For Ref's Sake! - The podcast for football referees everywhere!

A couple of weeks ago we called out the admin of Whitworths FC for bashing a referee! Did we think he would come on? No! But here he is talking refereeing, what he would like to see and how social media can play its part. A great chat and proof that we can all work together in football!

Wayne Chalmers never wanted to be a referee but 25 years later, he is still loving being involved in football. He talks about his journey in football and how the loss of his daughter Daisy in 2018, impacted his mindset and set him on the way to creating his own charity. He shares some amazing stories and how the friendships he made kept him going through the hardest of times.

A few months ago , Mateo was on the 5-4 pathway in Northamptonshire. Fast forward and he is in the 43 degree heat of Perth, Western Australia. He is already making waves by joining a development group but how does his refereeing differ from the UK? Find out in this episode!

Finn White was your average teenage referee. Wanting to pick up a few quid for pocket money before realising that picking up the whistle was a passion. Finn discusses his journey from mini-soccer to now passing on his own advice to fellow referees. He also talks about the tough decision about playing and refereeing and deciding which one will take precedence. Eventually!

Jake Sharpe plays Sunday football in Northamptonshire but his day job is talking football and sometimes that includes refereeing. This week he joins us to talk about grassroots referees and his thoughts on how refereeing could be improved on a local and national level. Jake also works for BBC Northampton and rubs shoulders with Pete Walton on a regular basis. What has he learnt and what are his th...

After some gentle persuasion, Gav Mack returns to the podcast. We spoke to Gav in Season 1 when he was an ex-referee and now he has returned... and he has a whistle in his mouth (not during the interview). Gav talks to us about why he has returned and how his outlook on refereeing has changed since the first time he pulled on the shirt! As usual, the boys also discuss all the latest talking points...

Callum has been involved in football for many years and now has moved onto big things with the FA. However, he was tempted to take up the whistle and now he has his sights set on promotion. He is also great at losing his whistle!

Don't just book it, Thomas Cooke it! This week we are talking to the beautiful specimen that is Tom Cooke. He started off as a goalkeeper, taking it America on his travels and ended up as a National List Assistant, a little by accident. He talks to us about his future aspirations and the changes he made to get to the level he is operating at now.

Dan reached Level 4 at an early age and reached level 2B some years later. So what convinced him to become a specialist assistant and sacrifice that opportunity of moving forward as the man in the middle? Dan talks about having a certain Mr Scott as an assistant in the early days and how he has used his own mindset to make it up to the Select Group 2. He gives us tips and thoughts about how perfor...

Coming from great football 'stock,' Oakley Major-Howard has taken up the whistle to learn more about the laws of the game. But now refereeing plays a huge part in his life and with support from his family, he is flourishing. Oakley talks about the benefits he has found in his life from refereeing and his Mum Polly joins us to talk about the support and networks Oakley has built from his ti...

At the age of 58, most officials are considering hanging up the whistle. But then we meet Mick Matthews. Mick's football career saw him banging in the goals at local level before becoming club assistant for Blisworth. A few years later he was tempted to take up the whistle legitimately and now spends most of his weekend supporting grassroots football from the middle of a football pitch. What i...

We welcome back Andy Humphries onto series 2. During our previous chat, Andy was a level 2B. Fast forward 12 months and he is enjoying life on the National League Prem. But what were the changes he made to get there and how is he finding life at the level? An open and honest chat that every aspiring referee should listen to. The boys also have plenty to talk about from the weekend's shenanigan...

Sam O'Sullivan-Barker tried refereeing 10 years ago and ended up being assaulted. Fast forward to 2024 and he is a coach, a broadcaster and now, thanks in part to the Nene League, has taken the steps to becoming a match official. What made him do it and how did his first venture into refereeing adult football go?

When a player is sick of being a substitute but wants to get into refereeing, they take their chance and accept an offer they can't refuse. A few years later and Jamie Stevenson is refereeing regularly around the country and making strides in the game. He talks to us about his journey so far, how he has recently worked hard on his fitness and the improvements it has made to his game and his as...

When you decide to stop refereeing at the age of 39 because of a heart issue, what do you do next? Feet up? Take it easy. Not Darren. Darren got out his trainers and started on a diet of half-marathons, marathons and ultras! Alongside this, Darren is an observer on the National League and chats us through the commitment needed to develop the referees of the future as well as the tips he recommends...

Following on from last week, we are joined once again by Mr Dean Whitestone - SG2 referee and Northamptonshire legend. Following on from the first part where he discussed his journey to the professional game, Dean talks about how he has stayed at the top and how he still harbours ambitions to reach the Premier League of referees. Another great listen!

Merry Christmas to you all! We have made it! Episode 50 and we are so lucky to be joined by the one and only Dean Whitestone! What a terrific episode and chat we had with this legend. 500 EFL appearances says everything you need to know but how did he get there? What can we do as match officials to achieve what Deano has? Have a listen and share your feedback!

The boys discuss all of the weekend's events including the Dalot red card and the events in Turkey that have marred football this week. They are also joined by Gavin Muge. Gavin is an ex-National League referee and EFL assistant who has recently published a book called 'My Life on the Line.' He talks about his career and how he came about getting a book deal at the first attempt! Episo...

Back again for epsiode 17 and we are joined by the one and only Mr Gary Capps. 'Cappo' is renowned across the county for his man-management and passion for football. He gives his views on how football has changed over the years and how it reflects a breakdown in society. Luke and Wayne also discuss the incidents from the weekend involving Arsenal and Liverpool and also discuss the recent e...

This week we have the pleasure of being joined by IAN RATHBONE. A legend in Northants refereeing circles, he offers advice and thoughts around being a successful match official. He delves into mindset and how that 1% can make a massive difference. You do not want to miss this episode! Ian worked his way up from playing local football to officiating in the Football League. He talks about desire, de...

Phoebe Horner followed in the footsteps of her father in taking up the whistle. Following rapid progression, she now finds herself at Level 4 on the male pathway. However, she is also smashing through the female pathway which led to refereeing in front of 6000+ spectators at AFC Bournemouth recently. Find out here what the experience was all about!

We train a lot physically but do we train mentally? We are joined for a very interesting chat by Ady Brawn, a sports psychologist who discusses what we need to do to mentally prepare for match and game situations. He offers advice on a range of different techniques that can be used to our benefit! Have a listen and let us know what you think!

What can we do about youth football and what does it take to organise everything that goes into it? We speak to club secretary Nick 'Stan' Inwood and NDYAL Referee Secretary Chris Rowland. They discuss the issues they have found within youth football and consider how they think things can be changed. We also discuss the incidents from the past week .

This week we discuss all the major incidents from the weekend and even disagree with some of them! Our special guest this week is the one and only Wayne Bright who talks us through his progression from referee to observer. What is even more special is that in between this, Wayne had a cardiac arrest and 'died' for 50 minutes. Luckily, his son and the local nurse saved his life and with the...

We are back for episode 11 and we are joined by our friends from the NPTN podcast! Sam and Jordan talk to us about football, refereeing and announce that we will be joining their new radio show on Shire Sounds! Exciting news!