Uniformity the message to referees

Uniformity is the watchword for the match officials attending the 18th UEFA Introductory Course for International Referees in Benalmadena, Spain.

Judging physical challenges
That message came across loud and clear from both the refereeing and fitness instructors on Day Three of the course, which began with a workshop on the correct judgement of physical challenges. Vlado Sajn, a member of the UEFA Referees Committee, presented a series of video clips of challenges and the referees received guidelines on how to make decisions in the most uniform way possible.

'Leave behind differences'
"We're here to help you eliminate differences and achieve the highest possible uniformity," said Sajn. "We ask you to leave behind the differences in applying the laws in your own countries. Your decisions will be observed and analysed and inconsistencies will be well recognised and difficult to justify to players, coaches, media and TV audiences."

Leading role
Sajn spelled out the following criteria for referees to consider when judging foul challenges: the direction of the feet and use of studs; speed and intensity; the element of intent or malice; the player's chances of taking the ball; and whether the player endangers the safety of the opponent. He added: "You have a leading role to play in bringing more consistency and uniformity in European football."

Fitness test
UEFA demands high levels of fitness from the new referees and Professor Werner Helsen, a member of the UEFA Referee Instructor Panel, hopes their efforts in the FIFA Fitness Test this week will serve as "a bridge to future performance on the field of play". Thirty-two of the 37 participants passed the test, which took place at the Estadio de Arroyo de la Miel in Benalmadena on Tuesday, with the five unsuccessful referees due to get another chance in Nice, France, next month.

Individual training programmes
The test comprised two parts: a series of six 40m sprints under 6.20 seconds, followed by an interval test comprising 20 150m tempo runs, each within a 30-second limit. Between each of these runs, which combined to make ten full laps of the stadium, was a 35-second recovery walk of 50m. Every referee wore a heart-rate monitor to aid the assessment of his performance and each received on Wednesday an individual profile of his fitness test. "I will come back to give you training advice based on these times," said Helsen, who will send out specially tailored interval-training schedules to the officials next week.

Wide range
Commenting on the referees' performance, Helsen noted there was "room for progress in start and running technique" and highlighted the wide-ranging standards shown by the new match officials who come from 28 different countries. He explained: "When I compare the average sprint time for the new international referees with the elite referees, I see they are indentical [5.6m]. The elite referees are older, so in one sense we might expect more from the new international ones. The majority were great, but the range in performance, both in sprint speeds and the interval run, was quite big and I hope in the future it will be possible to have a lower range."

Assistance
To this end, a UEFA training schedule will help. "I can imagine in some associations the referees have less support than in other associations," said Helsen. From this year UEFA will work closely with the national associations through the FIFA Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) which offers fitness support and coaching advice to the referees' coaches at national level.