As one of the seven Counties invited to take part in The FA's Respect pilot last season, the Cheshire FA has been at the forefront of this initiative aimed at improving standards of behaviour both on and off the field.
The North West County locally launched the Respect programme in Chorlton, with local players and referees offering their support along with Keith Marsden, Chairman of the Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur Football League, Dave Edmunds, Chairman of the Cheshire FA and Trevor Massey, the Cheshire FA's Referee Development Officer.
One of the key objectives of the Respect programme is to eliminate the level of abuse experienced by referees at all levels of the game, an aim which has received support from across football.
Abuse from players and spectators is the main reason why 7,000 referees drop out each season and the significance of Respect has not been lost on Trevor.
Trevor is responsible for just under 1,000 referees in the Cheshire area and was an Assistant Referee in last season's FA Cup Final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City, so he is well placed to give his thoughts on the importance of the Respect programme.
"This programme is a massive tool in order for us to retain referees," Trevor told TheFA.com.
"In Cheshire, we don't really have a problem with recruiting referees, it's the retention of them that's the challenge. With the help of the Respect programme, if we can improve the environment that people are playing football in - and that includes referees - then they are more likely to enjoy it, which means they'll stay in the game and that's the most important thing."
Trevor regularly sees 200-300 new local referees enter the game each year, but since the Cheshire FA hosted the 10-week pilot last season, he believes the interest in refereeing has increased greatly.
"The last few Refereeing Courses we've held in Cheshire have been fully booked for four or five weeks in advance, which hasn't happened before," he explained. "I'd like to think that all the publicity surrounding Respect and the adverts in England match programmes, for example, have had a bearing on that."
The aim within Cheshire now is to get every league officially signed up to the Respect programme with each club in co-operative leagues receiving a Respect tool kit. However, Trevor explains that clubs do not necessarily have to be signed up to display improved levels of behaviour.
"I have spoken to quite a few referees since the start of the season and even though some of the leagues they officiate in haven't officially signed up to the Respect programme, the players seem to have already taken the message on board and for that to happen off their own backs is tremendous."
With years of refereeing experience at both Professional and grassroots level, what advice would Trevor offer any existing or would-be referee, bearing in mind that the Respect programme is in its infancy?
"Communication is vital. The better referees are the ones that talk to the players. It allows referees to build up a rapport with the players and gain a bit of respect.
"However, we are aware that a lot of younger referees who perhaps haven't developed life skills sometimes find it difficult to communicate. Once a league comes on board [the Respect programme], every one of the league's referees will go on a three hour workshop to offer them guidance on how best to manage the different Respect measures, for example, the captain's being responsible for the rest of the team.
"These workshops will actively encourage all referees to communicate more with players and that should help them going forward.
"At the minute, I think the mindset is that if you play football, you give the referee a bit of stick, in stark contrast to rugby league and rugby union.
"However, during the pilot last season, I saw one player in an U16 team take responsibility for his team and tell them to stop arguing with the referee, so if you use that as an example, I'm hopeful that Respect will have a huge impact."
