Just as you should have a captain's meeting before a game, you should have a referee meeting. This has a couple of functions, firstly making sure everyone knows their role, who the other referees are, and checking that the snitch referee has an acceptable whistle. It's also a good time to outline your own refereeing style and preferences, such as where you'd prefer your assistants to focus, and whether or not you like them to indicate the fouling team when calling a delayed penalty. Pass on specific things to watch from the tournament (always assume they haven't heard it from someone else, it can never hurt to hear something again), either from the pre-tournament meeting or your own experience of other games. If you're refereeing a team with players who are known for backchat or any other issue, it's good to give a general warning about those things in addition to everything else, but avoid naming names so there aren't any biases from referees going into games. You want them to be looking out for fouls from everyone, not just one specific set of people, and it isn't fair to prejudice them against someone before the game has even started.
The first referee meeting isn't just about the head referee giving a lecture, however. If you aren't the head referee, you can still contribute. You can ask about the things mentioned above if the head referee forgets, and you can also mention any common issues you've seen in other games that you've been involved in; again not naming names if you are refereeing a team for a second time. This is also the time to ask the head referee if you have any concerns about refereeing, the pitch, or anything else to do with the game about to happen. Head referees are encouraged by your responsiveness and your questions - it shows your enthusiasm to do well!
Hopefully I will never have such a cold, grim, muddy referee meeting again. (Samuel Instone)
'Conferences' are often met with a groan from players. They have a reputation for being long, indecisive, and full of irrelevant comments from every single referee on pitch. It doesn't have to be this way, though. For a start, not everything needs a meeting. If, as a head referee, you are confident on the foul you saw and the call to make, you can just award the penalty. This will save you a lot of time. As for delayed penalties, if you didn't see anything as an assistant, then you don't need to contribute anything to the meeting - in fact, there's no requirement for you to go to the meeting. Reducing the number of voices will increase the speed that the foul is adjudicated. This means it is easier for the head referee to know who to ask about which player committed the foul, and what foul was committed. If as an assistant you know the penalty for the foul as well as the previously stated information, then don't be afraid to share it - if you are incorrect then the head referee can overrule you, but it does save them thinking time. In the case of a disagreement between two assistant referees on whether or not a foul occurred, the assistant referee who was closest has seniority over calling it. Try to avoid an argument between referees ensuing; the meeting should be a decision not a discussion. If the assistants disagree on what the foul was, this is less important and they can carry on talking about it in their own time.
My general advice to all referees in meetings is to speak only when necessary, and to use as few words as necessary. You want to be direct, to the point, and get across as much information as possible in the shortest time. Obviously you want to give enough information that the head referee can make the correct decision, but a blow-by-blow account is unnecessary. I, for instance, keep my wishy-washy word-vomit to these blogs. Think how you'd feel as a player: if you think it's taking too long, it's taking too long. Be the referee your inner player would want to be refereed by! (On that sort of note, if you are a player watching a long meeting happen on pitch, be mindful of how difficult the job is, and respect the referees who are in charge - more here.)
Referees also need to communicate outside of meetings during the game. The head referee should always be aware of where the assistant (and snitch) referees are, and obviously react to delayed penalties as fast as possible. This also helps them identify if any referees are struggling or could do with a reminder to do something. I have, as an assistant referee, been reminded to keep moving at times when I've become stuck in a small area, and I was very grateful for that. If you have to say something similar to your assistants, remember to be polite, and tell them quietly rather than shaming them in front of all the players which is more likely to embarrass them and permanently dent their confidence. Also, don't stop play to do this - either do it during a lull in play, or during a separate stoppage. It's quite easy to quickly talk to an assistant referee, but less easy to talk to a goal referee: if you have to get a message to them during active play then you can send an assistant. Just remember to always be respectful to all of your referees on pitch, no matter how well or otherwise they're doing their job, as they are all volunteering their time.
The longest referee meeting of a match is almost always the one after a snitch catch. It makes sense - everyone wants to get the call right, and snitch referees tend to be less confident in their calls than the average head referee. All of the assistant referees need to be in the meeting, along with the snitch and the snitch referee, and this can make for a lot of mouths and a lot of opinions. As a head referee, unless an assistant referee has been calling a delayed penalty, the first thing to do is talk to the snitch referee. In the case of a delayed penalty, it only needs to be addressed first if the catching team committed the foul - if not, it can wait until the adjudication of the snitch catch. The snitch referee should then give their verdict on whether or not the catch is good - their word should be the one relied upon most heavily. If there is contention from the assistant referees, this should wait until after the snitch referee has spoken. The snitch should also be asked, however bear in mind that they may not be qualified as a snitch referee. If the snitch referee is confident it is good then there should be very few circumstances this isn't followed.
A few things may then need to be addressed. If a goal was scored around the same time as the snitch catch, the head referee should decide whether it occurred before or after the snitch referee blew their whistle to call brooms down for the indication of a snitch catch. It isn't to do with when the head referee blew their whistle, if they do to help stop play - officially, play is stopped when the first double whistle blast occurred, and the snitch referee can do this when a catch is made. Regardless of whether the snitch catch is good or not, there needs to be a decision on whether the goal stands. Once these are addressed, the head referee should then check with the assistant referees if they saw any fouls to affect the call (though generally this should be a series of 'no's because anything they had seen should have been called as a delayed penalty), and also about any fouls that the team who did not catch the snitch made so those can be penalised if necessary. As with the general in-game meetings, try and keep everything concise!
If the catch is good and the game has ended, it's also best practice to gather the referee team for a post-game meeting. This is a chance to congratulate everyone, and give feedback where appropriate - as ever, stay polite and encouraging. Positive reinforcement for how any tough calls were dealt with is also very helpful in increasing confidence, and helping those referees cope better in those situations in the future. You can also remind them to write their names on the scorecard, before releasing them into the wild again.
A referee team should be just as strong a team as the playing ones, and communication is key to this. If you have a happy referee team who is confident in each other's abilities, you are much more likely to have a successful and excellently refereed match on your hands.
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