Promotion.

Due to the absence of Stuart Attwell and the presence of my university application, the weeks incidents will have to be left to Keith Hackett (The Guardian) and  Graham Poll ( The Daily Mail ).

However, i now want to explain one of the biggest things that confuses the average football fan. How does that referee in the premier league get to where he is.

There are 9 levels to refereeing actively. 1 being the top, 9 being the bottom. Every referee starts off as a level 9 having passed the original test, they then effectively must referee 6 games competently to be moved to either level 8 (under 16) or level 7 (over 16). It is at this point that the rules differ county by county. To apply for a promotion to either level 6 or level 5 you must in most counties have completed 1 full season at rank Level 7. This isnt the absolute rule set down by wembley and is therefore open to interpretation. From this point , the candidates have to pass a test on the laws of the game (test on football, how hard can that be? ), complete 20 games and pass three assessments with a mark of over 70. This applies until a referee reaches level 4 - here they will do the "middle" in the supply leagues and run the line on the contributory league. A south western example would be - referee - wessex league line - Zammareto league.

Beyond this, promotion and competition, i am reliably assured, becomes tougher. Referees are assessed with much greater regularity and stringency and must be seen to do more than just the minimum. Many factors can help to make a referees face fit ; being young, fit or holding connections,  can help a referee progress from supply to contributory to the conference to the "holy grail" of the football league. Any referee who reaches the football league is seen as the "cream of the crop". However, to reach the "select group", the national list referees must hold age on their side as well as the luck of the draw and the ability to handle the big occasion.

It took Howard Webb 14 years to go from the local leagues to premier league; this is quick but shows talent can be rewarded as soon as it gains the neccessary experience.