Welcome to the January meeting.

I hope you have all made your resolutions and they last slightly longer than an assistant referee who was with me on 2nd January. The certain person broke his resolution in the bar after the game.

I also hope you had an enjoyable Christmas. For Christmas I received David Elleray's book- referee. It is an interesting read although David is quick to point out other referee's short-comings and praises his own ability, good as he may be. There are a couple of extracts I would like to share with you in this article. In one instance David is refereeing a top game in Brazil and is waiting to go out onto the pitch.

"Returning to the dressing room we passed through a group of scantily clad dancing girls who were incredibly attractive and reminded me of those who had danced the samba before the Germany v Brazil match in Stuttgart. They were a fleeting but welcome distraction from the football pressures."

The other extract is a "referees prayer written by Michael Valtrot, a Frenchman on the FIFA Referees Committee:-

Protect the game, the players and the occasion.

Be taken seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.

Don't confuse authority with authoritarianism.

Always put the spirit of the game before the letter of the Law and never forget Law 18, calling for common sense and intelligence.

Football was not invented for referees

There is a great deal of wisdom in these words and something to remember as we move into the new year.

Regards, Alan Budenberg