You're Off!

Thought all football refs were fat gits? In fact they cover more ground than the players and have a training regime to rival any of the top clubs. To prove it, they invited us along to try it…

It was the venerable Graham Poll who welcomed me onto the training ground with the kind words: “Look at those f*cking dirty boots, that’s a fine for a start. And what the hell do you look like? You’ve got 1970’s toweling socks, lily white legs and it looks like your head’s been dipped in creosote.”

“Ah, fuck off” I responded, in a pub banter sort of style. And then immediately regretted doing so. After all, Polly – as his colleagues call him – has a fearsome reputation on the pitch for not taking any backchat from football’s hardest men. Would he send me off before I’d even started? Thankfully, my potty-mouthed retort was taken in the spirit it was intended, a couple of the assembled refs cracked a sly smile to themselves and I busied myself with a bit of stretching out of harm’s way.

Men’s Fitness had been invited up to Staverton Park Conference Centre in Northamptonshire, where 20 of the top referees in the game gather every couple of weeks for two days of fitness training, meetings and performance appraisals. The morning of day one, usually a Thursday, is devoted to “speed endurance training” to ready the chaps for the rigors of the weekend’s matches. “It’s not just about building their stamina,” explains Matt Weston, the sports scientist charged with keeping the refs in shape, as we amble down to an enclosed field away from the conference centre. “It’s about their speed, their agility, their flexibility, their repeat sprintability – all the factors that constitute match fitness. Mostly it’s high intensity intermittent aerobic training as that’s what they’ll face on the pitch. The refs work as hard as the players, so fitness is just as important.”

Much as I’d like to believe that refs shuffle about the pitch for the entire 90 minutes, admiring their lovely clean boots and keeping as far away from the action as they can get away with (it would make Bristol City’s recent form easier to rationalise to my exasperated psyche), it seems that Matt’s telling the truth. They do work as hard as the players. Computer monitoring shows that Premier League refs cover up to around 13 kilometers per game, which is particularly impressive when you consider that the even most proactive midfielders will chase the ball over just 11 kilometres. Furthermore, Howard Webb, the fittest of the men in black, regularly outsprints strikers such as Thierry Henry.

Just like the players, who once puffed on fags that resembled bicycle inner tubes stuffed with tar between halves, refs haven’t always been so fit.

In 1891 the system of referee control as we know it today was introduced. Prior to then, the ref stayed on the touchline and was assisted by two umpires who were on the field of play. He was referred to – hence the title – whenever a dispute arose between the two umpires. However, even after 1891 when the system changed, refs still wouldn’t run about unless they absolutely had to; as was often illustrated by their choice of matchday kit – Jean Langenus chose to officiate the 1930 World Cup Final wearing a pair of plus fours, a bow tie and a dinner jacket. After the war, a surplus of black fabric led indirectly to the introduction of a standard issue uniform, but this came complete with a removable starched collar and cuffs, which is again indicative of the amount of calories the Brylcreem-drenched officials were expected to expend in the course of their work.

As the game, and the players, quickened, so did the refs, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that fitness became a primary concern. As veteran ref, Andy D’Urso explains: “I’ve certainly noticed that we’ve had to up our fitness and training over the past four years just to keep pace on the pitch. The thing is, you have to be close to the action to ‘sell’ a decision to a player. If you’re ten metres away, they’ll accept it much easier than if you’re 30 or 40 metres away.”

Matt Weston is enthusiastic about this turnaround: “Their (the refs’) fitness and their approach to training has improved massively over the years; their dedication is on a par with any professional athlete I’ve ever worked with. The training used to be six or seven mile runs, but we don’t really do that anymore, it’s a lot more focused. You can see that the fitness statistics so far this season are all

significantly higher when compared to last season, which shows an excellent progression in the physical match performances of our referees."

