All qualified and County FA registered referees who wish to referee in the League will need to be registered with the League for the 2015-2016 season.
The first step is to ensure that your CRC is up to date. Any dated 2013 or early need to be renewed. Please contact the County FA for details.
If your CRC is in date, your are registered with the County FA AND registered with the League last season (2014-15) then you do not have to do anything else at this stage.
Those referees on our database from the 2014-15 season will be automatically checked with the County FA during the summer. When the County FA confirm that referee is youth compliant, the League will automatically post out the new ID card to the address registered with the County FA.
All referees in the League will need to produce an ID card, very much like players currently have to, before every League and cup fixture in the Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League. This will give the team managers confidence that the referee is indeed qualified and registered.
Please note: Referees must hold a 2015/16 card. 2014/15 cards are not valid for use in the League season 2015-2016.
Last season saw the League taking a big stance against the use of non qualified and non registered referees. This was a direct result of previous League surveys when the issue of referees was highlighted as an issue that needed addressing.
The impacts of that approach were:
-Number of refs registering with SHCFA went up, as non registered referee could no longer hide in the two local junior leagues, which possibly has happened in the past
-Level 9 refs getting moved up to Level 8/7 a lot faster as they were able to the 6 qualifying fixtures in this League.
-League average ref marks gone up, as the percentage of matches used by a qualified and registered ref
If you have a referee attached to your club, please ask them to register with the League as soon as possible. Please assist them where needed.
Possession of an ID card is not a licence to referee. It is to verify identity. Clubs should still check that the referee they are using/their opponents are providing appears on the League list which will be available on the website.
The Football Association funded the project which ran last season and the League is very grateful for that financial support.
Referee Process
The home team makes contact with the away team 5 clear days before the fixture. During that contact the home teams informs the away team of:
• Venue & directions
• Kick off time
• Kit colours
• Referee
If the home team does not have a ref appointed who is on the league list they MUST inform their opponents. The opponents can then see if they can find a ref to do the fixture.
If the home does have a referee on the League list for the fixture, they need to make sure the referee is appointed on the Full Time system. This can be done by emailing referee@junleague.com
If teams do not have a referee they can email referee@junleague.com by 8pm on the Monday before the fixture. This means that the details of the fixture are emailed out to all League referees, and they will respond to clubs directly if they want to take the fixture. This helps refs as they only get one email and not many calls and emails.
If both teams cannot find a referee with a League ID card then they must agree on a stand in official. A stand in official CANNOT referee on a regular basis
League Referee ID Card
All referees in the League will need to produce an ID card, very much like players currently have to, before every League and cup fixture in the Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League. This will give the team managers confidence that the referee is indeed qualified and registered.
Possession of an ID card is not a license to referee. It is to verify identity. Clubs should still check that the referee they are using/their opponents are providing appears on the League list which will be available on the website.
Referee CRC
As many of you will be aware, recent legislative changes means that any Referee; including Referee tutor/mentor/coach/assessor, over the age of 16 who intends to officiate in youth football (U18) will require an FA ‘Accepted’ CRC (formerly CRB).
The FA have implemented a three year renewal policy for all criminal record checks, this means that only CRCs/CRBs issued since January 2010 will be accepted for those working in youth football for this season. Those CRCs/CRBS dated before 1st January 2010 will NOT be accepted.
If match officials without an FA CRC state that it is their intention to officiate within youth football during the coming season, they must successfully complete the CRC application process as soon as possible. Until a check is complete these referees are unable to officiate youth football.
Referees must arrange an appointment for a CRC check by contacting their County FA.
Please note from September 2014, Referees will be responsible for the organisation of their CRC verification. It is the joint responsibility of the League, Clubs and Referees to ensure that all referees officiating in their league hold a current, approved CRC. This information has been provided by The FA who state that;
“The FA’s Safeguarding policy is underpinned by legislation and it is imperative that actions are taken in line with this guidance to ensure we are compliant with the legal and policy requirements”.
This is why the Leagues Referee ID card scheme is so vitally important. Referees are issued with an ID card once the League has made checks and confirmed with the appropriate County FA. Any refs who are suspended or no longer compliant are removed from the League list on the website. The list operates in conjunction with the ID card.