OT: Italian Football Referees Banned From Using Social Media
 

For your Saturday morning reading: Channel4 reports that the new President of the Referees’ Assocation in Italy wants to stop officials from participating in conversations on social networking sites and message boards, and refrain themselves from blogging. The President in question, Marcello Nicchi, was only elected to the position last month and one of his first moves was the release of a list of “rules for privacy and institutional communication protocols.”

In Italy, it’s generally forbidden for football (that would be soccer) referees to make any public statements in the media even after a game has finished. The memo presumably simply wants to make it clear to the officials what the Association understands ‘media’ to encompass, so it included a detailed list of what they should be avoiding. Literally, the message translates as: “referees are barred from making statements in public including via email, their own websites, mailing lists, forums, blogs or discussion groups such as Facebook and similar systems.” Officials who break the rules will be deferred to the Disciplinary Commission.

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Italian Football Referees Banned From Using Social Media

Should sports officials blog about specifics of the games? hmm...No.

I think the game should be left on the court. HOWEVER, if a sports official wants to talk about plays during a game without bringing in player/team names (etc...), it should be allowed. I use this site as a resource all the time and it have furthered my officiating knowledge greatly.

-Josh

I vote yes, as long as all identifying names/places, etc. are withheld from the blog. In fact, here's one that I read regularly: Illegal Screen

Who started this thread?! I opened it thinking it was a thread about an actual sport, football, and find it is just about that other so-called Euro-activity. :D

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)—The owner of FC Arges and the head of Romania’s referee committee have been arrested on bribery charges related to match fixing.
FC Arges’ Cornel Penescu and referee chief Gheorghe Constantin were taken into custody Tuesday for 29 days pending an investigation in the southern city of Pitesti, where FC Arges is located, following a day of questioning by anti-corruption prosecutors.
The two face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of paying or receiving bribes.
An investigation that began in 2008 alleged that Penescu paid sums ranging from $3,980 to $71,675 to four Romanian clubs to fix matches in FC Arges’ favor, Pro Sport newspaper reported.

Scrapper, I particularly liked this line from the blog..... "Meanwhile, I'll run and walk along a nearby semi-desolate route I've found, looking to see whether anyone's watching and then calling fouls and violations on flowers."

Practice, practice, practice!

Scrap, any others you can recommend?

Here's the most exciting one I've found. It'll really get your heart pumping!

the dullest blog in the world

I've done this more times than I care to count. :)

Sorry, Amesman, that's the only one I read regularly. And the only reason that I even know of it is that the blogger used to be a regular poster to this forum. I don't even know of any other basketball officiating blogs. Sorry :o