Tag Archives: Belgian referees

Referee shirt colour: change outfit during first half

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What would be the ideal referee shirt colour? Due to new possibilities referees sometimes make stange mistakes by picking almost the same referee outfit colour as one of the teams’ shirts. One referee had to change his shirt during the first half – the assistants followed him after half-time. Check out the examples below.

The man in black is still the right term for amateur referees in England, but many football associations in other countries allow their referees to wear their refs all sorts of colours. Even the professional referees in the Premier League do use all sorts of colours. Their last season kits were greenish, red and black and during the 2013/2014 season they’ll wear the Nike outfits as Dutch and French refs were wearing.

Spot the Belgian referee. <a href=

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I’ve a coloured range of referee shirts, but I sometimes do think it should be better if there’s not some much choice for referees. Teams just shouldn’t wear black. Look for example at the photo at the right of a Belgian match. Referee Luc Wouters picked a orange referee shirt while the team was wearing a shiny red shirt. Orange is the colour of the referee sponsor the bank ING by the way. Who spots the referee first? There were plenty of other options for Belgian refs: black, yellow neon, light blue, red – although the latter referee shirt colour wouldn’t have helped in this situation.

There was also a funny situation during the match between Vålerenga Oslo and Sarpsborg 08 a few weeks back. A referee friend from Germany was there in the stadium and took the pictures below. The referee wore a bright yellow shirt, the team was wearing a shiny green one. It did not work together. The referee went to the dressing rooms in the first half to change his outfit. After half-time, his assistants also came back on the pitch in a black shirt as the referee.

Referee and assistants show in Norway up in neon yellow shirts. He changed even before halftime after complaints.

Referee and assistants show in Norway up in neon yellow shirts.

Referee changed his referee shirt even before halftime after complaints.

Referee changed his referee shirt even before halftime after complaints.

What is your favourite referee shirt colour? Let me know via comments below, Twitter or give a reply on Dutch Referee Blog’s Facebook Page.

Howard Webb gives young Belgian referees advice

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Referee Howard Webb stresses that reaching the top is not just smooth progress for future Premier League referees. “Ups and downs are all part of the journey, and that ‘bouncing back’ from disappointments, or mistakes, is really important, as long as we learn from them.”

That says Howard Webb in an interview with Dutch Referee Blog. The top referee from England is speaking on ‘Belgian Referee Day’ for a group of young referees on Thursday evening in Brussels.

Howard Webb on FA tv screenshot.

Howard Webb: “I’m looking forward to visiting Brussels, and to meeting up with some really good friends from the world of Belgian refereeing. I’m also looking forward to having the opportunity to speak with some young Belgian referees and sharing with them some of my experiences. My presentation to them will focus on the passion, self-believe, perseverance and courage that individuals need to make it to the top. It will also highlight the importance of teamwork, thorough preparation (mentally and physically), and the importance of setting yourself apart from your competitors – refereeing in 2012 is competitive.”

The World Cup final match official says that high level refereeing is also demanding. “If you’re serious about making it to the top, you’ll need to make personal sacrifice.” But referees do also need to keep in mind that they are not the most important persons on the field, says Webb. “Referees are an important part of the game, but not of course the most important. The players are the stars, and the ones who make the game, but referees play a vital role in protecting the players and protecting the image of the game. We certainly need to encourage the next generation of referees, and I look forward to meeting the next generation in Belgium.”

Likes for referees

Logo KBVB / Belgian FAThe Belgian FA will start a campain Thursday called ‘I like referees’. The KBVB want to give the message that there’s no football without referees. The number of likes will be announced at the start of the match between Standard Luik and Club Brugge on the 21st matchday in the Jupiler Proleague.

The two hundred young referees from Belgium will also get a course in doing heart massage (CPR) and get a speech by Werner Helsen, Uefa’s fysical coach for match officials and researcher at the university of Leuven.