Why is it difficult to recruit new referees and then, more importantly, retain these referees for a number of years? This is the question I set forth to answer in last week’s article.

In fact, seven days ago I analysed in greater depth the issue of recruiting referees and now I will try to assess the problem of retaining referees after they manage to surpass and go beyond the first major refereeing obstacles.

One of the major problems faced by local refereeing associations is that a number of inexperienced and novice referees face form the outset unjust criticism and jeers from players, coaches, team administrators and eve supporters.

These new referees are generally too fragile to withstand such pressure and thus will abandon their new activity at an early stage.

One might think I am exaggerating but I can vouch to have witnessed some irresponsible and inhuman acts where young referees were abused and even almost physically threatened during and after a game. It is a great pity that the offenders sometimes get away with this as if nothing happened.

Another factor which may cause new referees to stop their new sports activity is the fact that once one takes refereeing seriously, he must face certain changes in his lifestyle in terms of self-behaviour, social interactivity and physical preparation. It is no secret that both the own referee’s lifestyle and even of hose directly around him will be affected and the referee will at any time face changes in career/school and family demands.

Being a small island with limited resources, local referees might also face a lack of sufficient remuneration and insufficient incentives to improve.

The former is quite a problem in many sports disciplines because the remuneration (if there is any since certain sports pay no referee fee and everything is done voluntarily) definitely does not reflect all the sacrifices that the referee makes in order to be on the field of play week after week.

As regards incentives, a number of referees I know (and I also can speak of myself at certain points in time) face a lack of motivation or a lack of a clear pathway direction. In these situations (when the referee feels alone and disrespected) it takes a strong psychological character to pull oneself out and back on track towards better performances.

Lastly I have also to mention occasions where certain young promising referees are lost because they were unable to combine refereeing with playing (or even coaching).

This is not an uncommon situation, especially in minor sports where participation does not run in hundreds.

However, having mentioned these problems, one has also to try and present solutions so as to help refereeing in general. It is easy to criticize and point out the bad points only but mature discussion demands also that one presents solutions.

I have pondered a bit and came out with some (what I believe to be) solutions.

The first major issue is that the individual sports federation should recognize immediately the problem and be quick to provide resources to address this issue.

In my opinion, refereeing costs result in a worthy investment because it is a fact that if the level of refereeing increases, the possibility that the general level of the local game also increases.

Both the federation and the refereeing association should create a friendly social environment so that individual referees can support and encourage each other. This would be ideal but the stark reality is that there will always be tension between certain members in the refereeing fraternity because we are humans after all. This is not to say that there cannot be true friendship (there is and I can vouch for that) but at times relations between fellow referees can be quite distant.

The federations can also aid in keeping referees happy and motivated by continually recognizing the same referees’ achievements and thank them for their efforts.

It is sad and disheartening when (and here I am not shy to say that I have experienced it) people within your federation do not bother (intentionally or not) to recognize any achievement you have accomplished.

Another aspect where federations can help in retaining their own referees is by addressing any player/referee and coach/referee confrontation quickly.

This demonstrates that the federation is setting a high priority for looking after the referees’ interests.

Courses should not only be devoted to knowledge of the rules.

Wider and appropriate training should be provided in terms of communication, problem solving skills and negotiating skills as these are important for the referee in carrying out his delicate but indispensable task.

Due to space restrictions I will continue delving into, what I regard to be, the solutions to the refereeing problem next week.

However in concluding I want to point out that one can see that a number of small, simple and common sense decisions can make quite a difference for the referee family as a whole and even individually for its members.

After all when dealing with referees, one is managing human relationships. Unfortunately federations, at times, tend to forget this.

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