This season the FA has decided that all clubs must mark a referee out of 100 and not 10 as in previous seasons.

The mark awarded by a club must be based on the referee’s overall performance. It is most important that the mark is awarded fairly and not based upon isolated incidents or previous games. The referee’s performance should be determined by the table below, which should act as a guide for the overall mark, which should fall within the mark range for each standard performance.

Mark Range

Comment

91 – 100

The referee was extremely accurate in decision-making and very successfully controlled the game using management and communication skills to create an environment of fair play, adding real value to the game.

81 – 90

The referee was very accurate in decision-making and very successfully controlled the game using management and communication skills to create an environment of fair play.

71 – 80

The referee was accurate in decision-making and controlled the game well, communicating with the players, making a positive contribution towards fair play.

61 – 70

The referee was reasonably accurate in decision-making and controlled the game quite well, communicated with the players, establishing a reasonable degree of fair play.

51 – 60

The referee had some shortcomings in the level of accuracy of decision-making and control, with only limited success in communicating with the players resulting in variable fair play.

50 and below

The referee had significant shortcomings in the level of accuracy of decision-making and control with poor communication with the players, which resulted in low levels of fair play.

How to decide on the Referee’s Mark

The following questions focus on the key areas of a referee's performance. They are intended as an "aide memoire", are not necessarily comprehensive and need not be answered individually. It is, however, worth considering them before committing yourself to a mark for the referee.

* Was the referee well positioned to make critical decisions, especially in and around the penalty area?

* Did the referee understand the players' positional intentions and keep out of the way accordingly?

* Did the referee apply the use of the advantage to suit the mood and temperature of the game?

* Did the officials work as a team, and did the referee lead and manage them to the benefit of the game?

* Did the referee understand the players' problems on the day - e.g. difficult ground/weather conditions?

* Did the referee demonstrate empathy for the game, allowing it to develop in accordance with the tempo

* Did the referee appear unflustered and unhurried when making critical decisions?

* Did the referee deal effectively with players crowding around after decisions/incidents?

* Did the pace of the game, the crowd or player pressure affect the referee negatively?

* Always try to be objective when marking. You may not obtain the most objective view by marking immediately after the game.

* Judge the performance over the whole game. Don't be too influenced by one particular incident.

* Don't mark the referee down unfairly because your team was unlucky and lost the game or some disciplinary action was taken against your players.

Name of Referee_______________________________________________

Overall Control and Decision Making

The mark must reflect the referee’s overall level of control, accuracy of decision-making and management of and communication with players. When deciding on a mark consideration should be given to such aspects of the referee’s performance as: impartiality, confidence, fitness, positioning, signalling, use of advantage, handling of major incidents.

A mark between 71 and 80 would represent the standard expected

When awarding a mark of 50 or less, an explanation must be provided in the box below, with comments, which could help the referee improve future performance.