Listening to the referees

Various issues
The élite UEFA referees and Europe's top assistant referees will meet with UEFA's Referees Committee and other senior officials from European football's governing body for talks and discussions on a variety of issues affecting refereeing at the highest level.

Worthwhile gathering
The gathering is considered particularly worthwhile as it continues the process of dialogue as UEFA strives to improve its referee activities. The referees also welcome this chance to address their concerns to UEFA as they look to maintain their high standards on the field, given that football is becoming quicker and more high-pressured by the season.

Passive offside
Pride of place on Wednesday morning goes to the élite referees, who will be welcomed by UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner and UEFA Referees Committee chairman Volker Roth. The agenda will then move on to discussions about how to implement a uniform interpretation of the passive offside situation, and whether or not a player is interfering with play.

Joint meeting
On Wednesday afternoon, the élite and assistant referees will come together for a joint meeting, when they will hear an explanation of how the refereeing sector will be organised at next summer's UEFA EURO 2004™ finals in Portugal, before discussions continue on the passive offside issue.

Working groups
The gathering will then split into a series of working groups, in which the referee and assistants will be asked to put forward their viewpoint to UEFA Referees Committee members on how to improve the decision-making process in the case of offside.

Two-way contact
The relationship between UEFA and its referees is a two-way one, and the European body is constantly seeking feedback and advice from match officials on how to improve its own referee work. The referees and assistants are therefore being requested to give their opinions to UEFA on how future referee courses, seminars and workshops can be improved and further developed as part of UEFA's ambitious and comprehensive overall referee activities.

Discreet signals
The focus will switch solely to assistant referees on Thursday, when UEFA's instruction and referee development experts will join the men with the flags in looking at how assistants can help referees in making decisions on foul play. The use of discreet signals will also be on the agenda, as well as assistants' positioning, concentration and co-operation with referees.

Specific training
UEFA's referee fitness expert Werner Helsen, who works together with Europe's referees and assistants on specific training and condition programmes, will give a presentation on specific training for assistant referees.

Referees and racism
Referees are also being asked by UEFA to report incidents of racism on the field and in the stands, and they will be given an insight into the pan-European anti-racism campaign being led by UEFA and its partner, the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network. Guest speaker on the topic is senior FARE representative Piara Power.