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The same model can be applied for referee assessors and instructors (see below).
Having the title on the badge will clearly indicate the role of the match official, while the year of registration will confirm that the match official is registered for the current year. The registration year within the provincial associations shall also be changed to the calendar year to coincide with the registration year used by FIFA and CSA. Every referee and assistant referee will have to get a new badge for the current year, which will provide extra funds for referee development programs.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has been publicly voicing support for video replay since last year, and in July he offered his first hint that the technology might actually be used in MLS competition. �We spoke to the board [of governors] about how instant replay might work. We think it can work, we�d love to see it work,� Garber said on television at half-time of the MLS All-Star Game. �We�ve got to talk to US Soccer, we�ve got to talk to FIFA, we�ve got to make sure the technology works, but you should know that MLS is a supporter of the idea.� The reaction from fans was instant and the underlying tone from critics was that it would ruin the game. Soccer doesn�t have enough stoppages and video review would add delays, some said. The human element in game decisions is what makes soccer special, others said. But MLS executives disagree. They have been quietly running trials for the past two seasons through Real Salt Lake, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Philadelphia Union � and the data proves video replay can work, according to Jeff Agoos, the head of competition for MLS.

The trials focus on using video replay for three types of calls: red cards, penalty kicks and goals. For each of these decision moments, there tends to be about one minute from whistle to whistle between when play stops and restarts, giving video replay booth officials �ample time to provide information to the referee before play had restarted,� Agoos said. A decision can usually be made within 20 seconds, leaving another 40 seconds for communication to the referee. �When you think about it, the officials are the ones in the stadiums that have the least amount of information of anyone there,� Agoos told the Guardian. �The fans can literally click on their iPhone and within 30 seconds get a replay of the event. The officials don�t have that technology, and that makes no sense. They should have the ability to get more information to make a decision.� There are plenty of models in American sports for MLS to follow � every major American sport includes a video replay system for referees. MLS officials have spoken to the NHL about their operation, where a central hub in Toronto remotely reviews all games live to assist officiating. Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter last year suggested coaches could have a limited number of challenges available where they could interrupt play and request a video review, but MLS and others seeking to implement video replay want a behind-the-scenes approach that will have a less obvious impact on the game.

