@MainlandReferee
THE
WHISTLEBLOWER
March 2017
Preseason Seminar Overview,
Chris Kerr Tribute,
McCabe’s UK Trip,
Courteney Bremner Profile
AND MORE!
WAYNE’S
WORD:
Friday 17 March
Mainland Premier League
Underway (Nomads v
Ferrymead)
Saturday 18 March
Tasman v Southern, Trafalgar
Park
FROM THE DESK OF THE
REFEREE DEVELOPMENT
OFFICER
Sunday 19 March
Canterbury v Team Wellington,
English Park
Saturday 1 April
Senior Winter Season Begins
Sunday’s preseason seminar kicked off the winter season, for which there was a fantastic turnout!
It started with an 8am fitness test where 21 took part in persistently wet conditions. We moved inside,
once everyone had dried off and had a hot cuppa to warm up again. A big thank you to Ken Wallace
for coming down and presenting some indoor sessions, as well as the practical session with incidents
in and around the penalty area. I’ve got to say, there were some very large children trying to create
fouls and having fun doing so in the rain, not to mention some very poor acting. However, it was a
good session and the message was received in regards to positioning and correctness and
decisiveness of decision making in this critical area. We finished off with assistant referee signals and
movement, concluding at about 3.30pm. See more later in the newsletter.
We also officially announced a new part time role taken up by Cameron Gruschow. Cameron will be
assisting in referee development, with his main role being recruitment of teenage referees. He has
already been in contact with several of the bigger secondary schools to discuss a programme and
has received interest from sports coordinators to having referee courses run in their schools.
Cameron will also assist in some referee administrative duties as well, including putting together the
referee expenses schedules. On that, I’d like to give a special thanks to Ash Connor, who has looked
after this for the last few years and is working closely with Cameron, so that transition is smooth.
Until next month, have a good first few weeks of the season.
When out there refereeing, communicate with confidence and assertiveness and don’t tolerate
aggressive player behaviour towards you or your assistants.
Wayne Stapley
REFEREES PREPARE FOR NEW SEASON
In preparation for the upcoming winter season, over 50 referees took part in a series of
interactive indoor and outdoor sessions on a very wet Sunday.
This year’s seminar also involved several presenters including New Zealand Football Referee
Development Manager, Ken Wallace, who presented changes in the Laws of the Game and player
management. Both sessions were very informative, and shown through the resounding applause at
their conclusion.
Tony Ambrose highlighted the importance of retaining integrity within football. New Zealand Football
Injury Prevention Specialist, Blair Minton provided some key information about the use of Automated
External Defibrillators, concussion and the FIFA 11+ warm-up. Wayne Stapley also took a session on
challenges, highlighting the number considerations referees had to make. Outdoor sessions included
Assistant Referee positioning, teamwork and penalty area decisions with the Referee
CONGRATULATIONS to Ben O’Connell has been selected by New Zealand Football to represent
them at the Youdan Trophy. The competition is for Under 14 and 16 professional boys, and is held
in Sheffield, England from 31 July to 4 August. Ben will be under the guidance of former head of
the PGMOL, Keith Hackett. Full details on Ben’s journey will be published in a future
Whistleblower! He will be joined by Calvin Berg from Dunedin and NZF RDM Ken Wallace.
MCCABE’S
REFEREEING JOURNEY
OF A LIFETIME
Local referee, Hayden McCabe
recently travelled to England for
the chance to meet the most
recognisable referees in the
game.
Recently, Auckland Referee Anna-Marie Keighley and I had the honour
of being chosen by New Zealand Football to travel to the United
Kingdom on the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL)
trip. This was a chance to breathe football for 11 days. We were both
appointed to two matches. I had two Under 18 matches, and AnnaMarie had a Women’s Premier and Women’s Super League.
Unfortunately for her, the Premier match was cancelled due to a
waterlogged pitch.
The two matches I had were very enjoyable and more challenging than I
expected them to be. The boys could move the ball around more easily
that what I have seen back home. It was very fast paced and end-toend. They weren’t as physical as our National League, but the skill was
right up there. I found reading where play was going very easily in these
games, as you could see the game play out around you.
The first game, Nottingham Forrest V Bolton Wanderers ended up 6-3.
It was a straight forward match, but I struggled having only been in the
country for 36 hours or so. My second match, Birmingham City v
Sheffield United was a little more exciting. It finished up 2-2, with a
penalty, red card and a couple of reckless (yellow card) challenges as
well. It was great for my experience.
