Referees given full backing

Europe's leading referees and assistant referees are being helped to prepare for the 2007/08 campaign in the best possible manner at UEFA's start-of-season meetings in Switzerland this week.

Opening session
There were 75 officials present in Geneva on Tuesday evening for the opening of the fifth Summer Gathering for UEFA Elite Referees and the seventh Seminar for Assistant Referees, which comprise expert presentations, discussion groups and specific training exercises.

Two objectives
The chairman of the UEFA Referees' Committee, Angel María Villar Llona, was delighted to welcome so many top-class officials to the get-together, and encouraged them to make the most of the events taking place over two days. "This gathering has two main objectives," Villar Llona said. "First, to prepare the referees and their assistants for the UEFA competitions in the 2007/08 season. And second, to prepare the referees for UEFA EURO 2008 next summer in Switzerland and Austria.

Take full advantage
"I would like the referees and the assistants to take full advantage of this opportunity to prepare themselves for the new season in the best possible way," Villar Llona continued. "I hope every decision you make in the coming season will be the right one, whether you are officiating a club or international match."

Message of support
The referees and assistants were also given a strong message of support from UEFA's director of national associations, Jacob Erel, who insisted that European football's governing body would be behind them throughout the campaign. "The whole of UEFA supports you fully," he told them. "Starting with the President [Michel Platini], to the Referees' Committee, to the chairman of the Referees' Committee – you have the full backing of UEFA in your activities."

Work on communication
Erel also highlighted two areas for referees and assistant referees to pay particularly close attention to. "Be physically prepared for the season," Erel said. "This is a major part of a referee's preparation, and it is required [in order to maximise] your performance. It is also important to work on communication. This means improving every kind of communication, whether it is through body language, communicating with your colleagues, with clubs, coaches or with the public."

Stay in control
The value of communication was developed in detail during a presentation by Mattia Piffaretti, a specialist on mental preparation in sport. Piffaretti explained that "efficient communication can make a big difference in terms of helping the referee stay in control and master a game", and he went on to offer tips about how referees could maintain positive contacts with players. Keeping a high degree of self-awareness, establishing connections with players when a decision is made, and careful use of overt and covert language, were outlined as key aspects for referees to focus on.

Non-verbal communication
While speaking directly to players is a vital part of the referee's job, Piffaretti pointed out that 90 per cent of covert language was non-verbal, saying: "All kinds of communication are important, because every move the referee makes is scrutinised. You should be aware of the importance of non-verbal communication."

Communication tools
Body language, posture, facial expressions, spatial relationships with players, and gestures were all cited as examples of significant communication tools. Piffaretti, however, also illustrated how each player is liable to react differently, and suggested that referees should help themselves by knowing the "communication backgrounds" of individual players, as well as his/her own team of officials. "The more background a referee accumulates, the more efficient their communication is likely to be," he said.