Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher hosted a referee masterclass for the media at St Georges Park, Burton.
With officials under increasing scrutiny at all levels, the newly formed FA Carlsberg Referee Awards have been set up to highlight the great work that is done by referees from grassroots level all the way to the top flight.
The FA opened its doors at St Georges Park to put on a special training session for the journalists, hosted by Gallagher and PGMO Coach Steve Dunn, both former Premier League referees.
The day began in the classroom with an introduction to refereeing and overview of National Referee Development Programme and Carlsberg Awards.
This was followed by an interactive session on the challenges which referees face on the pitch and the skills they require to succeed at their job.
And after a lively Q&A session, the group were then taken to the outside pitches for a practical session.
Gallagher, who refereed at the top level in England for 17 years, said: “The aim was to showcase the work that referees go through to get up to optimum fitness, be at the top of their game to make decisions in an instant, and to explain the work they do in the classroom to improve their understanding and decision-making within the game.
"It is not easy being a referee with the scrutiny they face today and it can be a lonely job.
"I believe the formation of The FA Carlsberg Referee Awards, which will reward the work of referees up and down the country at a regional and national level, will help inspire current referees to stick with their profession and attract new candidates to become involved in our profession.”
Dunn added: “We are keen to highlight the work that goes on behind the scenes with referee coaching and development in this country.
"The aim of The FA Carlsberg Referee Awards is for the public and media to get a better understanding and appreciate refereeing at all levels.
"There is a huge amount of work being done by The FA in helping to develop our referees and today’s session has hopefully highlighted that.”
