Refereeing
There are four grades referees in Northern Ireland
- Senior - Referees who officiate in the Irish premier League and include our four FIFA Officials
- Intermediate - Referees who operate in one of 6 Intermediate leagues throughout Northern Ireland, and which includes our nine FIFA Assistant Referees
- Junior - The referees who operate in one of the many junior leagues
- Club - Club referees are those who are still involved with a club, but have passed their referees exam and have affiliated. They will take charge when there is no official referee.
How do I become a referee?
The first step is to take a beginners class, which culminates in an examination in the Laws of the game -
These course which are staged throughout the country by a qualified IFA Referee Instructor last 6 weeks and for details of these courses please e-mail referees@irishfa.com
Successful candidates are affiliated to the IFA through one of four Divisional referee associations. The secretaries are as follows -
- North East Ulster - Trevor Moutray
- Mid Ulster - Philip Walker
- North west - Stephen Wallace
- Fermanagh and Western - Clare Noble
Referee Assessors
Referees are graded primarily according to ongoing assessment, with fitness, age and commitment secondary factors. These Assessments are carried out by a panel of former referees who attend matches and assess the referees according to FIFA and UEFA guidelines.
Referees Committee
All matters affecting referees are decided upon by the Referees Committee, a Committee which consists of 8 persons ( 4 of which represent refereeing and 4 the wider game) Currently the Chairman Aiden Murphy, with Vice Chairman former FIFA Referee Malcolm Moffatt who is a member of the Association's Referees Inspectorate, and whose colleagues Leslie Irvine, and Walter Clarke also sit on the Committee along with Trevor Moutray representingthe Northern Ireland Referees Association. The other members are Morton McKnight, John McCrossan and Terry Pateman. IFA Referee Development Officer Alan Snoddy also attends the meeting.
Referees Inspectorate
Referees Inspectorate is made up of 3 former FIFA Officials who act in an advisory role. They work closely with the Referees Committee and the Referee Development Officer to provide support to referees, instructors, and assessors.
The three Inspectorate members are elected by the Executive Committee and serve for 2 year periods.
Fitness Tests
The Association requires all referees operating at intermediate ad senior level to meet certain fitness criteria, and all nominees to the FIFA lists of international Referees and Assistant Referees are compelled to meet the FIFA criteria.
Northern Ireland Referees Association
The NIRA is the umbrella organisation representing referees in Northern Ireland. Its current chairman is David Malcolm and its secretary is Arnold Hunter.
Women's refereeing
Womens football is the fastest growing sport on the planet and refereeing is tryng hard to keep up. The Association has a small number of female referees, and is attempting to increase this number by staging all women beginners classes. Our premier female referee is Andi Regan from Portstewart, who officiates at Intermediate level and is a FIFA Assistant Referee, operating in the Premier League. Andi has recently officiated both at the Women's World Cup Finals in USA and the Women's Olympic Tournament in Athens, and the European Womens Championship 2005, so there are tremendous opportunities for female officials.
Any Females wishing to apply to become a referee please e-mail referees@irishfa.com
FIFA List - 2008
The current IFA officials on the FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees are
Referees:
Alan Black; Mark Courtney; Adrian Mc Court; David Malcolm.
Assistant Referees:
Gareth Eakin; Thomas Fairfield; Gerard Flynn; John Mc Dowell; Paul Munn; Andrew Neeson; Eamonn Shanks; Dan Steele; Andi Regan.
Referee Development Officer
In 2006 the IFA appointed Alan Snoddy as it's first Referee Development Officer. This role supports all refereeing actitivties in N.Ireland with a focus on recruitment, retention and promoting refereeing.
Official Sport Specialist Partner
Referees for all your sports equipment needs visit our partner Podium 4 Sport (formerly Vi Sport) at 40 Montgomery Road, Belfast or online at www.podium4sport.com
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