Hugh Dallas, the UEFA Refereeing Officer, was recently in Malta to oversee work being carried out by the MFA Refereeing Department.
Dallas visited the Referees Academy and also discussed various matters of related interest with officials from the Malta FA Referees’ Committee.
The former FIFA referee gave a very positive feedback about the refereeing set-up and standard of local match officials during a brief meeting he had with MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo.
During his stay, Dallas monitored six refereeing teams in action at BOV Premier League matches and conducted a seminar for referee observers and a technical meeting with match officials.
Prior to the seminar, four UEFA Observer Reports without assessment marks were sent to referee observers to evaluate and submit a mark and level of difficulty for each match official.
After going through the reports submitted, Dallas outlined the importance of good judgment and uniformity in observations being carried out.
He also spoke about the role of each match official, the de-brief after the match, review of the DVD of the match, and the referees’ observer report itself. He repeatedly remarked that “referee observers are the referees’ teachers” apart from “being the eyes of the association”.
The technical meeting, staged at a packed Centenary Hall, was Dallas’s main encounter with all categories of match officials and referee observers.
“Malta brings special memories to me as this was the place where my international career took off in 1993,” Dallas told those present.
“Match after match, year after year, and ten years later I was a fourth official with Pierluigi Collina at the 2002 World Cup final.”
Dallas discussed the offside rule, the introduction of additional assistant referees and match incidents from the BOV Premier League match between Qormi and Sliema Wanderers.
At the end of the technical meeting, Director of Refereeing Adrian D. Casha thanked Dallas for his support and excellent presentations.
“Hugh Dallas’s visit is the highlight in events organised by the Refereeing Department this year,” Casha remarked.
Charles Agius, chairman of the MFA Referees’ Committee, presented a memento to Dallas on the occasion of his visit to Malta.
Dallas expressed his best wishes to everyone and remarked: “The Malta FA refereeing set-up and organisation currently in place is a shining example for other national associations within UEFA to follow.”