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Letter of the Law

It is the day of the final of the San Francisco Soccer Football League in its 115​th​ season.

The fixture, being held in San Francisco’s historic Boxer Stadium, sees powerhouse Olympic

Club coming up against semi-pro superclub El Farolito; both are strong and seasoned men’s

semi-professional teams. This will be a match for the ages. There will be a third team on the

pitch this afternoon, though; a team which is just as important and honored as the others. We are

this third team, we are the referees. Our team is four men strong: Michael will be our fearless

leader with the whistle, Evyan and Yohannes will act as his assistants, and I am to be their

Fourth Official. Four referees from two different countries. Evyan and myself from the United

States and Michael and Yohannes from the African country of Eritrea. We sit about five feet

below pitch-level in the referee’s dugout as we make our final preparations for this historic

match. It is not long before we are leading the teams out onto the pitch and find ourselves

standing side-by-side with the teams to the tune of “The Star Spangled Banner” and I begin to

understand the gravity of the day. We are preceded by 115 years of history and the countless

teams and officials who have stood where we are now standing. All of our predecessors came

from a variety of countries and a plethora of unique cultures, but despite their differences, they

succeeded and did the beautiful game proud. The four of us are all different, yet we are about to

become a part of North American football (soccer) history.

As referees at all levels, there are many times in which it is necessary for us to work with

referees, coaches, and players alike who come from all walks of life. This does prove to be

challenging at times, the biggest obstacle often being a language barrier, but there are many

challenges relating to footballing culture as well. Football in Europe is markedly different than

football in Latin America. For instance, when there is any sort of contact near the head or neck

area, a Latin American player will generally fall to the ground clutching their face, while, under

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the same contact, a European footballer will generally push through it and get into the culprit’s

face afterwards. Likewise, refereeing differs. The ​Laws of the Game​ provide the international

guidelines for football matches within which we all work but there is quite a bit of room left for

interpretation, so footballing and refereeing culture shape those aspects of Law that require some

interpretation. To give an idea, the ​Laws of the Game​ clearly state that it is a sending-off (red

card) offense for a player to: “use offensive, insulting, or abusive language and/or gestures”

(IFAB 103). This is a simple statement that encompasses a wide variety of actions. It is

deliberately written in this way to allow referees to interpret what they consider to be offensive,

abusive, or insulting; this varies from culture-to-culture and region-to-region . In my time as an

official, I have had the privilege of meeting and working with officials that have come from

many countries. They each have a wealth of experience and knowledge which shapes them as

officials and influences the way they manage a match. These differences cause me to wonder:

how exactly is refereeing culture different between countries? How do referees in other cultures

manage the game differently? What are some differences in professionalism (professionalism

being how an official presents him or herself and interacts with players and team officials)?

What does the structure for initial training and continued education look like? What is different

about the experiences of referees from different countries and cultures around the globe?

There are many rich cultures in our world that partake in the “beautiful game” and these

cultures oftentimes clash on the football pitch. Being an official here in the United States

presents a unique opportunity; as a nation of immigrants, there are many cultures present at the

amateur and semi-professional levels of football in this country. I have experienced many of

these cultural clashes before on the pitch in both adult and youth soccer, but one of my first truly

immersive multicultural football experiences came on a Saturday evening in October of 2017

when I witnessed an American team come up against a team from El Salvador.

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I pull into a parking space along the empty street, the only spaces available at this West

Oakland football pitch. As I exit my car, the cool evening air brushes over my face. “Raimondi

Park” the sign reads, “Home of Club Deportivo de Pamperos.” I walk into the venue around and

there are three other individuals present: a caucasian JASA player sitting in the empty bleachers

as he awaits his team’s arrival and two hispanic men standing near the pitch with beers in hand.

