Regulations on the Organisation of Refereeing

FIFA has sent to all Member Associations (MA) a book on regulation in the organizing of refereeing. For the knowledge of all the following will be of interest to you:

Referees Committee - MA must have a Referee Committee (Ref Com.) and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman must be a member of the Association Executive Committee. Its duties includes to classify and appoint the referee for matches, nominate candidate for International list, comply with FIFA standards in the implementation of Laws, utilize uniform criteria in assessment, and to appoint instructors and assessors.

Referees Department should be composed of at least one expert with broad experience in the field of refereeing, administration and development of referees. Duties include assist the Ref. Com., implement decisions, logistics and administrative duties, implement development programs, organize courses, prepare teaching materials and to send report.

Registration of referees should be carried out annually and the minimum requirement includes passing the relevant FIFA physical fitness test, medical examination and theory test.

Appointment of Referees by the Referees Committee with the Referees Department. Referees appointed correspond to their level of skill and experience. They must be chosen from those who have passed the physical fitness, medical and technical knowledge test. They shall be appointed in good time before the match.

Promotion and demotion of referees must be approved by the Referees Committee.

Evaluation of Referees Performances by the Referees Assessor panel.

FIFA International Match Officials shall be nominated by MA. Proposed referees shall be at least 25 years old and below 45 on 1 January. Candidates may not be older than 38 in the year of nomination unless previously appeared in the list. Proposed referees shall have officiated in the highest level league, passed the FIFA physical fitness and medical test. The referees may not exercise any official function as a member of an executive committee, general secretary, or member of the referees committee of any football club, MA, confederation of FIFA.

Member Association may request to FIFA Referees Committee in writing to suspend or remove a referee from lists for any justifiable reason.

2011 Season for Refereeing

2010 is a year filled with ups and downs in refereeing. Great improvement can be seen among the junior referees who can now shift to be categorized as senior referee. New strength can seen among some who were given the opportunity and motivation as referees and now can be given the responsibility to shoulder strong matches in the 2011 Dhiraagu Dhivehi Division I League. Among them are Ahmed Aslam, Mohamed Aneel, Ahmed Afsah, Basil Nafeez and Afeef Abdul Samad. The senior referees, Ali Saleem, Ahmed Ameez and Mohamed Fareed are still consistent in their performance. Others who have not been giving their best need to pull up their socks.

FIFA MA Referee Course held in December 2010 has seen some positive development among the younger referees. Some new referees from islands also show positive results when given the opportunity to be exposed to the latest development in refereeing. This FAM hope will encourage more youth to get themselves rope into refereeing. Courses for football and FUTSAL will be held in Male' and also other Atolls and islands. A FIFA MA Course for potential referees, FUTSAL Referees is planned for 2011.

Some changes will be expected to be implemented to ensure the development and the scrutinizing of incremental improvement is achieved. FIFA Football Referees will not be allowed to officiate in FUTSAL matches. Their experience may be used as Referee Assessors or Match Commissioners to guide the junior referees in that field. Those who are very good in the lines will be guided and developed into better Assistant Referees. Officials who are competent in both will maintain their good service.

FIFA Physical Fitness program will be implemented. Mohamed Hanim has returned as FAM Referee Physical Fitness Instructor and will be responsible to see that the FIFA program is implemented to improve and maintain the referees fitness.

Disciplinary problems will be seriously look into by the Referees Committee and serious cases has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee. Referees concerned will either be given warning, suspended, removed or rejected their application for future registration.

As instructed by FIFA in the Regulation on Organisation of Refereeing in FIFA MA, all referees seeking to be registered must passed the relevant physical fitness test, medical examination and a test on their knowledge of the Laws of the Game. Referees must also attend in full the preparatory seminar organised before the new season in February or March 2011.

All these effort is aimed to create a better image among the referees responsible in handling the FAM Leagues and also other competition in the country. These effort will only be fruitful with the cooperation and dedication of the referees, instructors, referees committee and department. We hope to have a better, fruitful, pleasant and flawless season. Good luck to all and a Happy New Year.

Performing Hajj

My wife and me will be going to the holy land of Makkah and Madina to perform our hajj on the 24 October 2010 till 12 December 2010. May Allah, the Almighty and Merciful bless us with strength, good health, patience and resilience to overcome all the challenges and blessing in performing our hajj. InshaAllah, I will pray for the well-being and success of all my brothers and their family in Maldives.

Advice to Referees in Malaysia

9 October 2010, 1500 hour - I was very much honoured when a team from a television broadcaster in Malaysia came to my home to interview me. They asked of my first experience and last match of my refereeing career, worst experience and sweet one, effort put in to be excellent. My designation in Malaysia and my present designation. I was also asked on how to encounter with decisions making, problems in the game and indiscipline players. Lastly was my advice to referees to be able to the best or at least perform the best on each outing.

To gain the RESPECT of players and team officials, a referee need to ensure that every match that he officiate is the best or at least maintain his consistency in his performance. To be able to do so, he has to maintain his fitness level, maintain match practice, have enough rest before each match, BE FAIR, FIRM and IMPARTIAL all the time. Have courage to take strong action or decision. When a player commits a serious foul and deserve to be cautioned or sent off but was not given the correct sanction by the referee, the player will not respect the referee although a bad decision was in his favour. So referee should not think that by not having the COURAGE to give the correct sanction, he has actually lost his SELF RESPECT to the players.

Players play the game THE WAY the referee make them to play. If the referee allow bad fouls left unpenalized, robust tackles, dissent and questioning of his decisions, that will be the way the player will play it and the bad fouls will be more serious and in the end the referee will LOSE HIS CONTROL and in the end the game will be OUT OF CONTROL.

"The grasses will not sway if the wind is not blowing". Normally player will not complain or question the referee's decisions. So the referee, while maintaining his assertiveness and decisiveness in his control of the match, he has to conduct SELF-ANALYSIS and QUESTION himself when there is complaint from players or officials. Maybe he did missed an incident or foul or made a wrong decision. So if he is TRUTHFUL and SINCERE to himself, he will gain the respect of the players and team officials.

For a referee to be able to achieve the highest level in refereeing, he must be in constant training on his fitness level, updating his knowledge on the Laws of the Game and also its interpretation and implementation, have proper nutrition and rest before and after the match, develop his own mental preparation before each match and self motivation to improve further, sincere in accepting comments and advice from referee assessors or even his peer, respect others to gain respect from others, have courage to make strong decision against culprit with bad discipline or attitude, be pleasant and yet assertive in his appoach, develop self motivation to push your performance and achievement to the limits and thus will achieve the highest level of performance in his career.