A hallmark of many classic, memorable soccer games is controversy. Whether bad calls, no-calls or the handling of a particular situation, referees affect soccer matches in ways they arguably don�t in other sports. In short, referees add drama. So, would soccer lose some of what makes it so attractive if referees got all their calls correct? Seattle Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey doesn�t think so. Lagerwey was Real Salt Lake�s GM last year during their video replay trials and said controversy comes from the human element, which still exists in the proposed MLS video replay system. �The calls are still going to be controversial. If the referee makes a call and he�s reversed, it�s still going to be a talking point, right?� Lagerwey told the Guardian. �He still will have made the decision, and the additional talking point becomes: did the replay guys get it right?� Unlike goal-line technology, which uses electronic devices to detect the placement of the ball over the line, instant replay relies on human interpretation of video. The people reviewing video would communicate their findings to the referee, who still has the ultimate decision-making power. During the trials in MLS, the former referees supplied by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) to staff video replay booths have not had contact with referees, but if a trial is approved for use in competition, Agoos said MLS wants that communication to be limited in its scope. �We would want the video assessor to provide fact-based information rather than opinion,� he said. �Studs up, the foul was committed inside the penalty box, and so on. If the referee wants opinion, he can ask for it, but what we really want is facts given to the referee because the referee ultimately is still the arbiter of the decision.� Video replay would also be used relatively infrequently on plays other than goals. In MLS, penalty kicks occur at a rate of less than one per every other game, Agoos said. Red cards are shown at a similarly infrequent rate. There is the possibility referees would blow their whistle more often in certain situations to trigger a replay, but that won�t be an option in most situations. That means that most decisions will still be open to the interpretation of referees on the field, even with a video replay system � and that is by design to avoid �re-refereeing� matches. �Video technology should be there to enhance the decision-making that we see happening from week to week,� PRO chief Peter Walton told the Guardian. �It is not there to referee the game and it is not there to re-referee the game. I think it will enhance the reputation of referees because people will actually see how many decisions that referees get right the first time.� It is perhaps a rare occurrence when referees and coaches agree with one another, but support for video replay comes from both sides in MLS. �We haven�t done an official survey [of clubs in MLS], but I can tell you that sitting here on a Monday or Tuesday when clubs call me and complain about a bad call, it is in the best interest of the game to do this,� Agoos said. �We�ll get more decisions right, we�ll have fewer angry calls on Monday and Tuesday, and we�ll have happier coaches.� A sampling of interviews conducted by the Guardian suggests cautious but widespread support from club officials and coaches around the league, who all said they favor the use of video replay if it doesn�t disrupt the flow of the game. For PRO, support for video replay comes from wanting to provide referees with more tools and more information. A video replay system is not an indictment of how well MLS referees do their jobs, Walton said. �What this does is it enhances the referee�s ability,� he said. �What we�ve seen is, the vast majority of the times, the referee is actually proven to be correct. So it�s just a second set of eyes that will support what the referee has given. I don�t see this as a reflection on poor decisions that�s been given, I see this as a reflection of good decisions that are supported by the use of video technology.� A US Soccer spokesman said PRO is taking the lead on this issue and added: �In general, US Soccer is supportive of any efforts that could be beneficial to referees.� As much as PRO and MLS may want to implement a video replay system, they can�t do it without the blessing of FIFA, which has previously been resistant to introducing new technologies. A spokeswoman for FIFA directed the Guardian to the Laws of the Game, which only permit referees to reverse a decision after conferring with assistant referees on the field. The laws are overseen by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which has authority from FIFA. �This is where I think FIFA is getting held up: they want to have some sort of calibration from MLS to Premier League to La Liga to Serie A so that everyone is doing it the exact same way,� Agoos said. �That way, if you go to see an Italian game, their process is the same as MLS.� MLS has some help in convincing the FIFA juggernaut � the Dutch Football Association has been on its own mission to introduce video replay to its league games. They gave a presentation on video replay to the IFAB in February and the committee asked the Dutch to continue gathering data and present again in February 2016. Advisory panels for the IFAB will discuss video replay in October before presenting information to the full IFAB in November. Agoos and Walton traveled to the Netherlands to evaluate their trial replay system and provide support to Dutch authorities. Agoos said MLS is happy to work with the Dutch federation directly and share findings from their trials to present to FIFA together. The fact that FIFA and the IFAB have asked for more information about the video replay trials without ending discussion on the issue is an encouraging sign that they can be persuaded to support it, Walton said. But the process is a slow one. The soonest the Laws of the Game are scheduled to be under consideration for amendments is in March, according to a FIFA spokeswoman. Walton and Agoos said they hope to have approval to begin using video replay in live competition next year, whether it�s in MLS or at another level, like the lower-division United Soccer League. If FIFA wants a competition to be the guinea pig for video replay, MLS has volunteered. �My hope is that FIFA will give a competition the mandate to run a trial and MLS have already raised their hand to say �Yes, we want to be that competition�,� Walton said. �I�d like to think that somewhere during the course of next season, we will see video technology being used in limited capacity in some professional soccer in North America�.

The Canadian Soccer Association announced the appointment of Isaac Raymond, FIFA Futuro III referee instructor and national assessor, as the new Manager of its Referee Department, effective immediately.

In this role, Raymond will have the responsibility of working with the Provincial and Territorial Associations to manage the implementation of a development plan for Canadian match officials that will focus on delivering excellence at all levels of the game. He will be instrumental in devising and delivering a clear pathway for match officials� development that compliments and is aligned with the Canada Soccer Player Pathway. �Anyone who has met Isaac is aware of his dedication to the training and mentoring of match officials from grassroots to national/international levels�, said Tony Fonseca, Technical Director, Canada Soccer. �We are in capable hands as our Referee Department continues the task, in partnership with our Provincial and Territorial Member Associations, of elevating our match officials across the country to their peak potential�. Before joining Canada Soccer, in addition to being a FIFA Futuro III referee technical and fitness instructor and national assessor, Raymond has served as District Referee Coordinator for the Toronto Soccer Association and was in charge of the Ontario Soccer Association�s Advanced Referee Training Program. He has also been a national assistant referee between 2005 and 2008 and participated in National Championships, CSL, CIS, CCAA, MLS Reserves and international friendly matches throughout his career. Raymond will be based out of Canada Soccer office in Toronto. 

Canadian Amato DeLuca was assigned to assess the men�s final of the 2015 Pan American Games. DeLuca, third from the left, is pictured with match commissioner Jesus Pereira (CUB), AR1 Frank Anderson (USA), referee Oscar Reyna (GUA), 4th official Javier Santos (PUR), AR2 Jairo Morales (PUR) and CONCACAF administrator Victor Estrada (SLV).

