Students Meet FIFA Referee Andre Marriner

Respect in Football was the theme for a recent guest lecture at UCB by Andre Marriner, Select Group / FIFA Referee (pictured with UCB students).

Higher and Further Education students attended to hear about the current Barclays Premier campaign which urges footballers at all levels from grassroots to national teams to ‘Get on with The Game’.

Organised by the Student Guild, Andre’s session opened with a discussion about respect and how the image of the game can be tarnished by people showing a lack of it both on and off the pitch.  With the Premier League being shown in 215 countries worldwide it’s an important issue for those involved in football in the UK to safeguard it’s reputation overseas.

Andre gave an entertaining and informative account of his career as a referee and how his 90 minutes on the pitch is only part of his job which also involves a strict training regime, attending training camps and travel across the UK and overseas.   He very much enjoys being a referee and stressed how crucial the role is in making sure that respect is at the forefront of every match.

A lively question and answer session followed with students keen to find out which player gave the referees most hassle, how do referees deal with bad press, what measures can be put in place to control swearing on the pitch and what was the biggest game Andre had ever refereed.

One student picked up on a decision that Andre had once made in a game and disputed it – this proved the point that Andre was trying to make; that it is all a matter of opinion that has to be made in a split second and he’s only doing his job.

Gregg Johnson, Student Guild president said:

“Andre Marriner is one of only 16 FIFA referees in the UK.  Alongside his work he also visits schools, colleges and clubs giving presentations highlighting the work of a referee.  He gave an excellent talk and our thanks go to him for taking the time to visit UCB”.