Save the Ref: Take up the whistle to stop crisis

Sep 17 2008 By Graham Britton

THE president of Huddersfield Football Association has made a desperate plea for people to take up the whistle in a bid to stop the town’s refereeing crisis.

The number of qualified officials overseeing games reached an all-time low last season with between 14 and 19 on average covering more than 60 fixtures played each weekend.

Frank Beaumont, 75, of Holmfirth, president of the local FA since 1999, said if the number of referees continued to fall in 2008-09 it would be unthinkable.

Mr Beaumont, who appealed for people to think about training to become an official ahead of the new season, added: “I just can’t contemplate the situation getting any worse. It would be a disaster. We have to stop it now.”

Figures from the association which is responsible for all local football including the District and Works leagues, showed more than 500 games took place without a fully-trained referee last season.

Players directing verbal abuse at officials and a general lack of respect shown to them have been blamed as the main reasons behind the decline in numbers.

The problem has become so bad the Examiner has launched a ‘Save the Ref’ campaign which will run throughout the 2008-09 season to help stop the crisis.

Mr Beaumont said: “We desperately need to recruit and train more referees. This could be young lads and ex-players – male and female.

“I am, however, hopeful the problem can be stopped.

“The Huddersfield Examiner campaign should be a good help – it will be the mouthpiece for what we want to achieve. And we shall also be running other initiatives.”