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Wednesday, 5 March 2008

Let's here it for our Referees.

We support you ever more.

Clive MacKillop joined us on the Nearpost this week. Clive is a well-known referee and football coach in Canberra. He is also an A-League referees’ assessor.

Clive talked Grand Final, Refereeing standards, Pay rates, and why he started Refereeing.

Read the full article below.



We took the opportunity to get an insight into the life of the modern referee.
Clive what does a Referee’s Assessor do?

“We have to judge the whole game, the Referee, Assistant Referee and Fourth Official. We rate them against criteria and report to the FFA (Football Federation Australia).”

THE GRAND FINAL

The recent Grand Final ended in controversy. Newspapers reported players saying one ref had seen the suspected handball but was too far way. What would happen in such a case?

“Well I haven’t spoken to any of the Referees involved, but they would all be hooked up during the game and if either linesman had seen something clearly it would have been reported straight away.

“I know in the incident you are talking about the Ref (Mark Shield) went and spoke to the linesman. The evidence couldn’t have been conclusive, if you don’t see it you can’t give it.

It’s about whether people have a good view of the incident.”

AUSSIE REFEREES

Are you happy with the level of Refereeing in Australia?

“We should be employing Refs on the same basis as they do in Europe. You can make a pretty handsome living over there.

“In the case of the group we have in Australia, they go to Asia, make trips midweek, they have to make peace with their employer, come back to families they haven’t seen, and then perform in the A-League on the weekend.

“It’s now a 12 month job and even at the A-League level it’s still part-time.

“In the A-League Ref’s get about $1,000 per game which is a long way behind AFL who are quite handsomely paid.”

Would you like to see Referees become Professional?

“There is no scheme at the moment. And there are different views among the refs. It’s hard to be employed by two masters, by Asia and the A-League. I know Richard Lorenz wouldn’t be too happy if the Ref’s were putting other competitions before the A-League.”

Underperforming Refs? What happens to them Clive?

“Promotion and relegation is the ideal situation. It’s difficult with such a small pool. We started the year with 7 referees and one retired and another got injured, so it’s difficult to bring new people through.

“The National Referee’s Manager will make a decision if a Ref has to be stood down. In England they can go down to the Championship or a lower league, here it could mean you lose your chance in to be a part of the league.

“At the moment it means different things to be a Ref in NSW or Victoria. We’re trying to move to one level under the FFA.”

CLIVE’S JOURNEY

Why did you start refereeing Clive?

“I was coaching and I’d thought it would improve my coaching and understanding of the game if I knew the laws better. I started when I was 28 in Reserve Grade (in Canberra) and I enjoyed it.

And to people out there who may be thinking of Refereeing?

“The abuse (of Refs) is a tiny percentage of football. You do it for enjoyment. There are slight benefits, financial benefits for kids, they get to wear a nice uniform and control a game.

“The chats I have with Coaches from Premier League to junior ranks are all pretty positive. They’d rather have a Ref than not have a Referee.”

CANBERRA A-LEAGUE

Would you like to see an A-League team in Canberra?

I’d love to see a Canberra A-League team. From a refereeing point of it would be good for refereeing and we need to keep the stream of referees coming through. We’ve got three FIFA referees here in Canberra and I can’t see us having another three in five or ten years if we don’t have an A-League side.

Ben Wilson Ben Williams and Alyson Flynn who I might say is in the Algarve at the moment enjoying a FIFA international tournament.

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