected on 22 October 2008 a group of 38 referees from which the definitive list of referees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ will be chosen.

All of the preselected referees have attended various seminars organised by FIFA and officiated at FIFA competitions since the process began at the end of 2006.

The criteria applied for the selection included technical, physical, medical and psychological tests, as well as the referees’ performances in international matches.

The same process will be used when making the final selection, which will take place in early 2010.

List of referees pre-selected for South Africa 2010
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=924086.html#list+referees+preselected+south+africa+2010

Looking at the list, all the refs that have been pre-selected were born after Jan 1, 1965. Should we conclude that younger refs are better qualified or it is just a coincidence? Experience doesn’t matter? Let’s save that debate for another day.

ADVICE TO THE REFS:

Avoid “book” refereeing. Internalize the collection of the principles of spirit of the laws. These principles are not explicitly written down; rather, they are passed by oral tradition. Nevertheless, they may be glimpsed in the text of the Laws and inferred both from the text and from some aspects of play that do not appear in the Laws. The spirit of the Laws and the letter of the Laws may occasionally pull in different directions, and when this happens the referee must be guided by the Spirit. For example: Ever hear the players say, “Ref, what match are you watching?” Ever wonder if they might be right? Maybe they need something different than the officiating they’re getting. The game is for the players, and the referee should adjust his/her management of the match to provide what the players need. What the players need and what they think they need are not necessarily the same, and the referee must be able to detect when they differ and manage to the former. That said, A referee must not throw out the Laws either, and must keep clearly in mind what is fair in the context of the game. This means weighing the relative severity of player actions in the context of the match.

Avoid extracting principles solely from the text of the Laws. The language in which the
Laws are written is not precise – it is not an engineering specification or
blueprint. Therefore, inference is risky, since seemingly similar wording
doesn’t always warrant similar conclusions.

Don’t give the players what they can’t handle. Look early and intently for
signs that players don’t understand your calls and feel they are wronged.
(The signs aren’t always obvious!) If it’s an isolated player, consider talking to
that player; if it’s the whole team, consider adjusting how you’re calling the
game.

Communication, Communication, Communication. Communicate decisions! Poor communication of decisions undermines the referee’s credibility and encourages the coach and players to believe that he/she lacks knowledge or confidence

Know that “Book” refereeing reduces options. Referees may know the Laws better than
the players, but if they don’t know the Spirit, they will find themselves creating
unfairness. The book guides the answer, but the book isn’t the answer.

Last but not least, keep your options open. Avoid saying things that commit you to later action. For example, saying “Ade, I don’t want to see that again.” leaves more future
options than “Ade, if you do that again, it’s a yellow card.” However, when
you draw a clear line, e.g., by cautioning for free kick encroachment, adhere to
that line consistently throughout the match, otherwise you invite dissent and loss
of control.