How an application helped Breton arbitration to reach its referee record in 2024

Vor. These three letters succeeded in revitalizing Breton arbitration in barely four years. Signs and flyers, originally blue or pink but often personalized in club colors, have flourished in the region’s clubhouses. With, in the back of my mind, the objective of recruiting new referees. To do this, simply scan the QR code on the poster, enter your contact details and answer a series of nine questions with a barometer from one, the most interested, to nine, the least interested: does being a referee correspond to my vision of football? To play better, I would like to know the laws of the game? Does deciding, managing, ordering suit me?

Then, the action begins: analysis of the responses, making contact, explanations… “I received around 45 requests,” explains Pierre Larvor, work-study student in charge of the development of arbitration at AS Dirinon. (29), club of 280 licensees. I then contacted the profiles that stood out and invited them to a short meeting in the presence of the parents. And four young girls went to referee training in Ploufragan.”

Thanks to this system, Brittany had 1,736 referees in June 2024, a record. “It’s difficult to say that a referee was recruited by the Vor because there are other parameters,” describes Jonathan Tribodet, regional technical advisor in arbitration (CTRA) at the Ligue de Bretagne. But last year, we recruited 550 referees, or 150 more than in previous years. Some clubs have recruited up to four. In two years (March 2022 – March 2024), the number of clubs in violation has been halved (from 289 to 146).” This season, 360 clubs (out of nearly 950) are participating in Operation Vor, “including the majority of National and Regional clubs, but also D1 and D2,” explains Jonathan Tribodet.

ES Thorigné-Fouillard (35), with around 400 members, had not had a referee for around ten years while the arbitration statutes required two, including an adult. In violation, this represented a damage of 720 euros fine per year. When the club discovered the device, it adopted it. Jérémy Golinval distributed as many flyers as possible, even going so far as to hold office hours in shopping malls. With 300 responses, the one who combines the roles at the ESTF has found three new referees and the club is no longer in violation. “It also changes at the transferee level. We go from three to six possible. The club has projects and that leaves freedom on a sporting level,” adds Jérémy Golinval, who followed the referees in the first matches and promotes them, particularly on social networks. “They are important!” We took care of all their training, they intervene during the internships…”

“The referees cover the club, but what does that mean? »

Dirinon did not wait to react. After the loss of several referees, management chose to focus on refereeing. And don’t plan to stop there. Between two training sessions, in the cold and rain of Finistère, Karine Kerdraon, the president of AS Dirinon, says: “We worked on fair play, respect. Respect for the referee was associated with it. This is a message that we send in the football section and at the tournament (Dirinon international, for the U11s and the U13s). These operations raise awareness among everyone at the club. We do not take enough consideration of the role of referees. They cover the club, but what does that mean? We must integrate them into club life. They’re not just add-ons to check a box. And if things don’t live well around the pitches during the weekend, at the level of players, managers and parents, we are not moving in the right direction. But it can’t be done in 15 days. It took us at least three years to anchor this mentality. And it’s not over yet. » Now, the Finistère club has five referees despite the cessation of two of the four young people recruited thanks to Vor.

In the middle of a physical session, Camille, 15, proudly wears her sky blue outfit from the District of Finistère. The one who “answered the questionnaire without knowing that it concerned refereeing” represented Dirinon with conviction on the pitch on Saturday. “I started with the Dirinon tournament, then the U13, U14 and U15, girls and boys, trace the one who continues to play in parallel. When I started, I didn’t really know where I was going. I was afraid of the reactions but with training, I learned that in all cases, the players will complain. I used to be super shy. Now I find that I dare more, especially in class. I took out insurance. »

Enough to continue for a long time. After recruitment, the League of Brittany is tackling a new issue: loyalty. “We managed to find arbitrators but the problem is keeping them,” summarizes Alain Léauté, president of the Regional Arbitration Commission. All studies show that we lose the majority of new employees within the first two years. » The regional body is conducting its own study on the promotion of February 2024. And will still have to find solutions.