Nomination of FIFA Match Officials 2011

FA of Maldives has once again nominated the following for FIFA 2011 Match Officials:
1. Ali Saleem - Referee
2. Ali Adil - Referee
1. Ahmed Ameez - Assistant Referee
2. Ahmed Aslam - Assistant Referee
3. Mohamed Aneel - Assistant Referee
4. Mohamed Fareed - Assistant Referee
5. Ibrahim Thaufeeq - Assistant Referee
All match officials have been ranked based on their overall performance in the Dhivehi League. There are also young referee who have better performance than the existing match officials. The Referees Committee (RefCom) felt that the potential referee should be given more exposure before he is nominated. Existing FIFA match official must maintain a ranking above 50% of the referees to be nominated again. Next year, the Referees Committee (based on FIFA guidelines) have decided that other eligible referees with better performance will be registered instead if the existing match official fall below the 50% level.
Other rules on the eligibility or referees being nominated are: must officiate at the highest level matches in the country, passed the appropriate FIFA's physical fitness test, medical test, not holding any official function as FA Exco, General secretary or member of RefCom or any football club, not indiscipline or for any other justifiable reason. Member Associations may request the FIFA Referees Committee in writing to suspend or remove a referee from the list for any justifiable reason. FIFA Referees Committee's decision is final and is not subjected to appeal.
Any match officials not registered for the year may be re-registered if his performance is still considered by the FA RefCom as excellent and is not above 45 years of age. Referees who choose to be indiscipline may face the possibility of not being registered or removed. The FA has the right to nominate an existing AR to the referee's list but he has to be removed from the list for one year. Good luck to all referees of Maldives in the remaining matches of the Dhivehi League (as from 1 September 2010).

Changes to Improve on Commitment and Performance

Some of the changes that will be implemented by the Referees Department in 2011 to check on the commitment and performance of the referees. This is based on the procedures of re-registration and recording of performance by AFC and FIFA. Thus, this will also facilitate the department to have a continuous check on the referee's performance.

Referees performances in the Dhivehi League will be tabulated their marks from 1 September 2010 till 31 August 2011. This will be carried out every year in line with AFC and FIFA. So the performance of the referees in the remaining months (September, October, November and December) of 2010 will be taken into consideration in the re-registration and registration of FIFA Match Officials for 2011.

This year all nomination by the Referees Committee for the FIFA Match Officials has to be approved by the FAM Executive Committee (as in FIFA Statute). So match official who continuously infringes the rules and regulation of FAM will taken disciplinary action including taking off from the FIFA list. The character, discipline, action, attitude and performance is often in the eyes of the public. So the referee has to always maintain a good personality and character. Although FAM has approved the re-registration of all the FIFA Match Officials their performance and discipline will also be monitored throughout the seasons. Referees turning down matches at the last minutes, not turning up for matches or other unaccepted reasons will be put on hold their appointment by AFC or FIFA.

FIFA referees and Assistant Referees (AR) must maintain their ranking in term of performance and must not be below 50% of the total number of referees being put as referees or assistant referees in the Dhivehi league. For example, if there are 10 referees doing the Dhivehi League, the FIFA referees and AR must maintain his ranking above raking 5 to be considered for nomination. So if there are other referees whose performance are better, then they should also be nominated together with the existing referees or assistant referees. Performance should be the main factor over age in term of excellence in refereeing.

Appointments will be made at least for a period of two weeks and be emailed to all referees. Thus will ensure that all referees have email and open their email too. Calling by telephone will be reduced or only for other competitions. Weekly training to improve on physical fitness, refereeing skills and to deliberate on refereeing problems faced. Senior referees beside the instructors will be used to handled these matter. This will of course guide and assist them to be future instructors or at least to know their own performance better.

FAM Best Service Referee Award will still be given to three referees who had devoted most of their time to FAM in accepting appointment for matches. The total number of matches, number of matches as referees and marks of their performances and also their discipline will be considered in picking the right recipients.

Attendance in weekly training or meetings and also the Annual Preparatory Seminar will be made compulsory. If effort is made to tailor for the improvement of referee is not seen as important by any referee then FAM do not need to consider the referee (if any) for any appointment at all.

These actions will be a booster to younger referees to be more disciplined, to put in effort to improve themselves in their refereeing skills and also attitude so that they will be Maldives' future international referees or excellent referees in the Dhivehi Leagues.

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak to you all who are close follower of Maldivesref blog. Back in Malaysia with family. InshaAllah will be performing by Hajj this year with my wife. Will be praying for the goodness of all my friends in Maldives. Since I will be away for a while, all decisions pertaining to refereeing matters will be decided by the Referees Committee and Ahmed Abeer Ismail will resume all my task in the Referees Department. He may choose to make references to me if neccessary. I hope that all the referees will observe the procedures set in the FAM Referees Manual. I sincerely hope that no referee will be ambitious enough to deviate away from the main stream to get into trouble. Good luck and once again, Eid Mubarak to you and family.

