Referee Update - 27/06/2025

Welcome to our second update of the season! We are now approaching the end of June and this means that pre-season fixtures will start to come about and of course any changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2025/26 season will now be in place. These are below for those that need to refresh their minds on the latest law changes. 

Referee Registration

We are progressing well with registrations, so far we have 288 officials registered for the new season, this includes 23 individuals from our Female only course in June. Please remember that you must be registered for the 2025/26 season in order to referee any sanctioned fixture either friendly, pre-season or competitive. 

You can register now by visiting the REFEREE PORTAL and please remember that you need to have your safeguarding for all completed and in date, If not then you can complete that course HERE for free. 

Also any match officials that referee in youth football and are over the age of 16 must have a valid DBS check to register, these are £11 and can be obtained yourself by visiting HERE for guidance. 

Referee Promotion

We are now taking expression of interests from match officials who wish to get promoted to the next level. Details of the Referee Progression Pathway can be found HERE Should you be interested and wish to express an interest, please email referee@middlesexfa.com directly. 

The closing date for applications for promotions is July 31st 2025 and then the next window will not open again until October 2025. 

Below is a list of match officials that achieved promotion in Middlesex County FA! Congratulations to everyone! 

DBS (Criminal Record Checks)

A couple of weeks ago we shared information about the new DBS checking process. This is a reminder that anyone over the age of 16 that officiates in U18 matches and below must have a valid DBS check. These checks are £11 (those referees that are new complete one on their course) and once received are valid for three years. 

Details of how to apply for a DBS check can he found HERE

Match Official Academy Programme

On Monday evening at Ashford Town FC, our Referee Department held our Assessment Day for our first season of the newly branded Match Official Academy Programme. We had around 30 individuals attend and undertake the assessment of a Level 4 fitness test, Laws of the Game exam and a Clip Analysis session. We had a team of Middlesex FA Developers & Coaches present to assist oversee the evening and now we will review the results from the individuals and will select a group of officials that will form part of our first season long programme that will be focused on developing match officials further and aiding them with their progression within the game. 

The group of officials will meet on a monthly basis in and around the County. They will be tested each month on their Law knowledge and also spend time completing practical sessions including fitness work, theory sessions, clip analysis and match reviews. 

U18 Yellow Armbands

Last week the FA announced that they are launching a national campaign where all match officials under the age of 18 will be issued with a Yellow Armband to identify that they are under the age of 18 to any participants in fixtures that they are refereeing. 

The FA are sending out these armbands to County FA's and we expect to receive these in July. Upon receiving them we will communicate with all U18's and detail the process for ensuring they are handed out to match officials across the County FA. 

Laws of the Game Changes

There have been several Law changes for the 2025/26 season and it's important that everyone is aware of these. We have detailed the changes below;

Law 3 - The Players

Competitions have the option of implementing the 'Only the captain' guidelines.

Law 5 - The Referee

Signal to be used by referees to count down the last five seconds of the eight-second restriction on goalkeepers controlling the ball with their hand(s)/arm(s). 

Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play - Dropped Ball

If, when play was stopped, the ball was:

- Inside the penalty area - the ball is dropped for the defending team goalkeeper in their penalty area. 

- Outside the penalty area - the ball is dropped for a player of the team that has or would have gained possession if this is clear to the referee; otherwise, it is dropped for a player of the team that last touched it. The ball is dropped at its position when play was stopped.   

Law 9 - The Ball in and our of Play

Indirect free kick and no disciplinary sanction when a team official, substitute, or substituted or sent-off player or player who is temporarily off the field of play touches the ball as it is leaving the field of play and there is no intention to interfere unfairly. 

Law 11 - Offside

When the goalkeeper throws the ball, the last point of contact should be used for the purpose of determining an offside position.

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

A goalkeeper who controls the ball with their hand(s)/arm(s) for more than eight seconds will be penalised, with a corner kick being awarded to the other team. 

Law 16 - The Goal Kick

Reference to other Laws detailing situations which result in a goal kick. 

Law 17 - The Corner Kick

Reference to other Laws detailing situations which result in a corner kick. Kick to be taken from the corner area nearest to the goalkeeper's position when penalised. 

Full details of all Law Changes can be found including additional wording HERE

Help Articles

Within this platform we are in the process of building several help articles that will aid and support you throughout the season, giving you answers much more faster than waiting for email responses and having the answers at your finger tips is sometimes what you need! 

Check out our Referee related articles here now and let us know what you think! If there's anything that you feel were missing then let us know at referee@middlesexfa.com 

REFEREE ARTICLES