To be honest, when he mentioned the phrase “profession athlete” I was a little worried. I was rather hoping that today’s training would involve one of those six or seven mile runs that he was on about, as I can happily do one of them with an eight pint continental lager hangover. Which is what I was nursing today. My usual fitness routine is based around successive bouts of binge drinking and long distance runs, and that’s what works for me. Happily, once we’d all warmed up with a stretch, Matt began to lead us around the circumference of the field for a jog. Nice one, I thought to myself. I could handle this, keep up the pace, and ingratiate myself with the boys in black. Why, we’d all probably go the boozer at lunch and they’d all slap me on the back for keeping up with them and offer to buy me pints. Today would be a cinch.

Except it didn’t to turn out like that. We’d not even made it down one side of the field before we headed back to where we’d started from. “Right chaps, get yourselves into threes, line up and we’ll start our drills,” said Matt. And so the real training began.

The “drills” he was on about turned out to be a series of around 20 different ways of running up and down a 30 metre stretch of grass. These included swooping down to touch the floor as you ran, skipping, sidestepping, that sort of thing. All pretty simple on their own, put them together though and they’re absolutely exhausting.

Not that my fellow training partners seemed to be struggling; kitted out with heart rate monitors they constantly checked the readouts and adjusted their effort accordingly. “Our heart rates are monitored from warm up to warm down,” says ref Mike Riley. “We’ll then download the data via the wristwatch to a computer, then email that data to Matt, who’ll then analyse our training. What we try and do is try and train at the same intensity as during a match – that way nothing catches us off guard.”

The man behind this technology-enabled training revolution is Keith Hackett, General Manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited – the organisation that looks after all the referees that are appointed to Premier League and Football League games. “We’re the 21st team in the Premiership,” he declares. ”We have to be able to compete, literally, on a level playing field. If any of my referees fail a fitness test twice, they’re out. Simple as that.”

The fitness test Keith refers to is a standard FIFA assessment that involves:

Eyesight test, (car number plate at 25m)
Two runs of 50m each in less than 7.5 seconds
Two runs of 200m each in less than 32 seconds
A minimum distance run of at least 2,700m in 12 minutes of continuous running

Taken once a season, the test keeps the refs on their toes, as does Keith’s beloved Prozone computer system, which monitors every match in detail. “It breaks down all the distances covered by referees during a game – the speed at which they run, number of sprints, the distance they are from the ball, their area of movement, that sort of thing. One of the things that is also important is that the referee is a good distance from any incident. We again monitor this and get an average. If they’re more than 20 metres from the ball, then they get their arse kicked.” In addition to the computer system, Keith’s invested in compression body suits to aid recovery after matches, a comprehensive diet plan, and of course, Matt Weston’s training regime.

Back on the training ground, we’ve finished the drills and have moved onto speed endurance training. This involves sprinting at 80%-100% intensity over a series of increasing distances, and I’m being run off the park. Even the old boys (Premiership refs can officiate until their 48) are repeatedly breaking away from me and reaching the far penalty box before I’ve crossed the halfway line. There are strictly-timed rest periods in between each sprint, and Matt forces everyone onto the sodden deck for the duration of these. When asked why, he replies (with a slight sadistic twinkle in his eye): “It builds up the lactate in your legs if you sit down and makes it more difficult to run again.” He’s not wrong. It’s murder.

Time and again, I haul my backside off the ground, buddy up with a chap not much younger than my dad, and set off for humiliating 120 metre sprint after humiliating sprint. Thanks to the sheer intensity of the session and Matt’s lactate-stimulating technique, my calves are like footballs and, at the end of the two hour session, are screaming obscenities at me. I’ve never before seen the point of warm downs, but when Matt orders five minutes of static stretching, I enthusiastically adopt the various positions.

As it turned out, there was to be no backslapping in the boozer afterwards; those days are gone. The refs trudged off for a healthy lunch, followed by an afternoon in which each of their performances from the past week were analysed, their heart rate monitor data was dissected and Keith Hackett no doubt dished out a couple of “arse kickings”. And that’s kind of reassuring. The modern game’s too emotive, too important and too commercially valuable for anything less.