Referees Instructor - To be or Not to be

Referees Instructor or FIFA termed it as Technical Instructor is a thankless job in the development of referees. If one feel that it is a way to make money then he/she has got the wrong concept. The income from giving courses will not be able to get back the investment that he/she has to put in like buying a laptop, maybe a multimedia projector, magnetic board, laser pointer and many other gadgets 9if you want to be different or special one from others).
Before one feel that he/she wants to be one, he/she has to evaluate the qualities that an instructor needs to possess in order to want to be one. Even when he/she is still an active, there should be an urge to wanting to teach, to guide, to assist or to show others how to be better in the skill of refereeing. Always wanting to read and understand the laws of the Game better, going over and over again to understand it better, to explain and convince others or testing himself with quizzes on the laws of the Game. Keeping himself/herself updated with the latest amendments to the laws even before getting it through the mail by browsing FIFA or other relevant sites for it. When refereeing, always critical of one's performance, self-evaluation and self-analysis is his/her normal practice after every match. Always wanting to do better in each and every performance. Opened to criticism or opinion by others and accepting good points from others to improve further (If he/she cannot accept other's criticism, will he/she be able to give it to others or feel that others will accept his/hers).
Possessed the passion of browsing or looking other aspects related to the development of one's refereeing skills and performance, like fitness training, weight training, psychological practices, nutrition and pre-game nutrition, sports injuries and remedy or recovery methodology, training equipments and facilities, football coaching principles and strategy in play and many other related aspects of football to enrich one's knowledge and experiences.
Training the trainers is a normal practice to recruit new instructor. Some can be trained or moulded into good instructors but some can and will not be a good one as the urge or the eagerness to improve is not possessed. This is due to the individual objectives or aims to be an instructor.
Personal characters and appearance is one aspect that will bring out the flare of a "different" , "special" or "an excellent" instructor. Individual talking skill, persuading or marketing skills, instructional delivery skill, technical skill with multimedia facilities, ability in making or producing his/her own teaching or instructional material are among the personal aspect that one needs to possess to be an excellent, if not a better instructor. Natural traits of the ability or the wanting the see the best in others, the positive aspects or traits of others, the strength and potentials of others will make one an acceptable instructor rather that the one who always sees the negative points of others, always critical or finding the faults of others or even having a negative concept of everything which makes a bad one.
Looking at all the aspect highlighted above, one can now evaluate if one can be one of the future instructor to be. If interested he/she can starts to put in effort to change his/hers perspective to everythings besides trying to gain all the skills, knowledge and approaches in instructional skills to perform better as a referee and later on as an instructor.

Fourth Official - New Amendment 2010/2011

THE FOURTH OFFICIAL
He assist the referee to control the match in accordance with the laws of the Game. The referee, however, retains the authority to decide on all points connected with play.

In the first incident, both the Referee and the Assistant Referee did not see not see the defender handling the ball. The fourth official was in a better position to see and advised the referee. A penalty was given for the offence.

In the second offence, the Referee viewed it from his position as a normal foul but from the vision of the fourth official it is a reckless foul that merits a yellow card. So the player was given a yellow card.

The Referee reserves the right to make the final decision.

Clarification and Guidelines from FUTURO III Nepal

I had the great opportunity of meeting Neale Barry (neale.barry@TheFA.com) FA Head of Refereeing and Member of IFAB at the FUTURO III Refereeing Course in Nepal. All participants were given the clarification on the ammendment to the Laws of the Game 2010 and its implementation. I took the opportunity to enhance some understanding on the Laws of the Game and its Guidelines. I hope the following will be of use to all referees in Maldives and elsewhere:

1. Field of Play - The goals MUST be of the shape mentioned as certain manufacturer wants to make their own interpretation of this laws when the laws cited as "the goals may..." thus other shape is allowed. In this ammenment, only the specificallu mentioned shape is allowed.

2. Penalty Kicks - Feinting is in the run-up to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football. However, feinting to kick the ball once he has completed his run-up si considered an infringement and is an act of unsporting behavior and shall be cautioned. Guidelines on decision and restart are as in the book.

3. Players of same team collided - play shall be stopped for treatment on the field as it will be unfair if they are taken off the field of play. This is the same if the goalkeeper or the goalkeeper with an opponent is down for injury.

4. Stretcher bearers will only enter with the permission of the referee on the request of the doctor. One in, the players must leave on the stretcher. He will be cautioned if he does not get on to the stretcher. Otherwise, he will leave with the doctor when no stretcher is bought in.

5. Fourth Official assist the referee to control the match but the referee retains the authority to decide on all points connected of the play.

Other Clarification:

6. Drop ball as a restart when play is stopped for an injury. No whistle is needed when the referee is dropping the ball. No whistle is needed also for throw in, free kicks, corner kicks or substitution unless it has been held temporary to attend to an injury, caution, sent off or substitution.

7. Undershorts, if worn must be of same main color of the shorts. Tights, if worn may not be of the same color of the shorts. Law 4 does mention on the use of tights. (Please refer side-bar of this blog for clarification).

FUTSAL Referees Course in Hithadhoo

Feinting in Penalty Kicks

Feinting in the run-up to take a penalty kick to confuse an opponent is permitted as part of football. However, feinting to kick the ball once he has completed his run-up is considered an infringement in Law 14 and an act of unsporting behavior for which the player must be cautioned.

Tiny Hearts of Maldives Charity Match

Check out Pictures from Mauroof Khaleel's Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4304129&id=773834588&ref=notif#!/album.php?aid=22680&id=100000484401351&ref=mf

FUTSAL REFEREES BASIC COURSE 2010

Football Association of Maldives is having another basic course for Futsal Referees to increase the number of qualified referees in Male. The course started on the 28th June and ends on the 3rd July 2010.

Venue for the course are:

0600 - 0715 - Henviru Mini Park

CUP of NATION Futsal Pitch

1600 - 1730 - FAM House

2030 - 2130 - FAM House

Accountability and Sanctions

To erred is human. This includes a referee making split-seconds decisions based on what he viewed and the instant interpretation of the mind and the quick reaction of the hand and whistle. Making mistakes in a match is acceptable in the view of refereeing, mistakes made by referees in the match often make the match more interesting and dramatic. But making mistake that changed the result of the match is unacceptable and thus action taken by rating the performance as poor should be well accepted by the referee concerned.
Often a referee may have a very good performance throughout the match but due to fatigue, carelessness or complacency in the dying minutes, a mistakes that overturned the result erased the good performance prior to it. As professional or acting as a professional, a referee should owned up to his mistake and apologise for his error in his report although it will not change the result of the match. This is the sporting spirit or the character of a gentleman that he possessed. Being egoistic (as some maybe), arrogant is quite often seen among some of the referees. Not accepting or wanting to accept one's error or advise given are the outcome. More often, by not accepting or admitting a minor error or mistake may lead to having to facing a tremendous terror in a match with confrontation, bad yelling, filthy swearing and even aggression from players, officials or even the spectators.
On the role of administrator, assessing the referee's performance is part of development and taking necessary action to check on the continual improvement of the referees and to enhance the overall referees' performance or others. Referees with good performance will definitely be given more matches to handle, the less confident or competent ones be given the less pressured matches and those making unacceptable be put to rest for awhile, placed in the lower division or easier matches to regain his confidence and then later after proper guidance and counseling to be put back into the mainstream.
Accepting one's mistake is accountability and should be opened to sanctions taken by the authority. It takes years to make a good referee but it may take only a second to be a bad one. Of course the authority concern will not kill or take away a referee because of a mistake although it jeopardise the performance of the team and also the bread of the players and coaches. Through the sanction process mentioned above and with the cooperation of the referees, the development process will grow and God's willing the standards of refereeing and Dhivehi football will rise.
Read this:
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/source-u-s-slovenia-ref-gets-poor-rating--fbintl_ro-referee061910.html

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/refs-must-face-the-music-for-bad-calls--fbintl_ro-referees062010.html

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/fifa-drops-referee-after-dropped-call--fbintl_ro-fifaref062110.html

Untested, Tested and Certified Okay.

