Gibraltar referee and match officials seminar

Gibraltar’s Referees and Match Officials annual pre-season summer seminar was held last weekend. The seminar this year was delivered by the PGMOL (England’s Professional Game Match Officials) and was led by their International Referee. Development Manager Richard Beeby alongside their (England) League 1 & 2 Referee Coach Paul Taylor, and Assistant Referee Coach Paul Graham.
The Gibraltar FA’s Refereeing Manager Adrian Bacarisa, who coordinated the whole seminar, also delivered key messages to Gibraltar’s match officials during the three days which were made up of practical and learning sessions.

Speaking after the seminar, key Gibraltar Match officials gave their reaction and look ahead to the new season:

Adrian Bacarisa – Gibraltar FA Referee Manager
UEFA has given all its Member Associations a clear message. We are losing referees at a fast rate throughout Europe due to bad behaviour by coaches, players and parents. With IFAB’s blessings new guidelines have been issued to all UEFA members to eradicate time wasting tactics, bad behaviour towards match officials and in general the poor image the Game portrays when participants do not show Respect. In partnership with PGMOL our match officials have attended the three-day Summer Seminar consisting of technical and practical sessions. These sessions have covered these new guidelines which will be implemented when we will Re-SET Law application at the start of the football season on 15th September.
The Key Messages given to our match officials at this seminar have been:
We need to
• Protect The Image of The Game
• Protect The Image of Refereeing
• Protect The Image of The Competition
By applying
• Zero tolerance to bad behaviour
• Allowance For Time Lost
• More Awareness of Time-Wasting Tactics
• More Accurate calculation of Additional Time

Jason Barcelo – FIFA Listed Referee
Looking over an enjoyable and insightful summer seminar, there are a number of things to reflect on. From reviewing the changes of the law 2023/2024 IFAB laws ex of the game, to new guidelines and ways of interpreting them, to applying these laws and practice in to real match situation in the practical session. With the joint support of the GRA observers and PGMOL staff, we as a referee group are ready for the new season and confident in our ability to reduce time wasting and bring respect back to the game, in line with new protocols across Europe.

Michael Macias – FIFA Listed Assistant Referee
I am a person that always wants to improve and better myself. Over the past three days we have been able to do exactly that, not only as individuals but as a team. So many positives to take away from this summer seminar and so many interesting topics were covered. Teamwork and communication for me being two of the most important topics in where we need to improve and work as one. It was great working with PGMOL and learning from professionals in which, week in, week out, are involved in such a high level of football. We now know what is expected from us this season and we need to implement these changes from day one. It was a great experience and a very enjoyable one, as well as learning and improving. Really looking forward to this season.

Denis Perez – Category 1 Referee
This Summer Seminar has been a great opportunity to keep learning and exchanging knowledge with PGMOL officials, both during practical sessions on the field of play and theorical sessions in the classroom. Specially this time, after been briefed by our GFA Referee Support Staff on the new UEFA Guidelines, designed to stop time wasting and bad behaviour, it has been great to have PGMOL here to reinforce that message and show this is also what they are doing. The 55 countries of UEFA are determined to COMPLETLY RESET and TERMINATE time wasting and bad behaviour from players and team officials. Us, as Gibraltar Referees are also committed to playing our part in order to protect the image and the integrity of the Game we all love, as well as ensuring no youth referees are lost again due such bad behaviour. We MUST all take action in order to protect the beautiful game.

Martin Connolly – Category 3 Referee
Very enjoyable 3 day summer seminar involving PGMOL trainers and our own GFA referee leaders. Changes to Laws of the Game and their application were covered, including practical tips from referee trainers in a country where this season has already started. This was particularly useful given the sea change in application of existing Law and I felt we were left in no doubt as to the direction IFAB and UEFA want us to go in. All sessions were of high quality and involved lots of interaction. Practical sessions covered specific aspects of refereeing where we ourselves felt there was room for improvement, it was nice to have a tailored session to our local needs. A high-quality learning experience for referees of all levels in the Gibraltar game, supported excellently as always by our local team.

Source Gibraltar FA