The post-match debriefs here are the same as what is done in New Zealand, which means we have
the right processes in place. Along with many good points, the only major improvement focus for me
was positioning. This is something that I’ve looked to work on for my second match.
As part of the trip, we also were also invited to PGMOL’s Select Group 2 Assistant Referee training
camp, at Warwick University. While attending, we were lucky enough to spend a night at St George’s
Park. St George’s was amazing. A five-star hotel in the middle of nowhere surrounded by 12 football
pitches. The view from my room was a pitch.
The training camp was quite enjoyable; and it looks like I still know how to hold a flag! The way they
run the physical and practical sessions are like what we do in NZ, but just better funded. For
example, when completing the offside drills, we had live feedback on a big screen TV.
The biggest difference I noted was in the warm up. Here we take warming up quite seriously, either
doing the FIFA 11+ drill or across the pitch doing various activities. At both sessions, we sort of did a
half-hearted across the pitch warm up, after doing a couple of laps around the pitch. The classroom
session was on offside. I felt that the main message which the instructors were drumming into the
group was that an Assistant Referee must keep up with play to get into a ‘credible’ position.
We also had a chance to meet all the Premier League Referees. When we walked into a room they
were recognisable, but we did not actually know them personally. Some took the time to chat with us,
some didn’t. It was a shame that we were only there for 24 hours, as I felt we had just started to get
to know some of them by the end of the second day.
Again, the sessions where much like what we do at home, but
for them, it is analysing video clips. When discussing a clip,
feedback was like, “The referee should have done x”, rather
than, “Bob should have done”. It wasn’t until everyone had
discussed what had happened that the person involved said
anything. Most of them know when they have got something
wrong, and more often than not they are willing to admit it within
the group. I felt that for the most part the group did look out for
each other, but it certainly seemed more cut-throat than here.
We had the opportunity to watch three live football matches
Wolves v Norwich and Aston Villa U23 v Valencia U23. We
were hosted by Alan Wiley and Kieran Barratt respectively. We
took ourselves to see England play Malta at Wembley Stadium.
Once again, thanks to NZF for this fantastic opportunity.
Hopefully I can show the benefit of the trip in my future
performances.
Some mementos from
Hayden’s PGMOL trip.
CONGRATULATIONS
Trevis makes NPL
Debut
Congratulations to Isaac Trevis
(left) who made his National
Premier League Victoria debut in
the match between the Port
Melbourne Sharks, and South
Melbourne.
Referee Profiles
Every month, there will be a
profile on a wide range of local
referees on the Mainland
Football Website. Keep an eye
out for the March profile, where
we chat with Courteney
Bremner, and her journey so far.
Chris Sinclair
NZF Futsal Referee of the Year 2016
Richard Jones
National Premiership Assistant Referee
Debut
Regan Preston
National Premiership Assistant Referee
Debut
FOOTBALL NEWS
 Canterbury United’s National League campaign is over
after a defeat to Eastern Suburbs in Auckland on 26 February.
There was some optimism amongst the camp with a 2-1 win
over Hawkes Bay United, however that was quickly
extinguished with a home loss to a clinical Waitakere United,
before Eastern Suburbs finished the job. The Dragons play
Team Wellington in the final round on 19 March, but will not
move from their sixth-place position on the table. Meanwhile
Tasman United will host Southern United on their final home
match of the season. They are currently 8th on the table.
 Mark Clattenburg has made the decision to resign from his
position as a referee in the Premier League. The 41-year-old,
who has refereed the final of Euro 2016 and the UEFA
Champions League has taken up a position in Saudi Arabia. He
will see out the remainder of the Premier League season.
 Leicester City have sacked their title winning manager
Claudia Ranieri after the defending champions were in danger
of relegation. The move however has appeared to save the
Foxes with consecutive 3-1 victories over Liverpool and Hull
City, and a quarter-finals berth in the Champions League.
 The All Whites will play Northern Ireland and Belarus in
warm-up international friendlies as part of the build-up for their
Confederations Cup campaign. Anthony Hudson’s men take
part in the opening match of the tournament against Russia, as
well as matches against Mexico and Portugal. Meanwhile, the
Football Ferns returned from the Cyprus Cup in a
disappointing ninth place. The Ferns lost all three group stage
matches before defeating Hungary 3-1 in a play-off.
 The FIFA U20 World Cup draw has taken place, with the
Junior All Whites matching up against France, Honduras and
Vietnam.
KERR FINISHES
CAREER ON HIGH
26 years of service…and counting! The Whistleblower reflects
