Referees Department

Referees Department E-Newsletter

3rd Quarter 2019

FIFA Referees Representation

1. International Champions Cup Singapore 2019

The International Champions Cup (ICC) being the world’s premier summer football

tournament, brought the best in football to iconic venues across North America,

Europe, Australia, China and also, Southeast Asia. It counts some of the world’s most

valued football teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid and etc in

its previous editions of the annual tournament. In the 2018 Singapore edition, French

Ligue 1 Champions, Paris Saint. Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid partake in the

tournament at the Singapore National Stadium, which marks their pre-season

preparations.

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In 2019, Manchester United FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Juventus and Inter Milan

participated in the Singapore edition. The tournament featured the opportunity for most

of our FIFA referees and assistant referees in particular referee G.Letchman, assistant

referee Ong Chai Lee and Abdul Hannan who made their first appearances in these

high-profile matches. It definitely provided the referees a platform of new match

experiences and development in their refereeing standards.

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2. AFF Women’s Championship 2019

The AFF Women's Championship is a women's football competition organised by the

ASEAN Football Federation, contested by the national teams of nations in Southeast

Asia. The official tournament started in 2004, hosted by Vietnam and won by

Myanmar.

Our FIFA Women Referee, Ms Abirami Naidu and FIFA Women Assistant Referee,

Ms Rohaidah Nasir, represented Singapore in the 10th edition of the tournament,

which was hosted by Thailand. Their performances in the tournament were recognised

when they were appointed to officiate the final match in which Vietnam were crowned

champions.

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Referees Development

1. FIFA/MA Seminar 2019

The FIFA/FAS MA Referees Seminar 2019 which was held at Jalan Besar Stadium,

was officially opened by FAS President Mr. Lim Kia Tong and was joined by Chairman

of the Referees Committee Mr. Lim Tong Hai. The President addressed the referees

officiating in the top league at the seminar and acknowledged the hard work and

commitment that Singapore referees have been contributing to the local and

international football arena.

FIFA Refereeing Technical Instructor Mr. Valentin Ivanov from Russia and FIFA Fitness

Instructor Mr. Ravichandran from Malaysia, with the support of our local technical and

fitness instructors, steered the seminar programme throughout the five days. The seminar

encompasses latest updates and amendments to the Laws of the Game, tactical fouls,

challenges and match situations during the games. In addition, fitness training session

comprises of Dynamic Yo-yo Exercise and strength training were incorporated by the

fitness instructor.

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Practical training sessions, which involved with the collaboration and partnership of local

youth football team, simulate practical situations with the objective of improving the

skills, positioning and movement of the referees in managing the different situations

near the penalty area. Assistant referees were also tested with offside drills situations

where they were required to do agility exercises along the touch line before taking up

their position in judging the offside offences.

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2. SPL Analysis & Referees Progressive Training

Referees performances in the SPL matches are important as it reflects on the level of

refereeing that the referees’ fraternity has developed. These sessions provided the

feedback of our referee performances for future matches. In particular, coaches and

team managers were also invited to share their opinions and feedback on our SPL

referees so as to have a better understanding between the expectations of the teams

and the referees.

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At the same time, the referees progressive training provides the avenue for the other

classes of referees to share their match experiences and situations they faced in

their respective matches. This platform serve as a sharing session between the

referees to learn from each other for their future benefit.

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3. Futsal Course & Competition

The Under-10 & Under-14 Singapore Pools-Football Association of Singapore (FAS)

Inter-School Futsal Competition 2019 officially kicked off in July to September and

were held in the schools indoor hall with the final being held in OCBC Arena, Kallang.

The tournament not only serves as a platform in developing youth players and

increasing participation at the grassroots level but also in educating, interpreting and

implementing the futsal Laws of the Game accurately. Futsal Laws of the Game

workshop, which was conducted for the referees in July, were put into practice in

this tournament.

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3. FAS Futsal Tournament

In equipping the referees with the latest updates of the Futsal Laws of the Game, a

two days’ workshop of theoretical and practical session was conducted on 28th/29th

June and 1st July respectively at the Jalan Besar Stadium by the local technical

instructors. With the latest developments of futsal tournaments and school

competitions revolving around Singapore, our referees play an important role in

educating, interpreting and implementing the accurate futsal Laws of the Game to the

grassroots and stakeholders.

The workshop which was graced by the FAS Referees Committee Chairman, Mr Lim

Tong Hai and FAS Acting General Secretary, Mr Yazeen Buhari, saw an attendance

of more than 90 referees from the different refereeing classes. It focused more on

the key changes to the futsal laws and practical teamwork, positioning and movement

between the referees in the game.

37 referees from the 2018 batch kicked

off their four-year AFC Referee

Academy programme with the

Introductory Module I at the AFC House

on 8 November 2018. The aspiring elite

referees began their five-day module

with back-to-back practical sessions on

fitness and technicality, before diving in

on theoretical topics such as integrity,

psychology and fitness.

Class 1 Referee Lim Liang Yi and Muhd

Zulfiqar were selected in this course as

they met the pre-requisites for the

referee academy. They were exposed to

more intensive practical sessions as well

as being updated on the latest Laws of

the Game, with quizzes and presentations

to follow. The referees also have the

opportunity to garner insights and

experiences from their respective

referee educators.

4. Referees Basic Course

The 3rd batch of the Referees Basic Course for 2019 was conducted in June. 34

participants signed up for the four-day course and were put through theoretical and

practical sessions by qualified technical instructors. It emphasized on the importance

of understanding football refereeing, correct interpretation and basic application of

the Laws of the Game. Participants were also assessed with theoretical and physical

fitness test at the end of the course.

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Fitness Training Methods

Training 1

15 minutes:

Warming up: jogging and mobility exercises + dynamic stretching

Speed exercise:

o 2 sets of 4 reps.:

skip between cones and sprint 12 m

Recovery between sprints: 45”

o 2 sets of 3 reps.:

agility between cones and sprint 12 m

Recovery between sprints: 60”

o Total distance 168 m

o 5 minutes rest between sets

Cool down: 5 minutes jogging. Static stretching , stabilization and core stability.

Training 2

Recovery session:

30 minutes of low intensity jogging (approx. 70% HR max.)

15 minutes of static stretching exercises (holding stretching positions for 20sec.)

Or

30 minutes recovery session on the swimming pool (aqua jogging with

combination of mobility exercises and static stretching)

Or

30 minutes recovery session on the bicycle.

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Referees in Action

AFF Women’s Championship

Singapore Premier League

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Prepared by:

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Pesta Sukan 2019