The two men friendly approach me and ask, “¿Cuál es tu equipo?” (Which is your team?) to

which I respond, “No tengo un equipo. Soy un árbitro por el partido” (I have no team. I am an

official for the match). About forty-five minutes later, the match kicks off. The smell of beer and

marijuana permeate the air, a unique combination of latin music and recurring static crackles in

the background, and although there is a food truck parked just outside of the stadium, an

enthusiastic and enterprising fan is cooking hotdogs and selling beers near the entrance. As the

junior assistant referee assigned to the match, I am positioned in front of the fans. The stands

seem to be split: slightly less than half are predominantly caucasian and English-speaking,

presumably from the San Jose-based visiting club JASA, while the majority of fans are hispanic

and Spanish-speaking who seem to support the El Salvadorean home club of Club Deportivo de

Pamperos. It is not only the stands that are multicultural, the story on the pitch tells a tale of two

cultures as well: JASA seems to utilize brutish strength to muscle their way through opponents

and speed to get themselves into better positions, while Pamperos employ technical skill and

footballing ability to outwit and outskill their opponents in order to pick passes and put the ball

in the back of the net. Both teams enthusiastically voiced their displeasure with the officiating

when they felt necessary, but even this aspect of the game was unique. The JASA players were

public and obvious with their dissent, for example, they would say things along the lines of,

“Ref! Aren’t you going to f***ing call that!?” The Pamperos players on the other hand would

generally be more subtle with their comments and would complain in Spanish, however, they

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would speak in English when they wanted you to know that they were being insulting or were

unhappy. As one of my first genuine intercultural experiences in the world of football, this match

exposed me to the playing styles and behaviors of players that come out of different cultures but

also the culture of the fans. This was evident in the stands: the JASA fans were there simply to

watch the game and seemed a bit bored (in all honesty) while the Pamperos fans were

enthusiastic and made an exciting event out of this semi-professional football match.

Referees often have to work with individuals from different cultures and oftentimes a

major cultural obstacle is a language barrier. Nina Porzucki, reporter for ​Public Radio

International​, describes a situation in which a lack of communication due to a language barrier

created an serious issue that was difficult to resolve. Porzucki explains that in the 1966 World

Cup (the days before red and yellow cards) there was a match in which a German referee was

appointed to officiate a quarter-final between England and Argentina. During the match, the

referee was forced to send Argentina's captain Antonio Rattin off, which means he was expelled

from the match and suspended for a period of time afterwards. The German referee had sent him

off but the Spanish-speaking Argentines did not know what was happening and Rattin remained

on the field of play for nearly eight minutes before finally exiting the pitch (Porzucki). This

situation makes the need for universal communication in football painfully obvious. This would

eventually result in the development and implementation of yellow and red cards to convey

cautions and send offs respectively. Like yellow and red cards, the referee’s whistle is able to

break through the language barrier to establish necessary communication. Oftentimes, the

volume and length of the official’s whistle is used to convey the severity of a foul or other

offense. For example, a short tweet may tell the players that this is a minor foul that occurred

near the middle of the pitch without any further consequences while conversely, a long, hard

whistle sends the message that this was a severe foul that will likely result in a red card.

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Although there are some ways for referees to cut through the language barrier, the

aforementioned incident exposes the issue that language barriers pose to referees, players, and

coaches alike. However, the field of play is not the only place in which a language barrier

creates issues, the ​Laws of the Game​ must address the issue of mis-translations within them. The

Laws​ are officially printed in English, Spanish, French, and German (additional official

translations are on the way). The lack of available translations creates problems as there are

officials throughout the world who do not speak those languages and thus when more

translations are being made by National Football Associations, or FAs, there are bound to be

mistakes made. The ​Laws of the Game​ explicitly state: “If there is any divergence in the wording

[between translations], the English text is authoritative” (IFAB 19). This reveals that the

language barrier reaches further than just the pitch and plagues the ​Law​ books of nations whose

translations may be slightly inaccurate. It shows that even in the ​Laws​, the most sacred and

important text in football, there is still confusion and miscommunication present. Football is the

world’s game and the world has a multitude of different languages and dialects; it often faces

language barriers and unfortunately the game suffers because of miscommunications between

players, coaches, officials, governing bodies, and everyone else involved in the world’s game.

When most people think of soccer referees, many think of middle aged men who could

never make it as a player and are now trying to relive their youth, However, referees of all ages

and genders are making great strides. Around the world, female referees are treated and viewed

differently. In some countries, they are viewed with respect and given the necessary support for

them to succeed at the highest levels. In Germany, a female official has never been assigned as

the referee on a Bundesliga match but as Luis Miguel Echegaray of ​Sports Illustrated​ reports on

10 September 2017, Bibiana Steinhaus became the first female official to have the whistle on a

Bundesliga, the top flight of German football, regular season match. She also took charge of