on a man who has given over half his life to the game.
Auckland based referee, Chis Kerr concluded his National League regular season career and has
given outstanding service to football in New Zealand, with a solid performance at English Park on a
brisk Sunday evening. The 40-year-old has paid many visits to the Garden City (and more recently
Nelson) to control games, and so it seems fitting to offer him this tribute for the personal effort and
sacrifice he has given to Football in this country.
Kerr, who was originally based in Taranaki, took up refereeing in 1991, at the age of 14. 15 years
later, he would be making his debut as a referee on the National League in 2006, after having 2
seasons as an Assistant Referee. His final regular season match; Canterbury United v Team
Wellington perhaps presented some irony for Kerr. His last decision before the final whistle would be
the awarding of a penalty kick in the 4th minute of additional time, a decision which of course was
correct.
After close to 100 National League matches, Kerr has a list of achievements and experiences that are
matched by very few of his peers. He was selected by New Zealand Football to travel to the UK for
the PGMOL trip and the US for the Dallas Cup.
Competition-wise he had the honour of refereeing at the South Pacific Games final in 2011. He
refereed the 2014 Chatham Cup final, which featured Cashmere Technical and Central United.
In 2012, he reached the highest refereeing honour a New Zealander can have, when he was selected
as a FIFA Referee. His badge was proudly on display at the Oceania Football Confederation 2014
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, as well as the Oceania Champions League.
It is perhaps fitting that he was joined by Isaac Trevis, who also began his refereeing career in
Taranaki. Trevis credits Kerr for significantly aiding his development into the official he is today.
Chris was presented with a special memento to recognise his National League career, by Local NZF
Appointments Panel member Tony Ambrose and Canterbury United coach Willie Gerdsen. He is now
looking to become a full-time assessor, with the hope of re-joining the National League in that
capacity.
“Overachieved” was the single word that Chris used to describe his career. More suitable words
could be ‘unique’ or ‘different’. Regardless, he has been a loyal servant to the game, who can look
back fondly on a special career.
Team Wellington’s Andy Bevin
thanking Kerr for his efforts.
Canterbury United Coach,
Willie Gerdsen congratulates
Kerr on his outstanding career.
Kerr receiving his goblet from
Willie Gerdsen (left) and AP
member, Tony Ambrose (right)
Four men at differing stages of their careers.
(L-R) Isaac Trevis, Hayden McCabe, Chris Kerr, Michael Love.
COURTENEY BREMNER
After her debut season, Mainland Football caught up with Courteney
Bremner to talk about what she has achieved and her goals for the future.
When, and how did you make the decision to get into refereeing?
Well my boyfriend is a referee as well, and has been for several years. So, he kind of got me
into it. Alongside that, I have a summer-only job, so it worked in well with that and helped earn
me a bit of cash over the winter months. It’s not much but I figured it was better than sitting in
front of my laptop all winter.
What are some of your greatest achievements in such a short space of time?
Well there was the Women’s Knockout Cup semi-final, where I was an Assistant Referee (AR),
along with the Rita final, then I was appointed to the National Women’s League as an AR, I
went to the FIFA MA course in Auckland, and by far the biggest appointment I’ve had to date
was as an AR in final of the National Women’s League between the Canterbury United Pride
and Capital Football.
How are you able to find a balance between refereeing and work, and/or study?
I don’t work through the winter months which frees up my time quite a bit, but I still play. So,
my Saturday’s are exhausting, I play in the morning and then referee in the afternoon. On the
whole I find it pretty easy, I’m the kind of person who likes to be busy and out of the house
doing stuff.
Does refereeing provide transferable skills for your work or personal life?
Confidence is a big thing I’ve gained. There’s something quite daunting about telling a 6-footsomething man what to do when you’re barely above 5 feet yourself, but I’ve come to realise
confidence is key and I’ve definitely found that helpful dealing useless internet companies and
stroppy customers at work.
Are you someone who follows football outside of refereeing?
Not really, I’ll watch it if it’s on, and I follow the bigger events like world cups and stuff.
It has been well noted that there are not enough female referees in the game. What are
some features that make refereeing such a great activity for you?
It’s far easier as a referee to get noticed and get some awesome opportunities. Which is such
a cliché and something any referee would tell you, but honestly, it’s because it’s true. I never
got half the opportunities, in my 11 years playing, than I have in my first year of refereeing