Some of the referees were not tested or given the chance to referee and to show their true potential in the past. Base on feedback, they were not given the chance thus their potential stays undisclosed. Everyone should be given a break. There is always the first break or appearance. Jittery and inconsistency in decisions is due to the lack of experience. Through matches after matches, they will definitely be groomed into better referees and eventually meet the satisfactions of the customers (the players, coaches, team officials and FAM).

This the Referees Department took the brave and drastic step in trying out the youngsters or junior referees in the First and Second Division matches. The time came when some of the senior referees were on leave, injury and other reasons. This left the department in despair and with the help of these junior referees, they met the expectation and proved the criticism wrong. There may be some hiccups but eventually they lived up to the expectation and satisfaction of the department and also assessors. This, we also need to thank all the coaches and team officials for standing behind FAM's effort by absorbing some of the pressure. At least for the moment these juniors have done a good job for the moment as there were no big mistake that changes the result of the matches and we hope that they will be able to handle the pressure of higher level matches. These junior referees mentioned are Ahmed Aslam, Ahmed Afsah, Ismail Izhaan, Shifan Abdul Raheem and Afeef Abdul Samad. They will be instrumental when some of the senior referees are away for international appontment or other matches. A few more have been put as Assistant Referees and will eventually be tested in the Third Division matches. They are Mohamed Mushil, Ibrahim Abdul Wahid, Zaeem Ali, Jaufar Abdul Rasheed, Ihusan Abdul Raheem, Mohamd Ali, Mohamed Fawwaz, Adam Faxeel and others.

A Football Physical Fitness will be held on the 2nd July 2010 at 0600 hours at the Athletic Track to ensure the referees continue to be in good physical condition to handle the matches that will definitely be higher and higher in tension and expectation. So their tip top performance is very much needed.

Creating the First Impression

The first impression plays a vital role in refereeing like other profession. You will never get a second chance to create the first impression. It is vital for everyone to ensure that they are always at their best because each encounter will create the first impression to others who in contact with us the first time.

Creating the first impression is not an easy task in refereeing. Young referees will face a strong challenge to create the first impression. Players and officials as human being are always sceptical with new things. They normally will look at the negative aspect of things. It will be a easy task, if everyone always look at the strength and positive aspects of the referee. At times the first encounter may be easy but most of the time the first encounter is challenging, a uphill task, filled with anxiety and tension. The ability to be calm, assertive and patience will see the referee making correct and rational decisions. These decisions will be well respected and accepted by the players and officials.

Being human, making mistakes is natural but knowing your mistake and vowing to correct it and to be more cautious not to make the same mistake again will see the making of a sincere referee. More often, some referees after making a mistake deliberately make another mistake to balance up the mistake. This is very wrong and should be avoided. In refereeing, two wrongs cannot make one right. Realising a mistake during the course of the game is important and the referee should continue to stay calm, forget about the mistake and try not to repeat mistake. The clause, "a referee can reverse his decision as long as play has not been restarted" gives he referee opportunity to mend the mistake and make immediate correction in the game. The willingness to admit one's mistake is much appreciated by others and will then gain respect from others too.

Personality when arriving at the venue before the match will create a strong impression to officials. This is the correct time to create a good impression. The referee's dressing, early arrival, approach, body language, conversation and other body cues during the the inspection of the field and also to the team's dressing room will give a clear impression of the referee. It can be positive or negative depending on the impact that the referee creates. The referee's movement, positioning and first decision on foul, dissent, appeal or tackling indiscipline action by player(s) will enhance the impression further. The courage to take strong action and decision will also be a plus point to the referee - giving a penalty, canceling a goal due to offsides or prior infringement by the attacker, sent off of player(s) or removing an official from the technical area. The overall performance of the match will definitely makes a conclusion of the performance and personality of the referee. This will result in the referee having more or lesser objection, dissent or confrontation in his future matches.

So as an advice, the referee must take each and every match seriously, have good physical and mental preparation before a match, match practice, good rest and nutrition, review of game pattern with the DVD, post game discussions and other appropriate steps in preparing for a match will influence the referee's performance in any match.

Refereeing Tips: Managing Dissent

Law 5: One of the duties of a referee is to take disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offences. He is not obliged to take this action immediately but must do so when the ball next goes out of play

Law 12: A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he shows dissent by word or action

This two statements in the Laws of the Game require the referee to take action against players who refuse to abide to the decisions of a referee. Such action includes questioning the referee's decision each time a decision is made. Persistent in such action will leads to the referee losing his authority and respect by other players, officials and also spectators.

A referee has to use his discretion in overcoming such undesired situations. Players who persistently questioning showing his refusal to accept the referee's decision if not checked early either by verbal warning (either a soft word or stern action) or shown a yellow card to caution him will leads to many other players objecting to his decisions. Getting it right at the right time is very important. A timely action will prevent or overcome all other possible problems later on in the game.

"The grasses will not sway if the wind is not blowing". Self-evaluation in the game itself will help the referee in having a composed feeling and firm control of the game. Perhaps there is/are foul(s) or error that you may have overlooked that resulted in the players appealing, objecting, showing dissent or retaliation. Self ego, arrogant or stubbornness will result in the referee getting more serious problems later on. How can a referee prevent or overcome such situation? Be in control from the start till the end, be well positioned, near to play or on the spot of action/incident, well-versed with the Laws of the Game. expect the unexpected, good reading of the game and judging the emotion of the players following any incident, not to be complacent (feeling satisfy with one's performance), alertness, taking correct action at the right time and taking appropriate strong action when it is necessary are among the ways or guide a referee can use to prevent objection or dissent from players. If the referee is confident with his decisions, fair and seen to be fair and accepted or respected from the start any difficult situation even like taming the tiger can be overcome.

