David Ager has been a qualified soccer referee for nearly 40 years in addition to being a FA Licensed Instructor and Assessor of Referees. Simply put, he is the perfect choice to write a referee’s manual and he did just that with The Soccer Referee’s Manual from Bloomsbury.
Ager did a masterful job creating a reference for referees of all levels. This is great for the beginner who is officiating youth games, but it is also excellent as a refresher for referees at the collegiate and pro levels. It’s even good for fans that want to understand the game from a different perspective, that of the referee. You might want to know why a call was made or whether or not the officiating crew made a mistake. You’ll know for sure after reading this.
Literally everyone would benefit from reading this title. There is no question of that.
This is the sixth edition, which means it is completely current and updated. You’ll find FIFA’s most recent Laws of the Game (37 pages worth to be exact), guidance into current expectations for referees, insights into the FA’s referee training program, and over 100 Q&As. It’s the perfect length at 192 pages, which is informative and not overwhelming at the same time.
It’s surprisingly interactive, certainly more than you would expect from a handbook. You’ll find discussion questions, activities, and tons and tons of graphics. It is so good that you could teach a class from it.
ISN readers get a 30% discount on this title by visiting bloomsbury.com/soccerref and entering the code REF30. The code is valid through March 31, 2016.
