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Cornwall FA Respect and Behaviour Recommendations and Good Practise
In April 2016 the Respect and Behaviour working group from Cornwall FA released a number of
recommendations to be implemented throughout the 2016-17 season. One of these
recommendations was pre-season meetings where referees, clubs and leagues were invited to
discuss their view of behaviour and what could be done across the game to improve standards.
Throughout pre-season with the support of local leagues several of these meetings took place, and
200 grassroots participants attended. There were plenty of opinions and ideas from managers,
players, club officials, league officials and referees. A summary of the issues and suggested
interventions is outlined below.
Understanding the Laws of The Game
There was a general consensus that there was a lack of understanding of the laws of game,
especially from players and this led to frustration and confusion. Whilst FA LAW CHANGE
information is available online, it was agreed that Cornwall FA could do more to raise awareness of
The Laws and especially the recent changes. Therefore Cornwall FA will be working with clubs to
create a manager’s and player’s mailing list thus taking the pressure off club secretaries. With social
media and club websites now playing such a significant role in communication, many managers and
players thought this would be the best method of conveying essential law change information. Also
see next item below.
Club Presentations
Cornwall FA and referees are willing to work with local clubs to hold evenings to try and educate
and raise awareness of the laws of the game. There is an interactive quiz which is delivered to clubs
and is based on the laws of the game. This has been run at a few clubs as a trial and has been
extremely successful. Instead of receiving a presentation on powerpoint it is encourages discussion
and engagement. Any clubs who wish for this to be delivered can contact Richard Pallot at Cornwall
FA 01208 269010 or email [email protected]
Ambassador Referees visiting Clubs
There was a discussion over players having the opportunity to talk to referees and ask questions, not
just on the laws of the game but on other topics. It was suggested by several referees that they
would like to attend club training sessions and work with the players on a practical basis. T, the
referees would be local to the club. Attending presentations or workshops is not always easy so
engaging with players at training is a positive step. It was agreed that messages and opinions
delivered by the referees would need to be consistent so Cornwall FA will be working with the
referees who are happy to visit clubs and the Referees Committee to agree on the format and
content. . Referees and clubs who are interested in this please contact Richard Pallot at Cornwall FA
on 01208 269010 or email [email protected]
Rewarding Positive behaviour
We are now welcoming nominations for respect club and player of the month. There are so many
positives in football and we want to focus on these and draw attention to those who promote the
game and respect, maybe without even realising it. If you want to nominate a club or an individual
who demonstrate good sportsmanship then email Richard Pallot at Cornwall FA 01208 269010 or
email [email protected] winning clubs will receive 10 brand new Nike Footballs and
Individuals will get a £30 voucher for Pro-Direct Soccer.
We also talked about investigating the use of ‘Respect’ marks by Referees on Full Time and Cornwall
FA will discuss this with the FA IT section to determine feasibility.
Publicising Misconduct Charges and Results
Cornwall FA has already started publishing Misconduct charges and results of hearings through the
press and Cornwall FA website. To take this one step further it was suggested that there are
discipline tables published for each league in Cornwall highlighting all charges and cards received by
clubs. Cornwall FA will work with the leagues to facilitate this and highlight the clubs with good and
poor discipline.
Expectations about Consistency
The most difficult and grey area to address was ‘referee consistency’. Whilst one referee may see a
foul one way another may see it differently and from a different angle. Players and managers will
also have opinions on situations and on many decisions not everyone will agree. So this is as much
about managing club / manager / player expectations as it is about ‘consistency’ and the Laws of the
Game initiatives (see above) should help with this. What was accepted was that it was reasonable
for clubs to expect consistency by an individual referee over 90 minutes, subject to variations that
reflected the ‘temperature’ of the game.
Dealing with Dissent and Offensive, Insulting or Abusive Language/gestures
Whilst decisions on tackles and interpretations on certain aspects of the laws of the game may
differ, one area where consistency MUST be expected is in the treatment of DISSENT and
OFFENSIVE, INSULTING or ABUSIVE language/ gestures. The common comment from clubs was that
“one week one referee would take no action and another there would be loads of cards!!” This is
clearly an issue that must be addressed and will be the subject of debate with the referees
Committee to ensure that referees are reminded of the explicit guidance on handling this type of
misconduct and apply this effectively. Referees failing to do this are letting themselves and their
refereeing colleagues down
Communication
In addition to consistency the other important feedback from players, managers and referees was
the importance of communication.