Refereeing Tips: The Referee

Laws 5: The Referee
Power and Duties

The Referee:
• enforces the Laws of the Game
• controls the match in cooperation with the assistant referees and, where applicable, with the fourth offi cial
• ensures that any ball used meets the requirements of Law 2
• ensures that the players’ equipment meets the requirements of Law 4
• acts as timekeeper and keeps a record of the match
• stops, suspends or abandons the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws
• stops, suspends or abandons the match because of outside interference of any kind
• stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the fi eld of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted
• allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured
• ensures that any player bleeding from a wound leaves the fi eld of play. The player may only return on receiving a signal from the referee, who must be satisfi ed that the bleeding has stopped
• allows play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage and penalises the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time
• punishes the more serious offence when a player commits more than one offence at the same time
• takes disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offences. He is not obliged to take this action immediately but must do so when the ball next goes out of play
• takes action against team offi cials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at his discretion, expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds
• acts on the advice of the assistant referees regarding incidents that he has not seen
• ensures that no unauthorised persons enter the fi eld of play
• indicates the restart of the match after it has been stopped
• provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players and/or team officials and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match

Failing to implement or applying the Laws of the Game above thus, the referee failed in carrying his duty as a referee. This the basic knowledge that a referee must know in order to qualify as a referee.

Reference: page 21 & 22 FIFA LoG 2009/2010

FIFA BEACH SOCCER REFEREE COURSE

Maldives, a country full of many beautiful beaches and International standard resorts should be a synonym to beach soccer. This peculiar game is played in the international level and many countries capture their tourism market through hosting this as an international event. Ministry of Tourism and even International Hotel take the initiative to have this event hosted in their premise or country in order to attract football stars and other tourists into the country. Sport tourism is a field that Maldives should be engaged in to generate more revenue into the country.

A beach soccer pitch is considerably smaller than a regular football pitch. In international competition, the pitch is composed entirely of sand and is cleared of pebbles and seashells, along with any other objects which could injure a player.
The pitch is rectangular in shape, and the touch line is longer than the goal line. The pitch dimensions are 35-37m in length and 26-28m in width. It is slightly smaller that a normal FUTSAL pitch (40 by 20 m). The penalty area is within 9 m of the goals, and is marked by a yellow flag situated in touch. Two red flags opposite each other are at the centre of the pitch to represent the half-way line.

Football Association of Maldives will be having a FIFA Beach Soccer Introductory Course for referees and coaches on the 11 - 15 July 2010. FAM has discussed the matter with the Ministry of Tourism to assist in hosting in one of the resort. 30 coaches and 30 referees from the whole of Maldives will be selected as participants for these courses. Existing referees aged below 35 will be selected from the active referees list to participate in this course. Two senior referees will also be selected to attend so that they will be instructors to expand this course to other referees or interested people.

FAM will later make roadshow to all resorts by getting the instructors to introduce the coaching and refereeing aspects of the game to them so that this game will be more popular. Resorts who wish to host this event are very much welcome to discuss with FAM. In future, resorts who wish to organise tournament can get the assistant of the FAM. FAM the governing body in the country is the sole body responsible to sanction any football tournament and also to appoint the referees to officiate in any tournament held. No other body is empowered to sanction or appoint match officials for football, FUTSAL or beach soccer other than the Football Association of the country.

Refereeing Tips: Additional TIme

Law 5 in the Laws of the Game (LoG), states that it is the duty of the Referee to act as timekeeper and keeps a record of the match. The referee is the sole judge of the time. A match is played in two halves of 45 minutes with allowance for time lost added at the end of each half. Allowance is made in either period for all time lost through substitutions, assessment of injury to players, removal of injured players from the field of play for treatment, wasting time and any other cause like management of the wall, action of cautioning or sent off, temporary suspension for repair of goal posts or cross bar. The allowance for the time lost is at the discretion of the referee (pg. 26 LoG). The guidelines to referees and assistant referees stressed again that the referee must allow for the full amount of time lost through injury to be played at the end of each period of play (pg. 68 LoG).
In addition, the Guidelines states that many stoppages in play are entirely natural (e.g. throw-ins, goal kicks). An allowance is to be made only when these delays are excessive.
The fourth official indicates the minimum additional time decided by the referee at the end of the final minute of each period of play. The announcement of the additional time does not indicate the exact amount of time left in the match. The time may increased if the referee considers it appropriate but never reduced. The referee must not compensate for a timekeeping error during the first half by increasing or reducing the length of the second half (pg. 96 LoG - Guidelines).
Playing additional time accordingly is an act of fairness and by doing so the referee should not feel that he is being biased to one team as he will be depriving them of the actual playing time, if he does not. There is no maximum or minimum added time i each half as incident and wasted time differs from each half or each game. At times a well handled and fair game ends up with one team unhappy just because of the insufficient time added in the match. The referee should try to posses a good watch that has a count-down timer and chronometer (stopwatch) features to enable him to sanction the playing time accordingly. The stopwatch should be stopped when there is a stoppage that needs the referee to act on the incidents for temporary suspension of the game and then add the appropriate accordingly.

Developing the Young Ones

A football team, normally comprises of experienced players and also the younger or new players who are full of enthusiasm, energy, basic skill required but lack the exposure and experience. All training will definitely emphasize on skill development, confidence building and strategy enhancing in order to enable the younger ones to be absorb into the system. Coaches who have the mind for development will not hesitate to put in the junior into the matches when the time is right (when is the right time?). Putting one junior player will allow ten other senior players to carry him and to build themselves too. Coaches need to be patience too to accept their mistakes or else these junior players will lose their confidence and thus will hinder in their development. At times the coach has to gamble and put in the junior player even in crucial matches. Many juniors, given the chance will perform beyond the coaches' expectation as they want to gain their place in the regular line-up. If coaches of team at the bottom of the league wait for matches when they are leading then the juniors will never get a chance to make their break at all. Putting the junior or even warming them up in the sidelines will push the senior int he field of play to buckled up and perform better.
In refereeing, there is similarity in the development process. Referees Committee will decide the right time to appoint junior referees into the main stream. This of course is done after giving them the appropriate training, building their confidence in the lower level leagues matches, guidance from referees assessor besides some tips from the senior referees and when their performance are good, putting them into the higher league is a wise move. Their performance will of course be under the scrutiny of the referee's assessor (RA) whose duty is to give advice and to guide them in their development. Making mistakes is humane and the approach adopted by RA in accepting minor mistakes or error will help in enhancing their self-confidence in the development process. Mistakes should not be made at the expense of the teams or players. Matches in the earlier stage (early round) should be the right time to give the junior referees a break as matches in the final round are usually more challenging and crucial. With the kind cooperation of team officials the synergy process will definitely benefit the country football on the whole and the referees, specifically.