REF FACTS

The country’s top referees are employed by the Professional Game Match Officials Board, and receive an annual retainer of £33,000, plus £500 a match.
At local level, the 27,000 refs on the books of the Football Association typically get between £10 and £20 a game, which contributes towards travel, training and kit.
During a match, a typical Premier League referee will cover almost every area of the pitch, apart from the penalty areas (see illustration top right). Compare this with the concentrated movement of a European referee such as Per Luigi Collina (bottom right).
Howard Webb is by far the fittest referee in the UK, he regularly covers more ground (over 13 km per match) than any other player. Mark Clattenburg is the fastest, with a top speed of 9.44 metres/second (Thierry Henry’s average top speed is 9.37 metres/second).
The suggested weekly training routine includes two rest days and sessions given to speed, speed endurance and recovery training. On match day, a referee can expect to burn around 1,250 calories.

Quiz: could you be a ref?

Question 1

A goalkeeper catches a ball in his penalty area that has been thrown in by his team mate. What should the ref do?

A: Nothing. All’s cool.

B: Give the opposition an indirect free kick.

C: Flash the goalkeeper a yellow card and award a penalty.

Question 2

If extra time is necessary, which side kicks off to restart the match?

A: The ref can give it to whichever team he likes.

B: The team which scored last.

C: The captains toss a coin and the losing team kicks off.

Question 3

The mother of all gales is blowing inside the stadium and a goal kick is blown back past the keeper and into the goal. What happens?

A: The opposition’s supporters laugh their nadgers off and a goal is given.

B: The opposition’s supporters laugh their nadgers off and the keeper is booked for witchcraft.

C: The opposition’s supporters laugh their nadgers off and a corner is given.

Question 4

A striker unleashes a shot which clips the top of the referee’s head and deflects past the keeper into the onion bag. What happens next?

A: The ref sends himself off for bias.

B: The goal stands.

C: The game is restarted with a drop-ball from where the shot was taken.

Question 5

What happens if a player makes a mobile phone call while on the pitch?

A: Nothing, he’s free to carry on as long as he doesn't touch the ball.

B: The ref confiscates the phone and then phones his boss, Keith Hackett, to ask for advice.

C: He is booked for unsporting behaviour.

Answers

Q1: B

Q2: C

Q3: C

Q4: B

Q5: C

How did you score?

1 or less correct: Red card.

2-4 correct: Yellow card.

5 correct: Man of the match!

The ref workout

Warm up

Stretch each of the four main leg muscle groups (Achilles tendon, calves, hip flexors, hamstrings) for 25-30 seconds. Repeat each three or four times. Alternatively, five minutes’ slow jogging building up to 80% of maximum heart rate.

Recovery training

Designed for the morning after a Monday night match; cycle for 20 minutes at 60-70% of maximum heart rate. Followed by 15 minutes’ static stretching.

Speed endurance training

Starting from the goal line of a football pitch, run at a constant ‘high speed’ pace (between speed running and sprint running). Keep a constant pace on the runs – the time taken for your last repetition on each set should be the same as the time taken for your first. The first set (of five) should be to the penalty box and back with a 15 second rest between each repetition. The second should be to the halfway line with a 30 second rest, the third to the opposite penalty area with a 45 second rest and the fourth to the opposite goal line with a one minute rest. Sit down during each rest to ensure lactate build up.

Acceleration training

Lean forward with the body straight until you reach a point where you must step forward to catch yourself. At this point you should sprint forward 10 metres. Repeat five times. Note: ensure each step is progressively longer in length when accelerating to gain speed as quickly as possible.

Deceleration training

Place pairs of cones at your start point, 10 metres and 12.5 metres. Accelerate as outlined previously over the first 10 metres then force yourself to come to a stop before the final pair of cones. Train on grass to prevent injury.

Cool down

Five minutes’ jogging/walking, followed by 10 minutes’ static stretching as in warm up.

END