Referees: pre-season training camp at the weekend, international assignments for Ilie, D’Adamo and Vandi

The week just gone has been an intense one on the refereeing front. Looking first at what took place within San Marino, the traditional A.S.A. pre-season camp was held between Friday and Saturday ahead of the forthcoming football season. The programme, hosted at San Marino Stadium, opened on Friday with an introduction by A.S.A. President Marcello Busignani and greetings from the FSGC leadership – specifically President Marco Tura and Secretary General Luigi Zafferani. This was followed by an update on the latest changes to the Laws of the Game, a reinforcing quiz, and presentations by Christian Brighi and Stefano Podeschi on DOGSO, SPA and teamwork. The early fixtures of Matchday 1 of the Campionato Sammarinese then provided – in particular for the observers’ group – an opportunity for a practical on-field session. The following morning those same matches were the subject of a detailed review led by instructors Cenci and Podeschi, while Ascari and Brighi focused on referee movement and positioning on the pitch. Simone Savoretti, fitness coach for the San Marino refereeing team, spoke about pre-match warm-ups as well as appropriate training methods and fitness tests. To round things off, Mattei and Cenci offered an in-depth look at offside and handball.

Turning to international duties – and to futsal – there were two refereeing assignments abroad last week. Murata were in Hungary for Group D of the Preliminary Round of the UEFA Futsal Champions League, while Group A featured Laurentiu Ilie representing San Marino’s colours. In Austria, the A.S.A. referee took charge on 26 August of Vrhnika v Maccabi Netanya as second referee and Proekt v Athletic Club Graz as third referee; on 27 August, Proekt v Vrhnika as first referee and finally, on 29 August, Maccabi Netanya v Proekt as second referee. San Marino’s other international futsal referee, Daniele D’Adamo, was instead in Cascia together with Paolo Vandi for the C.A.N. 5 Élite gathering. In the classroom alongside the two A.S.A. officials was the very best of the Italian futsal refereeing scene. Here too, similar to the San Marino referees’ camp, there was a comprehensive briefing ahead of the imminent season. Common guidelines were discussed, along with amendments to the Laws of the Game (Serie A will trial a new format for the so-called flying goalkeeper) and ethical principles. Participants were also put through quizzes and video quizzes, bringing the three-day meeting (27 to 29 August) to a close with a double working session: on-field for the referees, in the classroom for the observers.