Essential Things a New Referee Needs to do

You have just qualified as a new referee after successfully attending the referee's basic course, passed the theory and also the physical fitness test. This is just the beginning. You are now categorized as a trainee referee. What are the essential things that you need to do to improve or develop into a good or excellent referee?
1. You need to learn and understand the Laws of the Game better. The more you know it the better and more comfortable you become. Making mistakes because you do not know the laws are the worse feeling that you can get.
2. Getting your equipments is also important. You will need to buy at a set of referee's jersey, black shorts, black long stockings and a black colored boot. For carrying out your duties, you need 2 whistles, a digital watch with countdown or chronometer, 2 pens/pencils, 2 sets of yellow/red cards, a wallet with scorecards and a set of flags. An enthusiastic referee will purchase these equipments instead of waiting for others to provide it.
3. Get to know your senior referees or the referee assessors who will be responsible in guiding you to a higher level by giving appropriate guidance and training tips.
4. Accept your appointment promptly and arrive early for your duty. Get acquainted to the other match officials in the pregame discussions. If given any chances, grab any available match experiences through friendly or school level matches. This will enrich your refereeing experiences.
5. As the usual culture, you will have to get a lot experiences as an assistant referee while waiting for the opportunity to be in the centre. Giving correct offside decisions, pulling fouls in your vicinity and giving correct clear flag signals when the ball leaves the field of play.
6. Positioning in play as a referee is vital. Being in good or proper position will enable you to see and judge correctly. This definitely need your ability to use your fitness capacity to your advantages.
7. Seeing, identifying fouls, giving correct decisions and proper sanctions will take time though some may learn faster. Applying the advantage rule in play need you to be at a proper position during fouls and a wider scope of vision. Ability to anticipate the next phase of play will require more experience and match reading.
8. Man management and preventative refereeing need you to have an assertive but pleasant approach and the ability to take precautionary measures during set play or in play.
9. Proper writing of match report is important as all misconduct and the show of cards need to be reported. All match records like the score, match officials, teams, field and weather condition and other relevant information need to be reported.
10. Post-game briefing either by senior referee in the team or referee's assessor on duty or in the vicinity will erase or reduce mistakes, weaknesses and to improve or enhance the strength in refereeing. Self-evaluation also plays a vital part in improving and motivation of one-self.
The above mentioned are only the basic requirement to fulfill the role of a referee. Further enhancement will require more effort, training, readings and exposure to match experiences.

New Amendments in WC 2010 - 1 June

Laws 1:
The goalposts and crossbar be made of wood, metal or other approved material. They must be square, rectangular, round or elliptical in shape and must not be dangerous to players.
Reason:
Goalpost and crossbar of other shape are not permitted.

Guidelines for Referees:
Injured Player:
Exceptions to this ruling are to be made only when:
- a goalkeeper is injured
- a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need immediate attention
- players from the same team have collided and need immediate attention
- a severe injury occurred, e.g. • swallowed tongue, concussion, broken leg
Reason:
It is considered unfair that players of the same team who collide are currently required to leave the field of play to receive treatment leaving the team concerned at a numerical disadvantage.

The stretcher bearers should only enter the field of play with a stretcher following a signal from the referee.
Reason:
Stretcher-bearers’ mandatory entry onto the field of play for all injuries where a doctor is requested frequently causes unnecessary disruption to the game.

Amendments will be enforced on 1 June 2010 in the World Cup 2010.

FITNESS TEST FOR ISLANDS' REFEREES

Football Association of Maldives extended the registration of referees to all islands' referees who have attended referees courses by FAM. The FIFA Physical Fitness Test was carried in Bandidhoo (19 March 2010), Vilingili (8 April 2010) and Thinadhoo (9 April 2010). FAM's instructor Ahmed Abeer Ismail and Amir Sharifuddin Wong (Referees Director) conducted the test. Referees who passed the fitness test will be given the opportunities in advance courses, assessment of performance, promotion and other facilities.
The successful referees from Gaafu Alifu Vilingili are Mohamed Khaleel, Shifaz Zahir, Agleem Rashaad, Muslim Abdul Hakeem, Ibrahim Zahid and Mazeed Abdullah (6)
Gaafu Dhaalu Thinadhoo: Ahmed Visham, Hussain Abdul Haleem, Arif Rasheed, Ahmed Abdullah, Ibrahim Azhar, Hussain Ahmed, Ahmed Abdulla and Ahmed Jaleel (8).
No referee passed in Bandidhoo. The referees in Nilandhoo will be tested in June. This test will also be conducted in Haa Alifu Did-dhoo.

Saleem for AFC Champions League - Australia

Maldives' top referee, ALI SALEEM have been chosen to officiate in the AFC Champions League between Australia and China in Melbourne, Australia on the 14th April 2010. He has been selected by AFC as the Fourth Official for this match.

Saleem is also in the AFC Elite Referees panel, a group of Member Association's top referees selected to handle all the top matches in the Asian region. This achievement, FAM hopes that will inspire many younger referees to aspire to be FIFA Referee and to achieve the highest level of performance and to be be better that Saleem, if not be like him. Good luck to Saleem and all the referees in this season of a new brand of Dhiraagu Dhivehi League.

Dropped Ball - Procedure

Dropped ball is a method of restarting play if play was stopped by the referees for reasons other than infringing of the Laws of the Game. Instances are like serious or bleeding injuries, disturbances by outside elements (spectator, coach, etc.) or accidents (cross bar or goal post broke, unfavorable weather conditions).

The referee drops the ball at the place where it was when play was stopped. The ball may not be played until it touches the ground and if it leaves the field directly, without touching any player, the ball shall be dropped again. Any player may challenge for the ball and no minimum or maximum number of player required to take part in a dropped ball. The referee may drop the ball even if only a player is there. The referee cannot decide who may or may not take part in a dropped ball. Is the whistle needed in a dropped ball?

