CFA referees undergo refresher course from PFF

THE Cebu Football Association referees underwent a short refresher course under PFF Referee Fitness Instructor Engr. Jaime Nicolau III to improve their match reporting.

It has come to the attention of CFA Referee Committee Head Engr. Rodney Orale that some of the referees had made it a habit to just copy from each other’s match reports, especially when the yellow and red cards were booked, without indicating the reasons behind the calls.

"It is important we have all these information recorded in the match reports so that
we can answer should there be complaints made by any players or coaches regarding the match," said Orale.

Nicolau reminded the 22 referees who attended the course, despite short notice, that all events should be recorded up to the tiniest bit of information because it could be crucial in settling contoversies in a match.

The PFF representative made the time to have a short informal discussion with the referees in his visit last week as match assessor of the PFF Smart National Club Championship game between Cebu Queen City United and Pachanga.

Calls

Along with him were Fifa-accredited referees, who also shared their experiences and expertise with the local referees regarding how to make crucial calls on rare circumstances that happen on field.

They were Steve Supresencia, Jeffrey Velez and Kent Gobuyan.

They cited, as an example, the match between the University of Cebu and University of San Jose-Recoletos where the question was whether a goal by a player who committed a two-touch violation should be counted.

A similar exercise was also given to the referees to know how they will react on special situations on field.

It was also emphasized in the workshop that errors in calls are always a possibility.

After all, Nicolau said, referees are just human and will make mistakes.

Nicolau said that if a referee is well-informed of the Fifa rules of the game, then it would minimize the mistakes.

Meanwhile, Orale is working with coaches and clubs in bringing in lady referees to join their group.

"There are already female players who had quit playing. But instead of stopping, why not return to the field as officiating officers,” said Orale.

As of now, there are 38 active referees under CFA but they do not have lady members yet.

Orale also hopes to have more referees undergo national trainings and revealed that there are already names that the PFF has considered for invitation.

This is also part of his mission to increase the National 1 level referees in Cebu, which currently has Wilford Sabella and Archie Reyes.

Orale is also happy to announce that the new rates for the referees had already been
approved by the board.

From P1,200, the new rate for referees on duty per day is P1,500.

Orale said that this is one way of helping, especially those student varsity members, to earn money on top of their allowances.

He added that this is one way of encouraging more students to join their group especially that games are only scheduled in the weekend, which is supposedly their free time.