Wirral RA have decided to cancel their meeting for this coming Thursday (14th January) following bad weather and the possible problems in getting to Lairds for the meeting for members.

The next meeting will be held at Lairds on Thursday 11th February at 7:45pm.

Please spread the word to other members that the meeting is OFF.

All games which were planned to be played on Wirral Council pitches have been postponed for this coming weekend, 16th & 17th January. The Council took the decision this afternoon after prolonged snow and forecast snow and rain over the next few days. If your game is to be played on a private pitch, please contact your league secretary for more information.

Any further information will be posted when we have it.

National Instructor Ray Olivier offers the following advice to referees

Footwear

Manufacturers have recently been experimenting with designs and some give cause for concern. The use
of blades on the sole of the boot is an example of such concern. The Football Association have offered
the following guidelines:

“When inspecting footwear officials are to be alert to the possibility of the edge of the blade developing
rough areas on either plastic or metal used in their construction. These burrs are very sharp and have
been the cause of lacerations on opponents. If Match Officials are concerned over the condition they
should refuse to sanction their use until they have been made safe.

If evidence emerges during the game e.g. torn stockings, lacerations, you may wish to follow up the
inspection with the player(s) concerned during a stoppage.

Vicks Vaporub on Shirts

Concern has been raised about the use of Vicks Vaporub and particularly the application of the medium
to the front of the football shirt. The concern is that the substance may enter the eye of an opponent
causing temporary blindness and the need for the player to leave the field of play.

Advice to Referees

Directions for use is to lightly apply Vaporub to the chest and back and wear leaving clothing loose for
easy inhalation. As most of you will be aware, players have large amounts of the medium applied to the
front of their shirts. Referees should ensure that players remove any excess Vaporub from their shirts in
order to prevent the above problems from occurring.

Lightweight Wrist Supports

These are made from a soft neoprene outer sleeve which allow full dexterity of the fingers and thumb,
whilst limiting wrist extension and flexion, thus providing freedom for total hand function. This wrist brace
will provide comfort, compression and support.

Advice to Referees

With the advances in medical sports supports protection, Referees should make every effort to ensure
that players, who are returning back from injury, should be encouraged to wear such supports. These
supports are very lightweight and comfortable to wear and not dangerous. However, if the referee
believes the support to be dangerous, then it must be rendered safe either by bandaging or removing the
support before allowing the player to play.

Wearing of Spectacles/Goggles

Flying footballs and close physical contact make football a moderate risk sport for eye injuries.
Spectacles/Goggles not only provide protection from injury, but can also be fit with those who need to
wear prescription lenses.Polycarbonate Lenses: This is the most important property of all protective goggles. Good polycarbonate
is virtually unbreakable, and will sustain the impact of a ball or finger.

Sports Band: an elasticised band and not temple pieces should secure the frame. Players must have
something that will be secured tight to the head so that it won't fall off. A frame with temples will not hold
tight enough, and a jab from a finger could lift the frame off, and make its way to the eye.

Advice to Referees

Although sports eyewear is intended to offer the best protection available, there is always
the possibility that the wearer may sustain an eye or facial injury due to severe impact or
because of the nature of the athletic activity. Referees should ensure that if a request has
been made to wear glasses/goggles, that they must not be a danger to himself or to any
other player.

Guidelines and Procedures to Treatment of Injuries

The Laws of Association Football and FIFA instructions indicate that any player requiring treatment must
be given such treatment off the field of play, with the least delay possible being made in the progress of
the match. The following concern have been raised by Match Officials and we have outlined the
procedure to be adopted:

Bleeding
Referees have quite rightly raised concern over the old traditional practice of the use of the “bucket &
sponge”. In a recent match, a "trainer" had treated a bleeding injury by dipping the sponge in and out of
the water in a bucket, with both the sponge and water both becoming contaminated with blood, and the
trainer was not wearing protective gloves. What should the referee do?

Advice to Referees
By using a sponge to treat a bleeding wound, and also the subsequent contamination of the bucket, the
trainer has rendered the sponge and bucket unusable for any other player from that point onwards.
Whilst many of us are not medically qualified to make an informed assessment, the practice of using
“bucket and sponge” to clean wounds is clearly not acceptable. Should you witness such events it would
be advisable to speak to the Club Secretary and inform of your concerns. The current advice from the FA
Medical Department is that protective gloves (latex) are worn and that the trainer should minimise the risk
of x-infection by covering any wounds he may have on his arms/ hands. Infection can also result through
ingestion and if the blood enters the trainer's eye (protective glasses are further consideration). A sterile
pad should be applied to the wound and the player should leave the field of play to receive the necessary
attention.
Remember, the instruction to referees regarding players bleeding is “any player bleeding from a wound
must leave the field of play. He may not return until the referee is satisfied that the bleeding has stopped”
The advice given above is to give guidance to referees in order to provide a consistent approach in
dealing with these concerns/issues in the future.

