Real Referee Shoes

As referees, I think it is time we get realistic about our footwear selection.  Selecting a pair of shoes to referee in is difficult as there just aren't many shoes available that meet both our cosmetic and performance requirements.
So what makes a good referee shoe?  We have to worry about two broad categories of requirements.  First, the shoe has to look appropriate for a referee.  If you refer to the Referee Administrative Handbook, you'll find a section called "Standards of Dress and Appearance Official U.S. Soccer Federation Referee Uniform."  In that section, appropriate referee shoes are described as follows:

"BLACK SHOES: (may have white manufacturers design) with black laces"

There isn't much room for interpretation in that.  Our shoes must be black, but can have some white in them.
Regarding performance, I want to address a myth here.  I think we would all agree that we are not players.  We have no reason to kick the ball.  So why do we often wear shoes designed for players?  Players don't normally run more than 1 game in a day.  I have often done 7 in a day.  Player shoes are designed for touch on the ball.  We don't kick the ball, ever.  Player shoes should be light weight, so they often don't have much in the way of comfort features.  Wearing player shoes as a referee never made much sense to me.  Yes, we require some traction on wet fields.  That said, I think a referee shoe needs to be more like a trail running shoe, supporting our primary active on the field...running. It is really tough to find a pair of shoes that meet these criteria.  There just aren't a lot of shoes that come in black anymore.  There are plenty of trail running shoes I could use for refereeing, but few come in black.  I have never found a pair of turf or soft ground shoes that had any kind of comfort features. They often have no support and no cushion.

My referee shoe

I was discussing this problem with my sons and they pointed out NikeID.com.  Nike Id is a program offered by Nike, the shoe manufacturer.  The program allows the creation of semi-custom shoes by the customer.  The website allows you to select from a subset of the various Nike products, customize the product features and then order your creation.
Pictured, you will see the referee shoe I created.  It is a Nike Air Pegasus+ running shoe.  I added a trail running outsole and a "trail mesh" upper.  I then selected black for most of the colors, with the exception of the company logo and the sock liner.  I even added my initials to the tongue, in place of the Nike logo.  I visited a local retailer to try on a similar model to confirm my size.  It seems this model sizing runs similar to other running shoes.
It took about 2-3 weeks for the shoes to be manufactured and delivered.  First, I wore them around the house and out on a few errands to break them in a little.  To be honest, they really didn't need it.  They were comfortable from the moment I put them on.
I used them for 4 games this past weekend.  I really like them.  My feet didn't hurt as much as they often do after a bunch of games.  The shoes are really light and have great arch support and cushioning (maybe a little too much for me?)  The fabric seems like it will clean up easy.  The build quality of the shoe seems excellent.
The price of this particular model was $115.  At first, I thought that was kind of expensive.  After all, you can get other "referee shoes" for $70 or $80.  Then it occurred to me that I pay about $130 for my running shoes, and I buy 2 or 3 pairs of those in  a year.  When you look at it that way, it is a pretty good deal.

Why do they call them "Free Kicks" anyway?

I managed to have a 3-game day last weekend.  I was on a crew with 2 young referees.  Both did a fine job.
Generally, I try to offer new referees some help with things I notice during a game.  It is usually along the lines of "You're doing a great job.  You might want to keep an eye on..."  Some new referees are not willing to hear this and completely ignore it.  If you are one of those guys, realize it is a team effort.  Any feedback for improvement is useful.  You can accept or reject input from other referees.  That's your choice, but do so at your own peril.  Most referees have something to offer you for improvement.
It's frustrating when other referees are not following the rules of the competition, or the Laws of the Game, for that matter.  It makes life more difficult for everyone. I understand we often do games from several different leagues and many different tournaments.  How often do you actually read the rules of the competition?  As a referee, you often work your league games for the same league and assignor for many years.  Do you try to read the rules for your league at least once a season?   You must!  Leagues are always changing rules in very subtle ways.  Every week, I will hear things from coaches related to these rule changes.  In some cases, the rules did not change.  However, last week's referee is getting the league rules confused with some other league or tournament they have worked.  For example, the league I work has slightly different rules for throw ins in the short-sided games.  Players get one retake for a foul throw before the ball turns over to the opponent.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had coaches tell me that "last weeks referee" didn't do it that way.  I re-read the rules of the competition.  This is how our league wants to game played.  Go, right now, and download your league's rules.  They are usually found on the leagues web site.  Give them a quick read and follow them to the letter!

I had some interesting issues with free kicks in a U-14 boys game.  In the first 10 minutes, I called a foul at mid-field.  As a side note, I am one to encourage quick free kicks.  I will often point to the spot of the foul and start moving away, keeping my eyes on the attackers in case they want the ceremonial free kick.  In this case, as I'm moving away, 2 defenders set themselves up maybe 6-7 yards from the ball.  The attackers take the kick, but as they do, one of the defenders lunges forward, blocking the kick.  I immediately stopped play, signaled for a retake and cautioned the players.  Some thought that was harsh, but there is this from "Advice to Referees:"

On the other hand, when the attacking team has exercised the option to restart play quickly and the opponent closer than the required distance moves toward the ball and performs an act that makes a difference in the play, such as blocking the kick, that player has committed an offense that must be dealt with firmly in accordance with the Law. After the referee has cautioned the failure to respect the required distance, the original free kick must be retaken as required by Law 13.

Clearly, we are to caution this behavior based on this writing.
Later in the game, I had a very similar situation.  In this case, it was a delaying the restart as the attackers never tried to put the ball in play.  The player (from the same team incidentally) was maybe 5 yards from the ball.  As the attacker started to run up for the kick, the defender stuck his foot out. The attacker pulled up.  I whistled and tested the player for his ability to identify the color yellow.  Turns out he saw it just fine.  I was a little surprised the lesson had not been learned, but they are 14 year-olds.
Speaking of free kicks, I had a situation that you coaches out there might want to consider.  A red attacker came free around halfway.  He dribbles straight in on goal.  The goalkeeper comes out to meet him just outside the penalty area.  The attacker attempts to flick the ball over the keeper as the keeper slides in front of him.  The keeper does make contact so I call the foul (yes, I considered DOGSF.  Too far out in my opinion), point to the spot and start moving away as the attacker looked like he would go quickly.  He's caught the defense napping.  He puts the ball down, takes a few steps back...and his coach tells him to wait!  Wow!  This was an easy goal.  The keeper had not moved back into the goal quickly.  The attacker would have just kicked the ball into the net.  From a referee view point, this is why we encourage the free kick. When you award a free kick, get out of the way and see if the players want to go quickly.

New US Soccer Website

The US Soccer Federation has launched a new website. It looks pretty nice, but there's a good chance I have some broken links in my blog, so let me apologize for those in advance. If you find any, please send me email.
There are some improvements. It's easier to get to some of the "more traveled" materials for referees. Here are just a couple links of interest:

• Week in Review


• Referee Directives


• Position Papers

Check out the new site and see what you think!