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German superclub Bayern Munich’s German Cup fixture in August of the same year as well as

the Women’s Champions League Final (Echegaray). Steinhaus’ great achievement shows that

respect for and confidence in female officials have come long a way. It is difficult for any

official to reach the Bundesliga, the top flight (the highest level of domestic football in a

country) in German football, this shows that in Germany there are not great ​male ​officials and

great ​female​ officials, but simply that there are great officials. Furthermore, female referees in

the United States are succeeding domestically and abroad as well. Jack Gallagher is the media

coordinator for the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), the entity which identifies,

develops, and assigns the referees for all professional matches within the United States and

Canada and is responsible for the ongoing growth and improvement of top match officials in the

country. Gallagher handles all social media and online articles for PRO and focuses on the

international achievements of female referees from the United States when he writes that, in

2016, Katja Koroleva, Kathryn Nesbitt, and Deleana Quan (from Sacramento), three officials

from the United States, had been invited to represent U.S. Soccer and the Professional Referees

Organization at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan (Gallagher). It is a tremendous

honor for any official to be selected for an international tournament and the Under-17 Women’s

World Cup is, undoubtedly, a prestigious one to attend. These officials have demonstrated their

ability to perform at the highest levels and under intense scrutiny and it is reflected in this

notable and impressive achievement. Moreover, the Under-17 Women’s World Cup often serves

as a testing ground for prospective officials for the Women’s World Cup; a candidate list

provided by FIFA reveals that four American officials (Katja Koroleva, Deleana Quan, Kathryn

Nesbitt, and Felisha Mariscal) have been selected as final candidates for the Women’s World

Cup which is to be held in France in 2019 (FIFA). This illustrates the culmination of the

profound efforts of not only the officials themselves but also the development and training staff

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that have been working alongside the officials. The referee coaches, fitness instructors, nutrition

coaches, and the officials have worked tirelessly so that these world class officials may perform

at their best. This also demonstrates to the world that the United States is cultivating female

match officials of the highest quality. It is an honor for all those involved and is something of

which U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Referee Program extremely proud. In countries like the

United States and Germany, female referees have all of the support and backing that is necessary

for them to succeed. There are some countries, though, where it is difficult for female officials to

garner the support and skills necessary to make it in the top flight.

Unfortunately, in some places it is considerably more challenging for female officials to

succeed because they face clear and unacceptable sexism and there are insufficient resources and

opportunities for them to do so. In South Africa, female referees face severe sexism while

officiating domestic matches in their own country. Kemantha Govender, respected reporter for

the Africa News Network, writes about the experiences of a female referee who works in the

third division men’s professional league in South Africa. Govender explains, “On different

occasions she [Sebabasto Malop] has been a recipient of verbal abuse by male players, she was

once told to ‘go home and cook because football is a man's game’" ("Female Refs Continue

Equality Fight"). This is a harsh reality that sadly many female officials face in the world. These

blatantly sexist remarks display an extreme lack of respect for female officials in South Africa

which could potentially be present within the governing body as well and could also contribute

to their lack of progression. There is also a severe lack of funding for female referees of South

Africa (where referee funding is already scarce) which makes it difficult for them to succeed.

Govender continues to write about female officials in South Africa and Lebo Lefhiedi, a female

referee assessor for the South African Football Association (SAFA), is quoted while discussing

the funding available for female officials in the country. She explains, “Women's soccer still

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suffers from a lack of funding - therefore we don't progress to where we want to go. We are still

lagging behind and this has always been a challenge. There isn't funding for us to expand our

knowledge” (qtd. in "Female Refs Continue Equality Fight"). The lack of funding in South

Africa makes it nearly impossible for match officials to progress and improve. As Lefhiedi

discussed, without funds referees cannot improve their knowledge and if referees cannot improve

their knowledge and skill, how can they be expected to achieve the highest level? Sadly, in

countries like South Africa, despite the South African FA’s efforts, female officials face many

challenges to progress to the highest level because what is necessary is not always available to

them and they face blatant sexism.

