welcomed as our 'Guest Speaker'.
Nigel is actively involved in Referee Development, working as a Referee Support Officer
and Referee Academy Director for Cheshire FA, as well as being an FA CORE Coach and
operating as a Level 4 Referee.
Nigel delivered two excellent presentation's:
1. Making Decisions: On the Pitch & in Life
2. V.A.R for Beginners
1. Making Decisions on the Pitch & in Life
This engaging session invited those present to assist the qualities and attributes needed to make decisions both
on the field of play as football referees but also in everyday life. As an example, Nigel drew on his own experience
as one of the founding members of the management team at Pets at Home and the personal decisions involved
in expanding the business. Those present were then split into groups and each given a range of variables that
are integral to good decision making on the field of play (e.g. fitness, positioning, body language etc.) and asked
to rank these in a pyramid formation, with each group feeding back why they rated the attributes in the order that
they had chosen to do so. Then, the groups watched a series of clips, and discussed what elements of good
decision making were present in the way Match Officials had dealt with particular situations.
2. V.A.R for Beginners
This presentation covered one of the most topical issues of discussion in football at present- Video Assistant
Refereeing. Nigel delivered an informative presentation in which he outlined the four instances which V.A.R
can be used to support the on-field work of match officials- mistaken identity, straight red card offences, offside
and penalty decisions and the protocol involved in using the system- when a 'clear and obvious error' has been
made. Those present also watched a PGMO video that gave an insight into how Select Group Referee's were
trained to use VAR. After this Nigel, along with those present, debated the use of VAR in trial games thus far,
with the advantages and potential problems of the system being discussed.
Everyone present greatly enjoyed the evening and the interactive nature of the session. A vote of thanks
was given to Nigel for his excellent presentations.
Our next Social Evening takes place on Thursday 22nd February 2018, with ex-Football League Referee
and FA Coach/Assessor George Cain as our 'Guest Speaker'.