Nathan Ridley reports on the importance of officials in Junior football

We often solely focus on the players, managers and supporters in football and the influence they can have over a great game, but these games simply cannot go ahead without the presence of one person – the referee.

Week in week out, rain or shine, the referee’s role simply has to be filled. However, it’s not that easy to just turn up and follow a set of rules, it’s much more difficult than that.

Firstly, the future officials must go through training in order to learn the rules inside out and find out the correct solutions to certain problems that can arise on or off the field.

After being officially qualified by the FA, they’re ready to earn their trade as a referee and most begin in Junior football. It’s not just being involved in football but it also serves as a healthy bit of pocket money for the referees.

Even then, prior to a ball being kicked, a referee must ensure everything is in place for a safe and enjoyable match for everyone despite the pending outcome.

This then leads to the referees being in charge of encouraging fair play throughout the match, so the game cannot be marred by any nasty incidents.

The referees must also cooperate effectively with players, managers and supporters in order to have a successful game. A lot of people see refereeing as a straightforward role but, in reality, it’s anything but.

Officiating games with players who have been playing football seriously for a handful of years comes with its challenges, as well, and the plethora of physical states Junior players find themselves in.

Decisions become more and more concentrated on, and every person involved in the game has an opinion. This leads to more and more debate over decisions the referee has made, making it a tough job.

With the spotlight on the referees every weekend in the Premier League and other leagues up and down the country, many people would let the chance to be a qualified referee pass them by. However, the more referees the country has, the better all referees will become overall.

It’s a fantastic way to stay involved in football and comes with many perks. It firstly improves decisiveness and control over a group of people as you are in charge of a lot of what goes on in a football match.

The complexity of the job means you will learn to be extremely adaptable too and comfortable in numerous situations and contexts.

This all leads to a stronger character and gives invaluable experience to anyone who decides this could be a role that’s right for them.

As well as all these, you can also be promoted to senior football refereeing and, from there, earn more and more promotions with more qualifications and can eventually become a professional.

For example, Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg, who was born not so far away from Cumbria in Consett, County Durham, began his career in the amateur leagues in the 90s and, by the age of 30 in 2006, he became a top flight referee after moving up the leagues.

He was recognised by FIFA as he was listed by them to officiate many international fixtures in a number of different countries, making him one of the world’s most high profile referees.

This year gave the official the almost perfect treble of refereeing the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace, the Champions League final between Madrid giants Real and Athletico and finally the Euro 2016 final between Portugal and hosts France.

Referees will always be in the spotlight for the decisions they make and they are far from faultless but they are human.

Most frustration comes from our passion to win and sometimes it’s useful to put yourself in the referee’s shoes next time a decision arises that you may not agree with.

We all want what’s best for our game and the significance of their role should be given the upmost respect by all football fans. In this case, having a go at refereeing in local Junior football certainly isn't the right decision.