The idea of former professional footballers becoming officials is catching on with Gregor Robertson looking into how it could help the game. This new thing could help players and refs understand each other better and make officiating better in football. Manchester United’s work with young players is kind of similar to this new way of thinking.
- Former players got real experience that helps them be good officials.
- Changing from player to ref needs lots of training and thinking different.
- This new thing fits with other big changes happening in football.
Transitioning from Player to Official
People in football have always wondered about players becoming refs after they retire. Times Sport just wrote about it, and now it’s finally getting somewhere. Gregor Robertson wrote about how these people get ready and train bringing all their playing experience to being refs. Everyone thinks this is going to help make games run better and help with making calls on the field.
With their unmatched first-hand experience, the idea that former professional footballs could be good officials has been advanced for decades
Now @GregorRoberts0n meets those preparing to finally make it happen ⬇️
— Times Sport (@TimesSport)
March 26, 2025
Challenges and Opportunities
Even though having ex-players as refs could be really good there’s some hard stuff to figure out. They got to learn a lot and change how they think about the game from being a player to being a ref. Even with these problems everyone thinks it’ll make the game better and help with making decisions. This fits in with other big changes in football like when Sir Jim Ratcliffe put money into Manchester United to help with training grounds and young players.
Implications for Football’s Future
Having former players as refs could really change how football works. Like how Manchester United with Ruben Amorim is really into helping young players get better this ref thing could do the same for officiating. How they helped Mason Mount when he was hurt which you can read about in Mount’s struggles and Amorim’s support at Manchester United shows how the club wants to get better and try new things. This new way of doing refs could change how football runs and grows.
