Referee: what is it and which are there?

by Joost Nusselder | Updated on:  October 11, 2022

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An umpire is an official who is responsible for ensuring that the rules of a game or competition are followed.

He must also ensure that the players behave in a fair and sporting manner.

Referees are often seen as the most important people in a match because they have the power to make decisions that could affect the outcome.

What is a referee

For example, if a player commits a foul and the referee awards a free kick, this can be the deciding factor in whether or not a goal is scored.

Names in different sports

Referee, judge, arbiter, commissioner, timekeeper, umpire and linesman are names that are used.

In some matches there is only one referee, while in others there are several.

In some sports, such as football, the head referee is assisted by two touch judges who help him decide if the ball has gone out of bounds and which team gets possession if there is a violation.

The referee is often the one who decides when the game or match ends.

He may also have the power to issue warnings or even kick players out of the game if they break the rules or engage in violent or unsportsmanlike conduct.

The job of a referee can be very difficult, especially in high-level matches where the players are very skilled and the stakes are high.

A good umpire must be able to remain calm under pressure and make quick decisions that are fair and unbiased.

The umpire (arbitrator) in sport is the most appropriate person who must supervise the application of the Laws of the Game. The designation is done by the organizing body.

For this reason, there should also be rules that make the referee independent from the organization when their duties conflict.

Usually, a referee may have assistants such as touch judges and fourth officials. In tennis, the chair umpire (chair umpire) is distinguished from the line umpires (subordinate to it).

It is also possible to have several equal referees, for example in hockey, where each of the two referees covers half the field.

Joost Nusselder, the founder of referees.eu is a content marketer, father and loves to write about all kinds of sports, and has also played a lot of sports himself for most of his life. Now since 2016, he and his team have been creating helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with their sports activities.