UEFA Centre of Refereeing Excellence (CORE) coach Peter Jones from England was recently in Malta to observe closely the Maltese Elite match officials currently under his mentorship, namely referees Alan Mario Sant and Fyodor Zammit, and assistant referees Mitchell Scerri, Luke Portelli and Emanuel Grech.
In collaboration with the Malta FA Referees’ Department under the headship of Adrian D. Casha, Peter Jones was able to assess the level and progress of refereeing of the Maltese match officials under his guidance in two FA Trophy Quarter-Final matches played at the National Stadium, namely Valletta vs Rabat Ajax and Balzan vs Qormi.
Both matches were filmed by MFA Cameraman Mario Pisani for a detailed analysis to be carried out by Peter Jones on the following day in a monthly instructional meeting for Elite and Category One Match Officials at the Conference Hall of the Referees’ Department in Ta’ Qali. Peter Jones expressed positive impressions about the level of refereeing in Malta and promised his support to the Maltese referees under his care in their development to become better match officials.
Meanwhile an Assistant Referees’ Workshop for International, Elite, National & Academy Assistant Referees was recently organised by the Malta FA’s Referees’ Department with the participation of UEFA Assistant Referees’ Coach Adriaan Inia from Holland.
In a brief introduction to the workshop spread over two days, Director of Refereeing Adrian D. Casha thanked Adriaan Inia for accepting to conduct the first ever assistant referees’ workshop and appealed to the 30 assistant referees present to make the most of this great learning opportunity. Referees’ Committee members and Premier League observers were also present for this event.
Theoretical sessions were held at the new Referees’ Department and the practical sessions were held at the Centenary Stadium. Classroom sessions consisted of technical instructions focusing on positioning and the “wait and see” approach when judging offside situations, including a video test. Small group discussions of match incidents with the use of laptops were also carried out.
The outdoor practical exercises were filmed and participants were able to view their decisions instantly after each set of exercises on a big TV screen set up purposely for the event. The MFA Assistant Referees’ Expert Philip Agius assisted Adriaan Inia in the hands on evaluation of the assistant referees’ positioning, movement and decision making.
Lunch at the Technical Centre was provided for all participants.
In his closing address, Adrian D. Casha remarked that this first ever event formed part of the Malta FA’s commitment to use a substantial amount of the UEFA Referees’ Convention Funds in fine tuning the level, skill and competence of local match officials. He also remarked that the organisation of this first ever workshop proved that assistant referees are not considered to be second best by the Malta FA Referees’ Department because they play a vital role in the efficient handling of matches.
Adriaan Inia praised the Malta FA for the excellent organisation and the participants for their optimum participation. He also promised his support to Philip Agius in the organisation of monthly practical sessions and the continued development of Maltese assistant referees.
Photos (3-4): Copyright © domenic aquilina