This Saturday I refereed 3 soccer games. I recently passed my licence test for my level 8 refereeing licence. I wanted to become a ref for the money but also for the good of the game. As I found out, refereeing is much harder than a player or a fan may think. I was refereeing girls club games, not exactly the highest level of soccer. But after 3 games of chasing the game around the pitch, making dead out sprints as well as standing around, I gained an appreciation for refs. Although I now have more respect for them, chances are I will still harass them and get red cards. But I will at least be able to acknowledge (after I have cooled down) that they were just doing their job. So many refs nowadays are looked at as being pathetic old men. This is partly true because most are old men. But without them we cannot play. We don’t have to like what they do or how they do it, but lets show them some respect for them taking all of our abuse. Any soccer player, football player or basketball player can tell you all the times they have yelled at the top of their lungs at an official. We have all had refs who don’t know which end of their whistle to blow. But without them standing out their (they don’t usually run) we don’t get to play. So let us thank them for their service, and then continue yelling at them.