Elite Soccer Referees

Tom Webb is a senior lecturer in sports management and development at the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, UK

• Introduction1. From Umpire to Referee: The Early Development of Officiating in Association Football2. Beyond Amateruism: The Emergence of Refereeing as a Profession3. Governing the Referee: Training, Assessment and Organisation4. 21st Century Refereeing: Structures, Management and Preparation of Officials5. Refereeing in England, Spain and Italy: Cross-Cultural Comparisons6. UEFA and FIFA on the Uniformity of Refereeing Standards7. In the Spotlight: Media Reporting and Its Consequences8. Referees’ Performance: Practices and Problems9. Raising Standards and Reducing Differences: Policy Issues10. Future Directions for Elite Refereeing

"Always central to the development of football, referees have not been well served in scholarly treatments of the game. This book puts that right by offering an important and timely assessment of the training, management and assessment of referees at the highest levels of elite soccer in Europe. Its cross-cultural focus delivers fresh insights. Based on sound scholarship and an understanding of the range of problems facing twenty-first century refereeing, this is a thorough and up-to-date analysis. It will interest anyone studying sport as well as football fans more generally." - Matthew Taylor, Professor of History, International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University, UK