Build up to the match – In the week leading up to the match clubs should be contacting referees with
details of the fixture. This practise is not always followed and there is room for improvement .
Likewise referees are expected to acknowledge confirmation of matches. The responsibility of both
clubs and referees is explained in detail on the CCFA Referees Appointments page (see
Appointments Process available from http://www.cornwallfa.com/referees/referee-appointmentsand-fixture-changes )
Pre-match – On the day of the game a member of the club should greet the referee and make them
feel welcome. Also referees need to make an effort to engage and work with the clubs on a matchday prior to kick off. This is not in the form of a meeting to discuss what will or won’t be tolerated in
terms of behaviour. Nor how the referee intends to officiate the game, but more as an effort to
start the match-day on the right foot.
In Match – What was very clear was that players and managers accept referees will make mistakes,
what frustrates them is the lack of communication in explaining decisions. Even if a player disagrees
with a decision he will be more likely to accept it if the referee explains the reasons behind the
decision he has made. Obviously if a player wants clarification on decisions during a match it needs
to be done in the correct manner.
Post-match – Referees do not mind answering questions or discussing their decisions post match.
We are recommending that this should not happen until after at least a minimum of 15 minutes has
passed after the game, especially where there is a contentious issue. Such discussions should be
conducted with respect and Referees will not be expected tolerate discussions that are conducted in
a hostile way. Clubs are reminded that referees retain the authority to report misconduct from club
officials where post-match discussions end up being confrontational.
Marking Scheme for Referees – Guidance and Transparency
We will be circulating a guide to all clubs on marking referees so that this aspect of consistency by
clubs can be improved
If a club is of the opinion a referee’s performance warrants a mark of 60 or lower then a report
needs to be submitted. These reports are vital and allow Cornwall FA and the referee training team
the opportunity to work with referees to secure any necessary improvements. We appreciate that
currently those involved do not see the process that is followed when they send in the reports and
feel it is not a productive use of their time. Cornwall FA accepts that a more transparent and
equitable process needs to be implemented so as to improve feedback to clubs and referees on
action taken (or not taken) with regard to these reports.
Referees Marking Clubs
We will be working with leagues to develop a system so referees can mark clubs as well and
feedback and on behaviour, attitude and sportsmanship, this will help us identify clubs we can work
with and support.
Social Media
More needs to be done to raise awareness of misuse of social media and the ramifications for
participants in football. Social media and websites are a wonderful communication tool but more
education is needed on what is and isn’t acceptable and how any misuse will be dealt with.
Cornwall FA Website
Significant work will be undertaken on the Cornwall FA website to make all this information more
easily accessible so clubs and players nowhere to go to access documents on the laws of the game,
referees marking guides and the list of charges as well as other information discussed within this
document .
Monitoring Games
For the past 12 months Cornwall FA council members have been visiting grounds and monitoring
games at all levels of football within Cornwall. Their feedback was one of the initial drivers behind
this Respect and behaviour project. They will continue to visit clubs on an ad hoc basis and report
back to the Governance Manager. Feedback will be given to clubs and referees on these neutral and
unbiased reports, we are hoping that following the meetings and recommendations there will be an
improvement in standards and behaviour.
The Future
The Respect and Behaviour Working Group will be meeting quarterly to review the success and
failures of the initial recommendations from April 2016 and the guidance issued in this documents.
The next meeting will be in December 2016 to reviewthe impact of our work so far. We will be
continuously looking for new ideas and initiatives and will publish the results of our review to all
concerned and welcome feedback and development of good practice over time.
The group is still looking for more people passionate about Cornish football and if you feel you could
add a different perspective or have a positive impact on the group then please contact Richard Pallot
at Cornwall FA
01208 269010 or email [email protected]