Respect The Ref: Jaden Lister

Match Officials are essential for grassroots football to thrive.

We spoke to local grassroots match official, Jaden Lister, about his experiences within grassroots football, the reasons he loves refereeing and why it is vital to respect the ref:

“I started refereeing at age 14 with David Robinson taking my first course.

I started Refereeing because I fell out with my Manager at U14 level and wanted to stay within the game. My main motivation was gaining some extra pocket money but over time refereeing has become so much more, it’s now a part of my life and I have met so many great people along my journey.

Throughout my time as a referee, I have absolutely loved going as a team of three to Anglian Combination Premier/Thurlow Nunn League games, especially as I’ve met some great characters such as Dario Matthewson, Harvey Newstead, Andy Waite, Louis Lofts, Paul Smith and many more. When you get fantastic camaraderie between the three of you, the game just flows.

Another aspect I love about refereeing is that it gave me an opportunity to grow from a boy to a man pretty quickly, especially in the lower ranks of adult men’s football. I had to deal with 22 men who weren’t all there in terms of talent and decided to moan and groan, but as you get through the levels, I can say you definitely enjoy it more as players just want to get on.

I’ve had many favourite moments, ranging from refereeing in Paris, going out as a team of three, to officiating in The FA cup. My advice for someone who is starting is, jump into the referee Facebook groups and find other groups that explain fouls etc, as you’ll see referees use technical terms like DOGSO, careless, reckless, and excessive force. Another one would be to self-assess your law knowledge and learn the handball law, natural silhouette, supporting arm etc.

My final piece of advice is to see what other referees do and try it and see if it works for you, for your game on how to manage players, it might even be a certain phrase or a particular way you use your hands when speaking to players. Keep on learning psychology of body language as you can use it to your advantage!”

To read more about the ‘Respect the Ref’ campaign please click here.

If you are interested in becoming a referee, you can register your interest in upcoming courses in the New Year by e-mailing Harvey.Newstead@NorfolkFA.com.