San Marino football: referees’ pre-season gathering held last weekend at San Marino Stadium

As is customary, the refereeing group of San Marino football assembled at full strength on the weekend before the opening matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese. At the San Marino Stadium, on 23 and 24 August, the Associazione Sammarinese Arbitri (ASA) organised the pre-season referees’ training camp.

The programme, which ran throughout the whole of Saturday and continued until Sunday’s lunch – effectively closing the two-day event – opened on the track at San Marino Stadium. Under the guidance of fitness coach Simone Savoretti, San Marino’s referees and assistant referees held a training session and underwent a series of fitness tests. The camp was officially opened by FSGC President Marco Tura and General Secretary Luigi Zafferani, followed by greetings from Maria Persson – representative of the UEFA Referee Convention Panel.

The San Marino match officials then moved on to classroom work, following presentations by ASA speakers that ranged from the latest amendments to the Laws of the Game to an in-depth look at the technical and operational protocol, as well as the crucial aspect of communication within the appointed refereeing team of four. After the joint lunch, there were the customary Laws of the Game quizzes and a brief focus on the training schedule and pre-match warm-up. In the afternoon, the referee observers headed to the Ezio Conti in Dogana to watch Cesena v Perugia (matchday three of the group stage in the inaugural San Marino Talent Cup), officiated by an ASA team of four, whose performance was later reviewed in a dedicated briefing.

A welcome addition to the agenda was the informal visit of former international referee Nicola Rizzoli, who spent time with the San Marino refereeing team, sharing the challenges and highlights of his outstanding career – which culminated in taking charge of the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.