End of a season... end of a career

Another football season has come to an end and another referee has hung up his boots.

Lawrence Sammut has been an MFA referee since 1981.

He controlled 200 Premier League matches but has now decided to give up the whistle in top matches to concentrate more on running the Malta Football Referees Association. He has been president for the past two years.

Lorry, as he is popularly known, is by virtue of his office a member of the Referees Board and, so, already knows the ins and outs of football administration when it comes to referees and refereeing.

I have no doubt that Sammut will continue to serve the refereeing community in retirement as he did both locally and internationally for 25 years - no mean feat.

Season 2005/06 had its refereeing ups and downs but the ups far outweighed the downs.

Naturally, people only seem to talk about the Premier League but we must remember that referees start in the Youth League and make their way up the ladder to reach the Premier and a select few the FIFA Panel of Referees or A/Referees.

Many young referees have made their mark in all divisions and the Referees Board always takes these things into consideration when making decisions on such matters such as promotions.

The Board relies on Match Inspector reports and the personal assessment which is made by members of the Board who regularly attend matches in all divisions.

The Malta FA Referees Board does not take the summer off. In fact, in the first week of August the annual three-day meeting with a top FIFA/UEFA lecturer in attendance ensures that referees are kept up to date with any changes to have taken place in the Laws of the Game, however minimal they may be.

All referees get circulars regarding any changes or guidelines but these are not enough. Throughout the season meetings are held where our lecturers guide referees and the cherry on the cake is the presence of a senior lecturer from overseas.

Our lecturers have all been through the mill and have international experience which they pass on to local referees.

With the World Cup coming up, let's all have a look at the referees and assistants chosen for this fantastic tournament.

I assure you that many will acknowledge that our referees may not have been selected for Germany but they are as good, if not better, than some officiating there.