As in recent years, Maltese officials were invited to attend the annual FIFA / UEFA Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) courses, this time in the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus.
Referees’ Fitness Coach Ronald Zammit, and Senior Referee Instructors Adrian D. Casha and Gaetano De Gabriele, attended two such specialised and intensive four-day courses together with representatives from the other 52 UEFA member associations.
The information and latest teaching material and practical methods presented by the RAP instructors was really interesting for participants and for onward transmission to referee instructors, referee observers and referees in each respective country.
The course for fitness instructors attended by Ronald Zammit covered a variety of subjects, such as new trends in referees’ training and testing, recovery strategies, injury prevention, strength & core-stability training, web-based monitoring of Elite Referees and on-and-off field training for additional assistant referees (AARs).
The course for technical instructors attended by Adrian D. Casha and Gaetano De Gabriele included analysis of match situations and feedback, roles and responsibilities of additional assistant referees (AARs), freekick management, challenges – correct level of punishment and practical activities discussing a variety of topics namely severity of the offence, advantage, positioning, dissent, confrontation, handball, illegal use of the arms/holding, simulation, and management control issues.
A practical session on the field of play was also held, with special reference to the role of the AARs and their cooperation with the referee.