refereeing
Recommended Referee Reading
I’m immensely proud as RefereeingBooks.eu featured on this month’s episode of the popular refereeing podcast RefereesWorld. Sadly, presenters Darren Cullum and Richard Melinn had no time to read out the full list I submitted, so I’m putting it on the site. Here goes: Technique & Match Control. It all started in 1905 with How to […]
Read more >>
Soccer Refereeing. A Personal View – Jack Taylor
Outline John Keith Taylor, better known as Jack Taylor, is best known for officiating the 1974 World Cup final during which he awarded a penalty in the very first minute of play, creating World Cup history, as it was the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup final. He also, famously, yellow-carded Johan […]
Read more >>
Soccer Referee: A guide to fitness & technique – Clive Thomas
Outline Known as “The Book” for his strict interpretation of the laws of the game, Clive Thomas is one of the better known British referees from the 1970s and 1980s. My Dutch readers may remember him as the somewhat high-handed referee who sent off Willem van Hanegem at the 1976 European Championships or the referee […]
Read more >>
Twee keer geel is rood (Two yellows make a red) – John Blankenstein
Outline Twice I had the pleasure of meeting in person John Blankenstein, who passed away nine years ago, almost to the day. He was an insightful, empathic man, who chose his words carefully but managed to work some humour in there anyway. He carried this characteristic over into this small book, using this medium to […]
Read more >>
Masterclass for Soccer Officials – Stanley Lover
Outline A former referee, FIFA referees instructor in all six football confederations and chairman of the London Referees Association, Stanley Lover enjoyed the respect of many throughout the latter part of the 20th century. Not least because he also authored many refereeing classics, including Soccer Match Control, an excellent book which not only explains the […]
Read more >>
I’ll have a ref, thank you – by: Jan Vorstenbosch
This essay was published over two years ago (early 2013) in Dutch daily Trouw. The author is Jan Vorstenbosch, a philosopher and football expert. A researcher at the University of Utrecht, he also teaches ethics there. In 2010 he published “Voetbalgek”, his philosophical reflections on all things football. Jan reacted with great enthusiasm to my request […]
Read more >>
Whose Side Are You On, Ref? – Norman Burtenshaw
Brief outline Not the best-known British referee from his time, Norman Burtenshaw still spent 11 years reffing at football’s top level and was awarded the 1971 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Liverpool. It shows he must have been quite capable after all. His memoirs mark him out as a rather strait-laced person, not atypical […]
Read more >>
The Referee’s a W*nker – Chris Turner
Brief outline A former professional player turned poet and song-writer, Chris Turner still frequents the stands at Southend United. The chants and rants he hears (and utters?) there have been the inspiration for a number of poems, one-liners and riddles/word puzzles, about 40 of which have been collected in this anthology, interspersed with plenty of […]
Read more >>
Referees’ Charts
Who do you turn to when you need to know about the laws of association football? Pundits and commentators on the telly? Don’t make me laugh! Of course, you can always go online (or tweet me!). But the standard reference book for the Laws of the Game is the Referees’ Chart and Players’ Guide to […]
Read more >>
How to Referee
If you’re reading this, chances are you are or at some point were an active referee. Have you ever stopped to think how easy it has been for you to become a ref? Regular courses, good instructors, mentors, plenty of books available, feedback at referees’ associations… You name it. Now imagine how that was in the […]
Read more >>