Appointments
The society aims to appoint matches one whole month in advance. In order to do this you will be asked to update your availability to be appointed at least one month ahead of the month you are in. Availability is set on your Who’sTheRef profile. To set your availability, follow the below:
• Log on to your profile on whostheref.com
• Go to the ‘Contact Availability’ page
• Under ‘action’ you can either view the calendar using the magnifying glass icon or amend the record by selecting the ‘edit this record’ icon.
• Your availability can be changed in any of four ways: Changing each day, changing every occurrence of a day within a month, changing each week within a month or changing the whole month. If you use the edit icon to edit a whole month then you will see a screen similar to this:
• The system will allow you to indicate when within the day you are available or the type of availability (including able to travel for an exchange). Select the type of availability from the list to indicate your preference. It is also possible to add notes to your calendar to inform your appointer of other information which may be important. This is done at the bottom of the page and can be specific to this month or general across all months until changed/deleted.
• Make sure you save it!
In making appointments the appointments team have the complex task of matching the needs of the particular game and the ability, development and ambition of the referee. They will consider a number of aspects of the potential referee and the particular challenge of the game as well as the basics of the level of the referee and the game. For example a local derby may merit a more experienced, higher level referee or may be the opportunity for a newer referee with potential to demonstrate their capabilities.
Each game to which you are appointed will appear on WTR and you will receive an email from WTR informing you of your appointment. The notification will include details of the type of game (league, friendly, etc.). This includes details of the club if you require to contact them, which you should do to confirm the fixture if you have not heard from them, do not contact the appointments team.
To accept the appointment you can click ‘ACCEPT’ included in the email.
If you need to decline the fixture then please fill in the form on WhosTheRef with your reasons for this.
If you have already accepted the fixture & then need to decline then contact whoever sent you the appointment. This information can be found on the email, above the fixture.
If you do not have an appointment on a day you have indicated as being available you will be considered as being on standby. This means that you may be appointed to a game at shorter notice, to accommodate new fixtures, rearranged games, referee unavailability etc. These appointments can be made up to and including the morning of the game.
When a referee has been appointed to your fixture, the referee contact will receive an email, similar to the below.
Below the top hidden section you will receive the referees email address & below the bottom section is the referees phone number.
It is the home club’s responsibility to liaise with the appointed Match Officials directly to ensure that the Match Officials are aware of the arrangements of the game. We recommend contacting them 48 hours before the game with the following:
• Kick Off Time
• Venue- including postcode
• Changing Facilities availability
• Both team kit colours
• Any other information you believe is needed
Clubs MUST CALL the match official if the game is cancelled/postponed or there are any late changes, text messages are not acceptable.
