Two appointments in the Cup semi-finals in 14 hours! Very prestigious appointments to receive at the District level since the pool of referees selected from totals 10,000 strong.
I was also offered a game earlier in the morning as a fourth official but I had to decline because I had a community game appointment already and I didn’t want to disappoint them. Someone must have really wanted me for that game because they offered the same game to me again after I declined it! Unfortunately I couldn’t accept.
Shipment Arrived
I specially ordered a set of Umbro kits on Monday and received them in the mail on Wednesday! Umbro is the official sponsor of the the local FA and the competition so I had to buy them for those of you wondering. You can see the video below on the grand unveiling of the package. Seems really of a nuisance having to get a different branded kit but there’s always the excitement of unpacking new refereeing equipment to look forward to. Besides, half the fees are reimbursed by the FA. I’m still packing my adidas side-by-side just in case. Total of about 7 jerseys packed into my bag with the thousand other things I need. Referees really do need suitcases!
I had a chat earlier yesterday with the Referee in charge of the first match; I am an Assistant Referee for this fixture. Dress code is business casual and we’ll all be at the field in dress pants and a shirt, perhaps a tie. It’s a requirement to be at the field an hour before for these appointments simply because of how high they are in the play-off stages. Even a fourth official was appointed! The bigger surprise piece of information was that the game would potentially be televised being in a stadium which was apparently quite large. An assessment will definitely take place as with all Cup semi-finals and finals.
Just tried on my umbro kit. Maybe I should have ordered the Small size. Medium might have been an overshot at least with the shorts because it seems slightly large for me but I should be able to manage tomorrow. The kit looks awesome together though. It’s like all those videos of referees in England!
Refereeing the Beautiful Game 