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.