Cheshire FA referee Anthony Taylor has been appointed to a Premier League game this weekend. Altrincham based Anthony has been a referee on the National List (Football League) for 3 seasons and has been selected for the National List Talent Group which now gives him the chance to referee at the highest level. It is highly likely he will become part of the Select Group of referees next season.

It is also very likely that he will be joined by Michael Oliver, 24. Michael would have become the youngest referee to take charge of a Premier League game last weekend. Like Anthony, Michael was appointed to the Premier League fixture between Fulham and Sunderland. Stuart Attwell previously held this record, being just 25 when he took charge of a Premier League fixture.

The process began in 2007 and, in September, 53 referees attended an 'Elite Referee' seminar in Zurich. Assessments were made on technical, physical, mental and energy performances as well as medical and physio preparation.

Among the prominent figures were some famous names, including Carlos Amarilla from Paraguay, who refereed the 2007 Copa America final between Brazil and Argentina, Italy's Roberto Rosetti, who took charge of the European Championship final last June between Germany and Spain, and Codjia Koffi from Benin, who in February last year refereed the CAF Africa Cup of Nations final between Egypt and Cameroon.

Fifa reduced the 53 to 38 last October, a list that includes nine referees who made it to the final 21 for the 2006 finals.
A final decision on the World Cup 2010 referees will also be based on the results of further fitness training comprising various coordination, concentration and mobility exercises. The referees have also had to undergo a written test on the Laws as well as an oral English language test.

Howard Webb could represent England and will hope to do better than Graham Poll in 2006, after the Premier League referee inadvertently showed a yellow card to Croatia’s Josip Simunic three times.

The short-list for South Africa:

Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudir Arabia) Matthew Breeze (Australia) Ravhsan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) Mohamed Benouza (Algeria) Coffi Codjia* (Benin) Koman Coulibaly (Mali) Jerome Damon (South Africa) Eddy Maillet (Seychelles) Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Benito Archundia* (Mexico) Carlos Batres (Guatemala) Jair Marrufo (USA) Marco Rodriguez (Mexico) Carlos Amarilla* (Paraguay) Hector Baldassi (Argentina) Jorge Larrionda* (Uruguay) Pablo Pozo (Chile) Oscar Ruiz* (Colombia) Carlos Simon* (Brazil) Michael Hester (New Zealand) Peter O’Leary (New Zealand) Ivan Bebek (Croatia) Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal) Massimo Busacca* (Switzerland) Frank De Bleeckere* (Belgium) Thomas Einwaller (Austria) Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland) Martin Hansson (Sweden) Viktor Kassai (Hungary) Stephane Lannoy (France) Tom Ovrebo (Norway) Roberto Rosetti* (Italy) Wolfgang Stark (Germany) Alberto Undianio (Spain) Howard Webb (England)

*Referees at the 2006 World Cup finals.

Motherwell manager Jim Gannon has called for referee performance league tables to be introduced in Scotland.

Gannon has been involved in a public spat with Hugh Dallas, the Scottish FA's head of refereeing, over his correspondence about standards. And the Well boss wants a system to be introduced similar to the one he experienced in English football.

"Unfortunately, there is no formal structure, but down south it is very structured," Gannon told BBC Scotland.
"You watch the video, send in a written report and there's a dialogue over a formal process and there's a league table for referees, which is a good way of assessing if they are competent or are not competent for the game."

Gannon, who took charge of Motherwell in the summer after managing in England, felt he had to write to Dallas as there was no forum to express his views about some refereeing performances.

"If you are not being heard privately and there is no formal structure, sometimes you feel you have no recourse but to speak publicly," he said.
Gannon and Dallas have given differing statements about the number of letters that have passed between the two over the subject of referees.
However, the Motherwell boss said: "I have no problem with Hugh.

"He has a difficult job in terms of trying to manage a number of frustrated and angry managers on a Monday morning yet trying to motivate a small band of dedicated referees. "It is a tough profession and it's a very demanding game, but all we want to do is to make sure we work together to get the best standards possible."
Both Gannon and opposing manager Craig Levein were critical of referee Alan Muir on Saturday during their 2-2 draw, during which two Dundee United players were sent off.

"They are genuine concerns about two officials and generally the feedback we get in the game," the Motherwell boss said of his letters.

"There are only one or two referees. I am not having a go at the whole standard.

"We at Motherwell are doing our best to encourage our players to play the game fairly.

"I think we will be the most disciplined team in the league by far. We have not had a sending off and not had a booking for dissent.

"We are doing our part and we want to ensure that everybody else does