York RA are saddened to announce the passing of John McCarthy. John was Chairman of York RA between 1982 and 1983 and will be remembered fondly by his contemporaries.

Our thoughts are with John’s loved ones at this sad time.

John’s funeral will be at 1pm on Monday 8 October, at York Crematorium.

With effect from the start of 2018-19 season the FA has announced a change to reporting for players being sent off

The system is basically the same as it is for yellow cards *(ie no details); this will make reporting so much easier for referees.

The notice from the FA is as follows:

“Currently Referees across the game at all levels when dismissing a player from the field of play are required to write a detailed report of the offence when reporting the dismissal.

The purpose of this report is largely historic and relates to when Players were able to appeal a dismissal and attend a Personal hearing to challenge the report. The move at grassroots level from term based discipline to match based discipline prevented personal hearings for red card offences and was replaced with the wrongful dismissal process.

The requirement to report the detail of the dismissal is not necessary for the Wrongful Dismissal process that now applies at all levels of the game and in fact contributes to confusion as to the purpose of that process.

The ability to claim a Wrongful Dismissal applies where a Club can demonstrate that the decision to send off a player for the offence committed was obviously wrong.

Clubs often concentrate their submissions on perceived errors in the detail of the report rather than whether the decision to send off for the offence was or was not correct. The onus is on the Club to show that the referee was obviously wrong in the dismissal offence and where they cannot satisfy that burden any claim should fail. It has therefore been agreed to amend the reporting process with effect from the start of the 2018/19 season to operate the same as reporting yellow card offences. This change will apply at all levels of the game.

Therefore the referee is only required to report the red card offences as laid out in the laws of the game as follows:

S1. Serious Foul Play

S2. Violent Conduct

S3. Spits at an Opponent or any other person

S4. Denying the opposing player an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball

S5. Denies the opposing player an obvious goal scoring opportunity by an offence punishable by a free kick or penalty kick

S6. Uses Offensive, insulting or abusive language

S7. Receives a second caution in the same match (This offence also requires the referee to report the caution offence for each caution)

Offences of S2 – Violent conduct will be categorised further with the following categories:

S2 – Violent Conduct – Head to Head contact

S2 – Violent Conduct – Elbowing

S2 – Violent Conduct – Kicking

S2 – Violent Conduct – Stamping

S2 – Violent Conduct – Striking

S2 – Violent Conduct – Biting

S2 – Violent Conduct – Other Unspecified Behaviour*

(* A free text field to capture other Unspecified Behaviour will be available if this option is selected).

There will be no requirement to write any further details for dismissals. This will save the referees time in reporting and avoid supplying unnecessary detail surrounding the offence.

It should be noted that both MOAS and WGS Portal are being amended to permit this change.”

Extraordinary Reports
“Referees will still be required to write details surrounding extraordinary incidents in the following circumstances.
a. Where the dismissal offence has a more serious impact than the dismissal itself, the referee will be required to submit the dismissal offence as normal and then add a supplementary extraordinary report clarifying why the dismissal was exceptional. Such examples would be where the offence committed included an aggravated breach such as discriminatory language or behaviour (homophobic, sexist or reference to race/colour/religion/ethnicity etc.) or here there was a serious injury caused by the act of violent conduct.

b. Where further misconduct happened following the dismissal such as the player refusing to leave the field of play or committed other further acts of misconduct following the dismissal.

c. Where the offences committed were by non-playing staff or spectators.””

Mark Ives

Head of Judicial Services                                                                                                                                          June 2018

A few days ago The RA was notified of the sad news of Len Randall passing away, on a personal note Len provided a great source of wisdom to me following the Board of Inquiry in 2012, I am very grateful to Ian Davies for producing the obituary below.

LEN RANDALL

Len Randall joined the Referees’ Association in 1985 and, in a distinguished career covering many decades, he held office at National, County and local level. On 28^th May 2018, upon Len’s death, the Referees’ Association lost a great ambassador, stalwart, friend and supporter. His legacy will form part of the history of the Referees’ Association.

Len will be remembered as a dedicated, committed, enthusiastic and, above all, respected member of the Referees’ Association. He was an honourable gentleman who believed in integrity and principles and this ethos formed an important part of his life. These attributes accurately reflect Len’s character and personality.

Len was a founder member of the RA Board upon its inception in 2004 and he would hold office as RA Chairman and RA Treasurer. Len was RA Chairman when the new format of the RA Conference weekend was established in 2005 at the Southport Conference. The foundations of the current Development Weekend were laid under his stewardship and the emphasis moved towards the provision of training for and development of referees. The Southport Conference will always be remembered as a catalyst for change and have a special place in the history of the Referees’ Association.

Len will be remembered for all the work he did behind the scenes at national level and the varied tasks included creating membership databases, preparation of AGM / Conference papers, printing tickets, Head Office administration to mention just a few for which he never expected any accolade. Len believed it was his duty to help and make a positive contribution.

Len’s efforts were not limited to supporting the national body and he also made important contributions at County and Local level. Len held office at Middlesex County RA as both Secretary and Treasurer and he was latterly the Chiltern District Referees’ Society delegate to Berks and Bucks County RA. He served in this role with distinction and only relinquished this post in the last few months.

Len had been a full member of Chiltern District Referees’ Society since 2008 and during the intervening decade he had made a significant contribution to the society. The esteem in which he was held by his local society is shown by the fact that he was twice the recipient of the Horace Freeman Memorial Award and he was the current holder. The award recognised the outstanding contribution he had made to the society. Len’s wealth of knowledge and inspiration would have a positive impact upon all members.

Len’s was a great believer in governance and rules and his undoubted abilities excelled in the reorganisation and restructuring process of the National Referees’ Association. Len was an influential member of the Constitutional Review Committee which ultimately resulted in the current Referees’ Association Constitution. It is no surprise that Len was the architect for new rules for his local society and County RA.

It was Len’s passion for proper procedural requirements that led him to take the lead in instigating the complete overhaul of the Referees’ Association Benevolent Fund Deed of Trust in order to ensure that the trustees acted in accordance within the law and the requirements of the Charity Commission. He also drafted a Memorandum of Procedures to be followed by the Benevolent Fund Trustees when considering an application for assistance from the Benevolent Fund. His guidance and advice would be valued by all fellow Trustees.

Len felt it was important to keep open lines of communication with members and societies. In order to achieve this goal Len was an avid contributor to the Chiltern Referee Magazine and his articles were always balanced and informative. He had also acted as editor of the RA Newsletter distributed nationally.

Len’s contribution to the Referees’ Association cannot be under-estimated and he undoubtedly exemplified the RA motto of “service before self”.

Len’s funeral service will be held on Wednesday 13^th June 2018 at 11am at Breakspear Crematorium, Breakspear Road, Ruislip HA4 7SJ.