There are a number of former top African officials currently living here in the United

States who have found success at various levels. In an interview with the Africa News Service,

Baboucarr Jallow, a former Gambian FIFA Referee and currently a U.S Soccer National Official

working in Major League Soccer, discusses the different atmosphere in the United States as

opposed to the atmosphere in Gambia, “On the how is life in the MLS, Jallow explained, 'It is

great there; it is a different atmosphere and level of football because the country is big and for us

[referees] to progress to the level of MLS is not easy’” ("Gambian Referee"). Jallow explains

that life as a top flight match official in the United States is difficult. Moreover, he explains that

the level of play and atmosphere is different in the U.S. than in his native Gambia. With higher

levels of play come greater expectations of referees which force them to improve in order to

perform at the highest level. Moving on, the Eritrean FA puts their officials through a rigorous

training course and continue the education and growth of their officials. Michael Gebreslassie, an

official with over twenty years of continuing experience at the professional levels in his native

Eritrea and Japan as well as amateur and semi-professional experience in the United States,

Gebreslassie describes his initial training as an “introduction to refereeing… that took around

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two-to-three weeks and was offered by FIFA referees in Eritrea,” he also continues to describe

continued training and development when he somewhat poignantly reflects on his time in Eritrea

and explains, “In Africa, we had meetings every Monday, every Monday, because the city is not

big, so every Monday we assess [essentially discussing] all of the games of the weekend”

(Gebreslassie). Gebreslassie’s account of his officiating experiences in Eritrea illustrates the

importance of continuing education that will enhance one’s ability as an official. Although the

FA is short on funds, they do their best to advance their officials with their available resources.

Referees in Africa find facilities and important instructional material (such as match footage)

lacking due to a shortage of funds but they do not let that hold them back and cease their

development.

In Africa, referees have different experiences than referees in the United States or in

Europe. Referees from Africa who officiate internationally face criticism and false

preconceptions about their abilities. Jerome Damon, a South African FIFA Referee, discussed

this issue in an interview with Jan ter Hamsel for his officiating blog, ​The Dutch Referee​, which

contains interviews with top officials around the world as well as helpful tips and tricks for

football referees. Damon explains that South African referees are on par with the top referees in

the world (as he saw first hand when he attended the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups). He

recalls a disheartening experience from a World Cup Qualifier in 2006 between Croatia and

Iceland. Damon reflects and discloses, “‘I have it on good authority that both teams wanted to

know why FIFA appointed African match officials, asking if if [sic] European officials were not

good enough’” (Hamsel). The fact that two European teams believed that African match officials

would be unable to perform well simply because they were not European displays a widespread

misconception that African officials are incapable of performing at high levels. Damon continues

on to compare European football to that of South Africa when he explains, “‘I personally think

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the Europeans have high quality football which makes it better for the referees to develop in high

standard’” (Hamsel). Damon explains that in Europe, there is better quality football than in South

Africa. If referees consistently officiate more difficult, better quality matches, then they will

perform better. This illustrates that in places with high quality football (like Europe), there will

also be high quality referees.

Football is not only a major pastime but a way of life in Europe. Nearly every country in

the European Union has some form of a professional football league. While some are more

popular than others (for example, the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, or the

Spanish Primera División), all produce highly competitive and exciting football and provide

teams for various continental competitions. One of these major European football hubs is

England which produces many top quality teams, players, and officials.

In England, there is an enormous emphasis put on match official training and

development. In his autobiography ​The Man in the Middle​, Howard Webb, former English

Premier League Referee, UEFA Elite Group match official, 2010 World Cup Final Referee and

current Head of Refereeing at the Professional Referees Organization in the United States,

reflects on the days just before he became a referee in England. He talks about the details of his

training course and reveals that it was split into two sessions: classroom and field training. He

describes the classroom training as intense and focusing much on the theory of the ​Laws of the

Game​ while the field session consisted more of practical applications of the ​Law​ and required

referee candidates to make quick and accurate decisions. Finally, he explains that it all

culminated into a written exam at the end on which an official must score at least a 70% to pass

and be awarded their referee kit [uniform] (Webb 20-21). Howard Webb’s testimony on the

intensity of the English referee training course reveals just how seriously the English Football

Association takes its initial training of referees. The English FA clearly strives to produce high

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quality officials for their high quality matches. Much time has passed since the legendary

Howard Webb took his first Law exam, but Harvey Newstead, a 16-year old Level 7 referee in

England who has officiated both domestic and international youth matches across England,

indicates that the importance placed upon training and development of match officials in

England has not been reduced. Newstead discusses some of the many development initiatives in

place to ensure match officials grow and improve. Newstead explains that he is part of the

Norfolk FA Youth Council, which strives to improve the path and experiences for youth referees,

and that he is a Referee Development Officer for the Norfolk Combined Youth Football League

