Local football official Paul Richards shares his views from the eyes of a referee in his final article of the season.
Palace were looked to be undone by another penalty as referee Michael Oliver penalised Scott Dann for handball.
In my view, it was a penalty. The challenge on Jason Puncheon was not and yes, £30 million buys you a push on a defender and nothing else all season.
Today I would like to talk about the career progression of a football official.
I have very real aspirations of officiating at either Conference or League 2. At the moment I am a level seven but to achieve the dream I need to reach at least level four which I am expecting to take a minimum of three years. To make such a progression I need to take exams and practical tests as well as the much dreaded fitness test.
A distance of 2600 metres without stopping followed by two fifty metre sprints on the same day. I am thinking of switching to Quorn mince and a training session with Mo Farah! Perhaps I should just lay off the beer instead and stop thinking that by playing FIFA is giving me the exercise I need and I should be fine.
Personally, I have had a great season. Loved every minute of it. From getting assaulted on my second ever game to officiating behind enemy lines at The Den last Sunday to running the line in a cup final at Tooting and Mitcham.
I am often asked why I enjoy it and it is something I still cannot explain to people.
It has certainly taught me a lot about the game and I am no longer that ‘the referee is rubbish’ kind of person. More one that can now explain why a decision has or has not been made or happened in that particular way.
It has kind of made watching football a little mediocre for me as I am unlikely to criticise the officials knowing what I know now. It has been a season of mistakes from even the best referees so all I can wish for next season is for improvements to be made by all involved and to keep progressing.
I certainly hope to keep progressing in my bid to become the best official I can be. Hopefully I have provided even a small insight through my TEB articles this season so thank you for reading. See you all in August!
We thank Paul for his contribution to the site this season and look forward to his return refreshed and ready for all the joys that 2015/16 will no doubt bring us – Ed
