Rather like playing, being a referee promotes and helps physical health and fitness. But it can also contribute to mental well-being, despite the pressures that inevitably exists on occasions. While in the past the focus has been on fitness, it is now time to give greater attention to mental health which, like physical health, varies not only from person to person but also at different times.
There’s no doubt refereeing can be stressful. But some of the reasons for stress – responsibility, pressurised decision-making, and conflict management – can, with the right support, provide opportunities to increase mental strength and self confidence to cope with stressful situations in all aspects of life. While nerves are often helpful to get the adrenalin flowing to perform well, excess concern/stress can be destructive, physically and mentally. Sometimes, the stress can be too much. So everyone involved in refereeing (and the wider football family) must be more alert to the signs of someone who is not coping. We should all be pro-active to give support and, where appropriate, encourage the person to seek professional help.
As a referee, assistant referee or a referee educator you are not only in an excellent position to focus on and improve your own mental health but also help your colleagues. Mental health improves when you have a support network and while many see refereeing as an isolated occupation (compared to being in a team) there is a wealth of people to assist you formally and informally. A simple chat with a colleague after a game or meeting as a group to train or review your last matches are valuable ways of dealing with the stress that is an inevitable part of refereeing. The key is to recognise stress and develop strategies to cope with it. This includes managing it where you can, alongside being ready to seek support if you feel you need it, or when you are aware of a colleague who appears to need it.
Finally, there’s one thing we want to make clear, which you’ll see repeated several times in these guidance notes: No-one expects referees – or anyone with a voluntary role in football – to become mental health experts. All we want, as the title page of this document suggests, is to help you spot the signs, feel confident to support – and then signpost people to specialist help.