Often referee misunderstand with guidelines given by FIFA: Whistle is needed to restart play after it have been stopped due to the issue of cards, injury or substitution. The whistle here is not to stop the game but to hold the game for the reasons mentioned. You don't stop play for substitution, do you? It is because you stopped or hold the game you have to get every one's attention again by using the whistle. So if you stopped play for a serious injury or bleeding injury, you need to dropped the ball but no whistling is needed. The ball is in play the moment it touches the ground. Reminder: Referees should not stop play for minor injury. Cramp is not a serous injury so game need not be stopped.

Vying for FIFA MAtch Official?

Vying for FIFA Match Official? Yes! Why not? Every referee should have a dream or aspiration to be at the top in his refereeing career. The highest level of refereeing in the country is the FIFA status. Maldives is allotted THREE FIFA Referees and FIVE Assistant Referees. Referees should be doing matches in the country's highest league to be considered.
The Referees Committee shall nominate referees to fill the list. The proposed referees shall be at least 25 years old (23 years old in the case of assistant referees) and shall not reached the age of 45 on 1 January of the year for which they are nominated. The candidates shall have passed the appropriate FIFA Fitness test related to the list they belong to within four months prior to the deadline for nomination for the lists of international referees and assistant referees. They shall also have passed a medical examination.
FA shall supply FIFA with the rankings of the proposed referees based on the marks obtained at national level. These ranking shall apply only to first division matches at which they have officiated. With these ruling, other referees who obtain good performance higher than the current officials may stand a chance to be nominated and chosen by FIFA. Good luck to all!.

Trio at their Best to set Benchmark

Dhivehi Football League commenced with the MILO Charity Shield 2010 on the 11 March 2010. VB Sports Club and Victory Sports Club gave their best performance and won the heart of the football fans. Quick exchange of attacks and five goals scored were the ingredients of an entertaining match. Trio AFC Elite Match Officials, Ali Saleem, Ahmed Ameez and Ibrahim Thaufeeq shown a superb performance. Ali Saleem was always on top of the game with his fast movement and good anticipation. His decisions were mostly accepted with two penalty awarded with no protest. Both his assistants were also always up with play and showed full concentration and assistance to the referee. FAM hopes that this performance from the trio will be a good benchmark to all other referees in their duties in this season. AFC Elite Fourth Official, Ali Adil also made his presence felt in the match. Many junior referees will given their break in this league to perform and to improve further in their career. The cooperation from the players, team officials and football fans in absorbing mistakes (if any) in the aim to assist in development of referees in this country. Thus, the vision to see a Maldivian referee in the World Cup will a reality.

Beach Soccer to Maldives

FIFA will be holding a coaching and refereeing course in Male in July 2010. The aim is to promote and develop this game in Maldives, a country of many islands with beautiful sand beaches. 15 coaches and 15 young referees will be selected to participate in this course. With this initiative, FAM hopes to put Maldivian soccer in the world beach soccer map in the future.

Beach soccer is played on surface of sand, levelled, free of rocks, shells, and any other object that may offer risk of injury to the players. The field is 115 x 90 feet in dimension. Each team consists of four players and a goalkeeper with no off-sides. Unlimited substitutions allow for fresh legs at all times and keeps the game moving fluidly throughout all three 12-minute periods. A beach soccer game always has a winning team. In the event of a tie an overtime period is played, followed by penalty kicks if the tie remains. Beach soccer is indeed quite different in play and strategy than traditional soccer and offers the opportunity to develop unique skills away from the grass game. It is no wonder that top-flight professional teams the world over have begun to utilize sand pitches at their facilities for this very reason: playing beach soccer makes a better soccer player.
Read: http://www.beachsoccer.us/index.php/benifits-of-beach-soccer.html
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Beach_Soccer_World_Cup for more information.

FAM Preparatory Seminar for Referees

Football Association of Maldives had just completed the 4 days seminar (1 - 4 March 2010) to prepare all the football referees for the new seasons. 48 referees applied to be registered but only 28 attended this seminar. The practical sessions were held in the Henveiru Ground while the theory sessions, in FAM Seminar Room. The practical sessions were handled by FIFA Futuro Instructors, Ahmed Abeer Ismail and Mohamed Saeed. They were assisted by FIFA Referee Ali Saleem and FIFA Assistant Referee Ahmed Ameez.
Practical sessions include refereeing and assistant referees skills, fitness training, offsides problems, positioning, handling of misconducts and difficult situations in games. Theory sessions include review of problems faced in the last season and ways to overcome, offsides problems, rules and procedures, briefing by competition and referees department.
24 football referees passed the fitness test and will be ready for the new seasons. 26 FUTSAL referees passed the FUTSAL fitness test. A special fitness test will be held for referees who are injured or away for courses.
With senior and new referees in the current referees list, the Referees Department hope and expect a positive path of development toward creating more quality referees in Maldives. Courses will held every year in Male for football (September) and FUTSAL (May) to increase the pool of referees in Male. Referees in other island will also be given fitness test to have them registered so that development will be total and equality of opportunity for development. Island who need to have their own referees can apply to FAM for courses to be held in their island.

Future of Maldivian Referees

The success and product of the future is the results of policies, decisions, procedures, program and actions made today. Putting aside self interest, emotion and personal gains for the goodness of the whole group is a great sacrifice that each and every individual in an organisation should do for the sake of our future generation. The quality and quantity of the future referees in our country will be the effects of sacrifice, efforts and love that we put into the making of the future generation of referees. The thankless and sincere effort will be blessed by Allah, the Almighty.

Man Management

Man management by the referee in a game is often terms as gamesmanship. Allowing the game to be played in accordance to the letter and the spirit of the law and at the same time maintaining the pleasure of entertainment of the game.

Though referees do not admit it but at times bad behaviored coaches or players are often being marked by the referee. This is prejudice and should not be adopted by referee. A referee should enter the field of play with a clear mind of every individuals but at the same time be ready to expect the expected and also the unexpected.

If coaches and players value safety and gamesmanship above winning, then they are on the same wave length as the referees but if winning is everything or winning at all cost is placed above the laws, the referee will have to stamp his authority to bring the game into his control for the safety and pleasure of the game.

Team officials may convey tactical instruction but stay confine in the technical area and also be responsible in behavior. Going overboard may see them being sent off the area to the grandstand by the referee. This, of course will not be a merit to their reputation.

