Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Refereeing Seminar Part 2 continued on Sunday in the Malaysian capital city with a Referee Assessor course.
The 57 participants attending the course will be put through a three-day programme complete with evaluation and feedback modules.
Besides updates on the laws of the game and their interpretation, the latest developments and approaches to referee assessment will also be covered.
Referees constantly need feedback in order to improve, so their performances are assessed, with both the positive aspects and points for development being identified, recorded and relayed to the referees and assistant referees on duty, something which forms an integral part of any Referee Assessor’s duties.
Director of the AFC Referees Department Yoshimi Ogawa thanked the Referee Assessors for their contribution to the development of AFC match officials.
Speaking at the opening of the course, he said that assessors are among those closest to the referees as they are there to support and guide the referees both on and off the pitch.
In centralised tournaments, a team consisting of Referee Instructors, Referee Assessors and administration staff manage the referees. However, in a single match, this role rests on the shoulders of the Referee Assessors, he added.
Ogawa continued by saying that it was pleasing to see that the AFC Asian Cup 2015 had shown AFC Referees are heading in the right direction and have become role models for Asia.
As the referees improve by upgrading their knowledge and skills, the Referee Assessors also need to improve their own competency and abilities. They need to keep up with the latest developments, techniques and approaches. Though experience cannot be bought, experience alone is not enough.
To become an effective tool in referee development, it must be paired with a good knowledge and skills supported by updated methods and ideas, stressed Ogawa.
The three-day day course which ends on February 10 is conducted by FIFA/AFC Referee Instructors Shamsul Maidin and Ali Al Traifi as well as Ray Olivier from the England-based Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and Ian Blanchard from the England FA. Also present is guest instructor Keren Barratt also from the PGMOL.