The Stepy's Coaches Durham Sunday Morning Football League the North East's Premier Sunday Football League like many of the Sunday League's in the area is short of Match Referee's.

Referee'swith free Sundays, please Contact our League's Fixture Secretary Chris Tindale 01913867618

Latest Referee News
UEFA has asked referees to clamp down on dissent after the UEFA Referees' Committee, together with top officials, discussed various refereeing issues at their fourth annual gathering.

Bookable offences
Following the outcome of the discussions in Nyon on Wednesday, UEFA wants to emphasise that it has asked match officials to take immediate action by cautioning players in the case of the following offences: waving of an imaginary card to have an opponent booked; crowding around the referee, when at least one player should be cautioned and not only the initiator; and dissent by gesture or running towards to referee.

Immediate application
UEFA is determined to stop dissent and the harassment of referees and wishes to make players and team officials aware that referees in all UEFA competitions will punish such on-field confrontations appropriately. These additional instructions for referees should be applied immediately, starting with Saturday's UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers
Wearing of Jewellery

No Tolerance of the Wearing of Jewellery by Players. This policy applies equally to teams competing in fixtures sanctioned by Durham Sunday Football League and the Durham County Football Association. In the simplest of terms, players may not wear jewellery during matches. The exception is a wedding band – which should be taped. Piercings must be removed and any difficulties associated with this will not be accepted by referees as an excuse for non-compliance. If you wear jewellery which requires special tools to remove it then make sure you do so before coming to the game if it is not practical to do so at the ground. If you take the field wearing jewellery and your referee sees it you will be given two choices: Remove it. OR B. don’t play

The Shortage Of Referee's

Football leagues' bosses say a shortages of refs would be catastrophic.

John Topping, Durham FA's company secretary, said:

"We're talking about tournaments and league matches that it's going to have an effect on. It could be hundreds of games."All the new refs do it as part of their course but it's existing referees that were affiliated before."For some reason some have not done it, but we don't know why."Some would regard the response as laziness. Some have said they don't see why they should have to carry this out, but in September 2008 the Vulnerable People's Act comes into play and everybody who comes into contact with children must have a CRB check."It's proving that you do support the safeguarding of children and we would say get this done as soon as you can."To complete the process, FA referees have to pass the CRB check, which is carried out with the help of senior staff and costs £18, fill out a form and watch a 30-minute video on child protection.The organisation says additional officials, such as assessors and coaches, and 800 referees have already completed it or taken it as part of their training, but that the shortage would still cause problems.

Any referees who continue to oversee matches without being affiliated could invalidate insurance policies.The Durham Sunday Football League advise clubs not to play games with out an appointed referee, as this invalidates isurance policies ,If the club haven't got a ref, then the games simply can't go ahead.The FA has told County Associations that referees who officiate from September 2008 (but referees must be CRBd for season 2007-08 – otherwise no appointments) without completing the Child Protection Course (CPC), enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, and then been 'accepted' into football, will be committing a criminal offence and liable to a fine of up to £5,000.

Similarly officers of a County, League or Club that appoint a referee without CRB clearance will also be liable to a fine of up to £5,000.This is the result of a QC's legal opinion obtained by the FA on the implications of the 'Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act' passed in November 2006. The legal opinion appears to confirm that all refereeing is a 'regulated activity' under the Act, because officials even in open-age football could be frequently 'in contact with children' (age up to 18) and anyone who seeks to referee must apply to be 'subject to monitoring'.The FA has already decided that no referee can be registered for 2007/8 season unless they have satisfactorily completed the CPC and CRB checks. The FA also says it is in dialogue with the Home Office regarding the implementation of the Act and particularly in relation to open-age football.

We in Durham Sunday Football League have a major problem. As you have no doubt seen we have a shortage of referees this year so I am writing to you and your club calling for volunteers to become the man with the whistle. If each club in the League sent an Official from their club on a Referee’s Course at the Durham County Football Association, this would help the problem.

Without your help the sides of the Durham Sunday Football League will be without a referee – a situation I am sure you will agree with me is most unsatisfactory.With an average of thirty matches to cover each Sunday and mid-week, we need as many referees we can get. Please discuss this matter with your fellow club members. I am sure there are ex players, retired players or players coming to the end of their playing career who will make excellent referees. The Durham County Football Association will train you, coach you and advise you along your path . Even if someone is only avaible every other Sunday this doesn’t matter, get in contact with me.