Referee 'shrugging off' appeals or complaints from players or officials may not be a good approach or practice in refereeing. Gaining respect is through giving respect. The grass will not sway if the wind does not blow. At times, genuine appeal need to be tackled with tenderness and attention. The laws of the game mention 'safety' 6 times and 'dangerous' 7 times. Thus, ensuring the safety of excellent skilled players and allowing them to execute their skill without being dangerously or unfairly tackled is the key role of the referee to maintain entertainment and the pleasure of the game. Mutual respect will make this task of the referee easier once it is established. It is not easy for new young referee to create a good impression and remember, you will never get a second chance to create the first impression.

Hadith for today

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah [S.A.W.W](P. B.U.H) said, "A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. He should neither deceive him nor lie to him, nor leave him without assistance. Everything belonging to a Muslim is inviolable for a Muslim; his honour, his blood and property. Piety is here (and he pointed out to his chest thrice). It is enough for a Muslim to commit evil by despising his Muslim brother.''
[At-Tirmidhi] .

FAM Football Referee 2010

The following have register and passed the fitness test:
Ali Saleem, Ali Adil, Ahmed Ameez, Ibrahim Thaufeeq, Mohamed Fareed, Mohamed Aneel, Ahmed Aslam, Ahmed Afsah, Ismail Izhan, Ahmed Shifan, Afeef Abdul Samad, Jaufar Rasheed, Adam Fazeel, Ahmed Anfal, Mohamed Faisal (MNDF), Zaeem Ali, Mohamed Nadheem, Ahmed Riza Dhawood (MNDF), Mohamed Mushil, Ibrahim Abdul Wahid, Adam Shareef, Mohamed Waheed, Ihusan Abdul Raheem (24)
The following have not passed the fitness test: (will also be registered - pending)
Hassan Nashid, Ahmed Riza (Police), Ibrahim Iqbal, Abdul Rasheed, Mohamed Shuaib, Mohamed Hashim, Hassan Habeeb, Mohamed Shinan, Mohamed Jazeel, Mohamed Ali, Fathulla Mohamed, Mohamed Naseem, Hathim Mohamed, Ahmed Mohamed, Hussain Habeeb, Mohamed Ahmed, Adam Zalif, Ahmed Naeem, Mohamed Mumthaz Ibrahim, Mohamed Fawwaz, Ibrahim Mohamed, Hussain Ahmed, Hassan Manik, Hussain Hameed, Ahmed Shafeeq (24)

FAM FUTSAL Referees 2010

The following have register and passed the fitness test:
Ali Saleem, Ahmed Ameez, Mohamed Saeed. Mohamed Anil, Ibrahim Thaufeeq, Ismail Izhaan, Ahmed Afsah, Afeef Abdul Samad, Jaufar Abdul Rasheed, Mohamed Waheed, Ihusan Abdul Raheem, Ali Maarof, Ahmed Rameez, Hussain Thasleem, Athif Mohamed, Ahmed Nasheed, Abdul Haleem, Shafraz Abdul Razzaq, Mohamed Zubair, Moosa Rizwee, Adam Shahid, Mohamed Mushil, Mohamed Faisal (Police), Ibrahim Rasheed, Mohamed Afrah, Mohamed Fareed and HASSAN NASHID (27)

Referees who have not passed the fitness test: (will be registered - pending)
Mohamed Naseem, Hussain Hameed, Hassan Manik, Nasrullaq Jaleel, Abdul Majeed, Shuaib Ismail, Mohamed Shuaib, Ahmed Shafeeq, Ali Waheed (8)

FIFA FUTSAL Referee for Maldives

FUTSAL has been played for many years in the Maldives and is now at its height with numerous competitions being held nearly every weekend by clubs or associations. Certain organisers maintained very good standards in their organising of their tournaments like the Club Maldives, Times Sprint, or MAKEEN to name a few. This year the Football Association of Maldives intend to have its own competition too. This is to enable the formation of the National FUTSAL Team.
Most of the football referees were also involved in the development of this game by offering their services in officiating the matches. Overall, 80% of the Laws of the Game is being carried out by most organisers. Modification is often made to the duration of the match, running time instead of stoppage time, no time out in each half, number of players in a full team and the surface of pitch (sandy) being played on. Only a few organisers have their tournament on the turf ground of FAM. This is the nearest to the official FUTSAL pitch as there is no official FUTSAL pitch available in Male'.
The number of FUTSAL Referees have also increased with a course being held last year in FAM. The increased number is to enable the football referee to concentrate more on the big game as certain application of the laws can jeopardize their performance in the normal game. In FUTSAL no body charges or sliding tackles are allowed. Hand signals for direct free kick also differs.
This year the Referees Department will be putting Referees Assessors for most of the FUTSAL matches. This is to enable FAM to identify potential excellent referees to be nominated as FIFA FUTSAL Referees for 2011. Due to the lack of available RA, senior referees may be appointed as the Timekeeper and at the same time be requested to assess the referees. This is how the senior referees can assist FAM in the development of this game and also to develop their brother referees to the highest level.

Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Speech by Nelson Mandela (original script by Marianne Williamson)

http://www.marianne.com/index.php

BEST SERVICE REFEREE - FAM Award 2009

The Football Association of Maldives have postponed its 2009 Award Night to April 2010. This is because of the involvement of VB Sports Club and Victory Sports Club in the 2010 AFC Cup. For the Best Service Referee Award, five referees have been shortlisted and three best service referees will be picked for the award by the Referees Committee. They are Mohamed Anil, Ali Saleem, Mohamed Fareed, Hassan Nashid and Ahmed Ameez. The criteria in choosing is based on the most number of FAM matches officiated, most matches as referee, personal performances and also discipline. This award is to appreciate the services given by the referees to FAM.

AHMED AMEEZ - Best Selected Referee 2009

Ahmed Ameez has been announced as the Best selected Referee of 2009 last night in the Haveeru Award Night Ceremony. He overcame two more candidates, Ali Saleem and Ali Adil. Ahmed Ameez is a FIFA referees since 2001 and also a AFC Elite Assistant Referee. His rival is Maldivian top referee Ali Saleem, a FIFA Referee since 1995 and also AFC Elite Referee. His top achievement last year was the Semi-Final clash between Vietnam and Malaysia in the South East Asian Games in Vientienne. Another candidate is Ali Adil, a new FIFA Referee since 2009. His best achievement last year was the handling of the India Nehru Cup final.