alone.
What are your goals for the future?
I’m not too ambitious at this point, I’m just going along for the ride and seeing where this takes
me.
TEAMWORK
Coaches’ Corner
At any level, the importance of having the ‘Third
Team’ working together greatly increases the
chances of getting key decisions correct.
For many, teamwork begins when the appointments for the match have been released, and the
referee contacts their assistant referees. It is a great opportunity for the referee to outline their
expectations of the game, and what they would like to see from their team today. Some referees even
meet their team before the match at a café to meet their team in a less formal environment and
discuss how they think the game is going to go. The pre-match team talk at the ground is also
important as the referee can communicate what they want from their assistants generally and in
certain situations. It also means that everyone arrives together at the ground. Warming up together is
another chance to show a united front.
The key aspect of teamwork is trusting each other. There will be different times in a match where
each team member is in a better position to see challenges or incidents. An assistant referee can see
when the ball is in and out of play for example. There could also be times where different people have
different information on the same event, which together will produce the correct decision. An example
of this is around offside, where an assistant referee might see a player in an offside position, but
needs the referee to determine whether they were close enough to be interfering with an opponent.
These examples show us that knowing your role is also important, as different officials will be better
positioned to see things than their team mates.
Halftime is a great opportunity for brief discussion on how the match is going, but also a time to refocus and prepare for a second half. Regardless on how the first half has gone, encouragement will
improve confidence, whilst making sure that everybody walks back out without dropping their guard.
Concentration is something which teamwork plays a part in maintaining. Often key match mistakes
are made near the beginning and end of each half, especially from the 80th minute where teams
often tire and create key match incidents. A good team will ensure that there is constant
communication (physical and verbal if there are communications equipment) between each other to
maintain focus. While many games do not have the luxury of communications equipment, constant
eye-contact and discrete signals (thumbs-up, smiles etc.) should be in any game. Not only do they
build confidence, but it prevents conflicts in signals and can also speed up the time to restart play.
Teamwork is a crucial cog to the success of the modern referee. It takes shape in many forms on the
field of play as well as off it. Knowledge of role is important, but without communication and trust
there is a high chance that concentration will be lost and mistakes will be made.
Teamwork creates a feeling where referees
fight for each other to achieve a positive
performance.
NZF Referee
Milestones
2016
Photo: Isaac Trevis
VAR
1st
Video Assistant
Referee involved in
FIFA Club World
Cup in Japan
NZ female to officiate
on an A League match
61
4
Officials selected
for the 2016
Olympic Games in
Rio de Janeiro.
Appointments to
Oceania
Competitions
1
Referee at the FIFA
Futsal World Cup in
Colombia
REFEREE COURSES
There are many Referee courses planned throughout 2017.
Below are the courses that will commence in March
Can’t wait to get started? You can watch an introductory video,
featuring current NZ FIFA Referee, Anna-Marie Keighley HERE.
Anna-Marie was appointed to referee a FIFA Women’s World
Cup semi-final in 2015, between Japan and England, and an
Olympic Games Quarterfinal between the USA and Sweden in
2016.
Community Based Referee (CBR) Courses
Monday 20 March 6-10pm, Ferrymead Ale House
Snapshot
LAW 12: FOULS AND
MISCONDUCT
Wednesday 22 March 6-10pm, English Park
Sunday 26 March 11am-3pm, (Selwyn), Venue TBC
Wednesday 29/Thursday 30 March, (FC 2011), Venue TBC
Sunday 9 April (Hurinui), Time and Venue TBC
OFFENCES
A direct free kick or penalty kick is
awarded if a player commits any of the
following offences against an opponent
in a manner that is careless, reckless
or using excessive force:
Level 1 Online Referee Course (In-Class Session)
4 April 6.30-9.30pm, English Park (Christchurch)
Level 1 Referee Assessor Course

Charges

Jumps at

Kicks or attempts to kick

Pushes

Strikes or attempts to strike
(including head-butt)

Tackles or challenges

Trips or attempts to trip
Friday 14 April (Good Friday) 9.30pm – 4.30pm (includes MPL
game) English Park, Christchurch
For more information on the above courses email Wayne
Stapley. For information on other courses, or to arrange for one
at your own club, email the following people
[email protected] (Canterbury)
[email protected] (Nelson)
[email protected] (Marlborough)
Careless: No Card
Reckless: Yellow Card
Excessive Force: Red Card