Graham Lilley

Match Fees The home club are responsible for the payment of match official fees before any game the set fee for the Game and the Referee's Expenses are all payable . In League games, were Assistant Referee's are appointed then The Two Assistant Referee's used will be entitiled to full match fee plus expenses ,this shared between both clubs. For Cup matches, were Assistant Referee's are appointed then The Two Assistant Referee's used will be entitiled to full match fee plus expenses ,this shared between both clubs.

Referee's Societies There are ten affiliated Societies within the Durham County area. Below gives full details of each Society together with the name of the Secretary and contact details.

Bishop Auckland Mr Terry Farley, 9 Hylton Close, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, DL5 4BA
Darlington George Cornforth, 35 Farndale Crescent, Darlington, Co Durham, DL3 9AP
Durham City Mr K G Sutherland, Dunrobin, 40 Picktree Lodge, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, DH3 4DJ
Gateshead R Croysdale, Avonwood, Sunniside Road, Whickham, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, NE16 5AA
Hartlepool David Hudson, 22 Hirdman Grove, Hartlepool, , TS24 9QG
North West Durham Mr R Draper, 8 Burnhope Gardens, Wrekewton, Gateshead, NE9 7LU
Sedgefield Mr William Carter, 18 Sycamore Crescent, Trimdon Station, County Durham, TS29 6AZ
South Tyneside Mr A Hall, 10 Christon Way, Bill Quay, Tyne & Wear, NE10 0TE
Stockton Mr P Alderson, 18 Rothbury Avenue, Roseworth, Stockton, Cleveland, TS19 9HG
Sunderland Mr D Binsley, 14 Rodney Close, Ryhope, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, SR2 0AL
The Durham Football Association Secretary: John Topping Address:Chester le Street Riverside South, Chester le Street, Co. Durham, DH3 3SJ Tel: 0191 387 2929 Email

Mentor Schemes for Referee's Mentor schemes are to be applauded and must act as a great support to those entering a refereeing career. Using retired Referees as Mentors and Assessors must be encouraged as we can not afford to lose such valuable experience. Also we must look at our own performance to see if we set the right example and have the correct attitude to help others.

Recruitment of new Referees is without doubt more successful after the conclusion of the training courses. Here is the first and probably the best opportunity to recruit as everyone is running on a high, they have passed their examination and hopefully are hungry for more. The training team play an extremely important role here and it is to their credit one must remember the influence they will have on prospective recruits. As we know in the event of the newly qualified Referees abstaining from any activity for one reason or another there is little one can do to ask them to become active. The other problem revolves around those who become active and leave it at that. Another area of recruitment is getting those persons interested in refereeing. This can be achieved via word of mouth, schools, colleges, and displays. Achieve this and then the training team take over to accomplish their role. So far so good you will think, but the next step is the retention of Referees. The following points are aimed directly at recruitment and retention. The same principles apply whether it be for someone re-joining or joining for the first time.

1. MODEL REASONS FOR JOINING
2. ALONE, REFEREES REMAIN ISOLATED AND VUNERABLE
3. REFEREES HAVE LEGAL HELP WITH THE REFEREES' ASSOCIATION
4. REFEREES' ASSOC PROVIDE EDUCATION AND GOOD ADVICE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR CAREER
5 THE SOCIETY PROVIDES DlSCUSSION AT LOCAL LEVEL
6. HELP WITH PROMOTION FROM YOUR SOCIETY
7. WITHOUT HELP YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN

Your own experiences together with other personal and additional reasons for joining are all equally important. On occasions when you meet other Referees you will find that they are not members of their local Referees' Society, and if they are members, they do not attend meetings. The common answer is that they feel it does nothing for them or if they did, what would they gain? In my opinion every Referee who is a member of The Referees' Association is a recruitment and retention officer in his own right. When you hear the excuses given for either not joining or re-joining and you yourself are a regular attendee, then it becomes difficult to imagine life without The Referees' Association. Some Societies are more regimental than others in their proceedings and perhaps some Referees feel isolated when they attend. If an opportunity occurs for a new recruit to The Referees' Association then I consider the following points helpful:
1. A GUIDE TO SUCCESS
2. APPROACH NON-MEMBERS IN A POSlTlVE FRIENDLY MANNER
3. GlVE REASONS FOR JOINING
4. LISTEN CAREFULLY TO ANY QUESTIONS, PROVIDE CONFIDENT ANSWERS
5. SUPPLY LITERATURE
6. PROVIDE AN APPLICATION FORM
7. OFFER TO HELP COMPLETE THE FORM IF NEEDED
8. LEAVE DETAILS OF WHERE YOU CAN BE CONTACTED 9.CALL BACK IF NECESSARY

You as Referees are able to provide some of the above and other points with the respective committee members. You are a newly qualified Referee and you want to get started as soon as possible.

The Referees' Association.

Then first of all do not forget to join The Referees' Association. Hopefully you will have received information on all the various leagues in your area in which you can officiate on, and now it is the turn of The Referees' Association.

It is not mandatory to join The Referees' Association but strongly advisable that you do. Let's face it, you like to have some form of representation at your place of work, become aware of changes that may effect you. If you think along those lines then your "union" is The Referees' Association. For those Referees who have not re-joined, then please do reconsider.

One of the advantages is that whatever league you officiate on, especially if you have recently been out at a match as a team of officials you will always find that when you meet up at the monthly society meetings, conversation naturally follows. This will not leave you out on a limb and perhaps will help you feel more accommodated. When you join a society you may receive a copy of 'The Football Referee', the official magazine of the Association as well as the Society's own monthly magazine. Insurance benefits are included when you join and are a must in the event of an accident whilst officiating etc.

The Referees' Association consists of around 17500 members in the UK and abroad in 35 countries in our Overseas Division. The members in the UK are organised into Societies, Branches or Associations and there are over 350 of these local organisations. These local groups usually meet monthly throughout the football season and they undertake recruitment, training and social events on behalf of their members. These local groups affiliate with others in their area and form a County Committee on which all societies have representation. These committees send a delegate to one of six Divisional meetings. There are Divisions in the North West,( including Northern Ireland), North East, Midlands, Southern, Western England and Wales. These areas are administered by a Vice President, who is the Chairman, and a Secretary.

The Vice President and Secretary represent their Divisions on The Referees' Association Council which meets four times per year. All members, from the local society representative to the Divisional Officers, are elected annually in a democratic manner.

The structure is :-
The Referees' Association Council: National body.
Divisional Executive: Comprising County Representatives.
County Committees: Comprising local Branches or Societies.
Local Referees' Society: Comprising individual members locally. Our Overseas and Services Division is administered by our Overseas and Services Secretary Mr. Alan Robinson. It comprises referees from over 35 countries and from members of the forces, The Army, The Navy and the RAF.

Regulations for the Registration and Control of Referees
The method of describing the status of referees has been modified to take into account promotion through re- classification and further promotion through the pyramid of leagues.
Each referee will be registered by a level that describes the highest level of football at which he or she operates as a referee. The levels and descriptions are as follows:

International: Referees on the National List of Referees who are, in the year of classification, currently on the FIFA List of Referees.

Level 1: Referees selected by The Football Association to serve on the National List of Referees and who meet the requirements of the promotion criteria for this level.
Level 2: Referees selected by The Football Association to serve on the Panel List of Referees and who meet the requirements of the promotion criteria for this level.
Level 3: Referees, other than those on the Panel List of Referees, selected to officiate on a Contributory League and who meet the requirements of the promotion criteria for this level.
Level 4: Referees selected to officiate on a Supply League and who meet the requirements of the promotion criteria for this level.
Level 5: Senior County Referees. Iincludes referees who have served at a higher level.
Level 6: County Referees.
Level 7: Junior Referees not in Level 8 or below:
Level 8: Youth Referee. Referees who qualify but have not yet reached the age of 16. On reaching that age the referee will immediately move to level 8.
Level 9: Trainee Referees -Referees who have participated in the two-tier training programme and who need to register in order to be covered by public liability insurance. On qualifying the referee will immediately move to level 8 or 7 as appropriate.
Level 1O: Declared non-active Referees.