(Newstead). Newstead describes a Youth Council which works to solve issues facing young

referees as well as being a mentor. This is only the tip of the iceberg for development of English

refereeing but it shows how seriously the English FA takes the improvement of their match

officials. This does not result from a mere number of matches, in fact, at grassroots levels of

football there is often only a single referee without any assistant referees. The English FA must

produce high quality officials because they are providing officials for a number of professional

leagues throughout England as well as oftentimes providing top officials for top continental and

international matches. English referees are some of the best in the world; this can be credited to

the English Referees’ Association which stands apart from all others with its intense emphasis on

referee training and development.

Around the world and across different cultures, football is markedly different. Likewise,

refereeing varies greatly culture-to-culture. Whether it be language, training and development,

funding, or diversity of match officials, there are no two countries that are the same. This rings

true throughout our lives, not only in football. No two cultures are the same. However, football is

paramount in understanding a number of cultures. It would be difficult to understand Mexican

culture without understanding the magnitude of attending a match in the two-time World Cup

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Final-hosting Estadio Azteca in Mexico City or understand the Catalonian pride without

understanding the dynasty of their club FC Barcelona. To understand many cultures, one must

understand their footballing culture. To understand their footballing culture, one must understand

how the game is officiated.

The United States is but one of a number of vast cultures with a reservoir of unique and

diverse match officials each who have acquired their own wealth of unparalleled experiences.

This was the only refereeing culture that I had ever known. However, over the course of this

journey, I have come to know and appreciate many footballing and refereeing cultures from

around the globe. From the training and development-intensive and highly competitive

refereeing culture of England to the African FAs who may be lacking in funds but definitely not

in heart or passion, I have become well-versed in a wide variety interesting cultures. As a result

of this extensive research, I have accrued a new cache of cultural information that will

supplement my own unique experiences and football understanding. This will allow myself and

others to become more culturally aware of participants in each match so that we as officials may

serve the players, fans, fellow officials, and most importantly, the game itself, far better.

Eventually, my hope is that this will create a more accepting and united global footballing

community without losing the profound diversity of the deep and spectacular footballing

cultures.

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Works Cited

Echegaray, Luis Miguel. “Bundesliga Makes History With Female Referee.” ​SI.com​,

Sports Illustrated, 10 Sept. 2017,

www.si.com/soccer/2017/09/10/germany-bundesliga-steinhaus-official​.

"Female Refs Continue Equality Fight." ​Africa News Service​, 3 Feb. 2011. ​Student

Resources in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A248294210/SUIC?u=wal55317&xid=6ad5ccf5​.

FIFA. “France 2019 Dreams Come into View for Referees.” ​FIFA​, Fédération

Internationale De Football Association, 15 Dec. 2017,

www.FIFA/womensworldcup/news/y=2017/m=12/news=france-2019-dreams-come-i

nto-view-for-referees-2925064.html​.

Gallagher, Jack, and Ryan Percival. “PRO Officials Fly the Flag at the U17 Women's

World Cup.” ​Professional Referee Organization​, PRO, 29 Nov. 2017,

proreferees.com/2016/11/29/pro-officials-fly-the-flag-at-the-u17-womens-world-cup/

"Gambian Major League Soccer Referee Hails Compatriots." ​Africa News Service​, 11 Apr.

2017. ​Student Resources in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A489086584/SUIC?u=wal55317&xid=4b5f445e.

Harmsel, Jan ter. “Jerome Damon: Refereeing in South Africa - Football.” ​Dutch Referee

Blog​, Dutch Referee Blog, 18 Feb. 2015,

www.dutchreferee.com/jerome-damon-refereeing-in-south-africa/​.

Harvey Newstead. Email Interview. 03 March 2018

IFAB. ​Laws of the Game 2017/18​. International Football Association Board, 2017.

Michael Gebreslassie. Personal Interview. 11 March 2018

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Porzucki, Nina. “How Do 32 Teams from 32 Countries Communicate at the World

Cup?”​Public Radio International​, PRI, 24 June 2014,

www.pri.org/stories/2014-06-24/how-do-32-teams-32-countries-communicate-world-

cup

Webb, Howard. ​MAN IN THE MIDDLE: the Autobiography of the World Cup Final

Referee​. Simon & Schuster LTD, 2017.

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