Being a referee at grassroots level is for the brave. Referees “regularly” hear “horrible” stories which their colleagues experience on grassroots pitches every week.
Participant behaviour makes refereeing grassroots football even more challenging which sees referees leaving in crowds season after season.
Abuse is the leading factor which sees the exodus of referees in England. In the last five years it is estimated that the number of referees in England has gone from 32,000 to 23,000 meaning almost a third of referees have left the game.
Richard Lamprell a Level five referee in Eastbourne, East Sussex has spent lots of time refereeing grassroots football since he qualified in 2021. He said: “I regularly hear stories of other referees experiencing horrible abuse in grassroots football.”
He added: “A referee who I know from the Sunday League I referee on, was followed into the changing room at the end of a game and had a player screaming inches from their face and the rest of the players from the aggrieved team were waiting for this referee in the carpark.”
Abuse in football go hand in hand. It is part of the culture from Old Trafford to the local park on a Saturday afternoon. Richard Lamprell believes the behaviour we see on grassroots pitches mirrors what we see on the television from the global superstars.
He said: “The Culture is wrong from the top down, it’s really common to see players rushing to surround referees and spectators screaming abuse. Grassroots players see that on Match of the Day every week and they go and copy that behaviour.”
Referees don’t have neutral appointed assistant referees on every game until you get to step 6 of the non-League pyramid in most parts of the country. So, refereeing at grassroots level can be lonely for officials who don’t have a team to work with unlike the players on the pitch and makes the job even more difficult.
Richard Lamprell said: “It’s so easy to feel completely alone on a grassroots pitch as you deliver the game completely solo with club assistants, also as arrive and leave on your own, you only get a bit of a safety net if you decide to progress.”
As a grassroots referee there are opportunities to interact with other officials. There are 306 local Referee associations across the country. The associations have monthly meetings during the season to discuss all things refereeing. The associations also organise guest speakers to give referees in that local area advice and tips.
Dissent shown by players that escalates to abuse is a huge obstacle grassroots referee are forced to overcome and has contributed to referees quitting.
BBC Radio 5 live released a questionnaire to referees to share their experiences. Out of the 927 responses 908 said they have been verbally abused by a player, dugout occupant or spectator.
The questionnaire revealed that almost a third of the referees had been physically abused on the pitch. The questionnaire revealed 293 of those referees had been physically abused.
In 2019 the FA introduced sin bins into every competition up to step five of the non-league pyramid. This came after trials across 31 leagues in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.
The Sin bin is only used for dissent cautions. If a referee cautions a player for dissent, they will leave the field of play for 10 minutes.
Dylan Bailey is a level five referee in Hassocks, West Sussex who has used sin bins since he started climbing the refereeing ladder in 2021.
On whether Sin bins can be an effective tool for referees Dylan said: “If you have sensible players on the pitch, they will recognise the threat a sin bin has, and that makes it effective.”
Not only do referees feel that sin bins can be an effective tool, but grassroots coaches have acknowledged their success.
In a survey conducted by the FA 80% of grassroots coaches believe sin bins have had a positive impact on the game.
The survey revealed that coaches believe that sin bins have been effective as it has helped the way referees communicate with players. In addition, players are aware the impact the sin bin could have on their team meaning they’re less likely to hassle the referee on every decision.
The FA’s survey has outlined that 77% of grassroots coaches believe use of sin bins in grassroots leagues has improved players’ behaviour towards referees.
However, the FA’s annual Grassroots disciplinary review for the 23/24 season saw an increase in misconduct cases from referees.
In the 2023/24 season there were 87 charges relating to assault/attempted assault on a match official which is an increase of 32%.
The review also outlined that cautions for dissent by word or action towards referees has got worse. The FA revealed there has been a 9.3% increase in the use of sin bins with 36,129.
Howard Webb the Chief Refereeing officer of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has been adamant since he was appointed in 2022 that he wants to address participant behaviour.
At the start of the 2023/24 season the PGMOL and the FA sent out directives to referees who officiate on the Premier League all the way down to the tenth tier. This was done as part of Howard Webb’s plan to tackle participant behaviour to make refereeing more appealing to future generations.
Howard Webb’s attempt to tackle participant behaviour has been prevalent in the Premier League. In the 2023/24 season there were 173 cautions for dissent compared to 79 in the entirety of the 2022/23 season.
In a video published on the PGMOL YouTube channel outlining the new game-wide participant charter, Webb said: “Over a period of time we’ve seen a decline in some behaviour both on the field of play and in the technical areas.”
He added: “This has had knock on effects we’ve seen copycat behaviours at grassroots levels and that’s resulted in people either quitting or not choosing to take up the whistle.”
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