Not enough games to go around

The sudden upsurge in people who want to become soccer referees is now attributed as the main reason why Dublin match officials have been suddenly assigned to take charge of home games involving Meath-based teams in the Leinster Senior League (LSL) in a smouldering dispute that looks set to escalate. The Leinster Senior League's Referees' Allocations Officer Tony McGuinness says that the number of applicants who want to join the ranks of the whistlers has “gone through the roof†in the last two years. The upsurge, he claimed, has prompted the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to call on all junior leagues to only use the services of those officials who have been assigned to each particular league. That applies to the home games of clubs such as Parkvilla, Ratoath Harps and Dunboyne who play in the LSL and Ashbourne who compete in the Athletic Union League (AUL). The situation right across the junior soccer spectrum is that more and more people are looking to get into referring partly, it is believed, because of the recession with extra income to be earned by taking charge of games at the weekends. The situation is a long way from just a two or three years ago when amateur leagues were crying out for referees. It wasn't unusual for some of the big leagues in Dublin to postpone an entire division of games because there was no match official available. Now that has all changed. The chairman of Meath Branch of the Irish Soccer Refeees' Society John Regan recently expressed his disappointment that local referees were no longer taking charge of Parkvilla games - as had been the case for years. He warned that the Meath ISRS were determined to pursue the issue until they had reached a satisfactory solution. “We're not going to drop this, we are going to take this wherever we feel we have to,†he told the Meath Chronicle. “As far as we can gather, there was a meeting last week on the issue and the FAI Referees' Committee made no decision on it, but kicked it back to the ISRS and we want a meeting of all those involved,†said Regan. “We're very disappointed that the FAI Referees' Committee didn't deal with this matter particularly as we have been refereeing in the LSL for a long time. “The FAI have not dealt with it, they're refusing to deal with it and they have shoved it back to the referees to sort it out. It's now down to the Referees' Society to bring the branches together and sort it out.†Regan added that the Meath Branch of the ISRS did not get any notification that LSL referees were going to take charge of the relevant games. He says he and his colleagues found out by accident that there was going to be a change. According to McGuinness there is no hidden agenda in the switch merely the LSL following instructions from the FAI. “The number of referees has soared tremendously, that's what the problem is. It is the same for the referees in Wicklow, Kildare and Louth. The number of referees in the Leinster Senior League now is over 100,†he said. “The fellows in the Leinster Senior League have to be given matches in their own league before any matches are out-sourced, that's the position. Leinster Senior League referees must get Leinster Senior League matches first before any match is out-sourced as instructed by the FAI.†McGuinness said that the LSL were “delighted†with the quality of service provided by match officials in Meath and elsewhere over the years however, changing economic times has forced this latest move. He added that notification of the appointment was indicated, and continues to be indicated, in the Evening Herald's Monday soccer supplement. McGuinness adds that the huge numbers now refereeing have left officials like him in an impossible situation. “I have people coming up to me that have just qualified as a referee and have been assigned to the Leinster Senior League,†he added. Refereeing courses run by the FAI in the past year have produced another 90 qualified match officials although the leagues had their full quota even before the courses started.