An Initiative that Virtually Suppresses Referee Abuse

Imagine a D-7 initiative for young referees to wear conspicuous colored shirts to act as a visual reminder resulting in a paradigm shift in adult behavior.

Young referees have started wearing purple shirts in a bid to cut out the verbal abuse they often get. The initiative by the Cheltenham Youth Football League puts referees aged 18 and under in brightly colored shirts, to act as a visual deterrent.

“They see we’re kids and we’re not going to get everything right,” said one young referee.

The Cheltenham Youth Football League reported that, “Abuse has dropped from seven incidents last season to just one incident this season!”

The following flyer is used to educate and remind everyone of this initiative…