As part of the partnership between the French Football Federation and the Quebec Soccer Federation, the Technical Department of Refereeing invited two high-level assistant referees from Quebec (Richard Gamache and Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho), who officiate in the MLS ( Major League Soccer), to participate at the national camp for referees and assistants officiating in Ligue 2. Integrated in preparation within the group of French group referees, they had the opportunity to referee the friendly match between the professional clubs Troyes and Orleans with Stephanie Frappart as the central referee, the latter being back in France after her participation at the FIFA Women's World Cup held in Canada. 

The Professional Football League and Montreal Impact announced that Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais will compete for the 2015 Champions Trophy at the Saputo Stadium in Montreal, on Saturday, 1 August 2015. The Champions Trophy is traditionally played between the champions of France�s Ligue 1 and the winner of the Coupe de France. If the same team wins both competitions, the regulation provides that the match oppose the champions of Ligue 1 to the club who finished second in the championship of France. Paris Saint-Germain, France champion of Ligue 1 for the 2014-15 season and winner of the Coupe de France 2015, will be opposed to Olympique Lyonnais, who finished second in the championship. 

The Champions Trophy was established in 1995 and was played in France until 2009, when Girondins Bordeaux beat Guingamp 2-0 in Montreal. After two editions in North America (Montreal, 2009, New York 2012), three in Africa (Tunis, 2010, Tangier, 2011, Libreville, 2013) and one in Asia (Beijing 2014), the LFP has decided to organize the Champions Trophy for the second time in Montreal. As in almost every edition, a referee crew from the host country has been appointed to officiate the Champions Trophy. After Steven DePiero in 2009, Mathieu Bourdeau (photo) will be the second Canadian referee to lead a Champions Trophy. Born in 1980, Mathieu Bourdeau is a FIFA referee since this year. He will be assisted by Daniel Belleau, FIFA assistant referee since 2007, and Richard Gamache. Francis Latullipe will be the fourth official. Note that Mathieu Bourdeau was fourth official for the Champions Trophy in 2009, while Daniel Belleau was an assistant referee in that match.

Chenard was among the candidates placed on a provisional list of 2015 World Cup referees three years ago. Following �training camps� in May 2014 in Switzerland and in February in Portugal, the international governing body for soccer included her and Michelle Pye of Kamloops, B.C., among 29 referees assigned to the competition scheduled for Ottawa and five other cities between June 6 and July 5. Marie-Jos�e Charbonneau of Mascouche, Que., and Suzanne Morisset of Beauport, Que., are among 44 assistant referees. All of them attended a late April camp in Switzerland, where the agenda included fitness testing, on-field technical sessions and instruction on the goal-line technology that will be used during the World Cup. The three Canadians, plus a fourth official from this country, worked together in a United States-New Zealand �friendly� at St. Louis on April 4, but there�s no guarantee Chenard, Charbonneau and Morisset will collaborate during the World Cup. Nor are they assured of more than one assignment each. As Canadians, they won�t officiate games involving the home team. As well, it�s likely they�ll have to watch from the stands for matches involving sister CONCACAF sides from the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica. Then there�s performance. Officials will be graded during each match and subsequent assignments will be based on those assessments. No assignments will be disclosed until 48-72 hours before each match commences. Chenard worked four games during the 2011 World Cup in Germany, and she called the Germany-Nigeria finals of the past two Under-20 World Cup tournaments, including last year in Montreal. �My goal is to not give them a reason to not give me another game, to perform and make sure that it�s not because of something I did on the field or something that I can control that is the reason I don�t get another game,� she says. �I just make sure I�m prepared.� The daughter of international speed skating officials and a former competitor in that sport, soccer, basketball and volleyball, Chenard now puts her McGill University PhD in microbiology and immunology to good use for Health Canada. Despite recently moving into a new position, she had to book herself off work between May 27, start of another pre-tournament camp at Vancouver, and one day after the July 5 final in that B.C. city. There are interim �release dates� as some officials return home to mirror a reduced number of teams still competing for the World Cup trophy. �You never know until 24 hours before, when they announce who�s staying and who�s going, and that�s maybe a difficult part of it because (only) some of it you can control,� Chenard says. �The better the Canadian women�s soccer team does, the less opportunity I have nearing the end of the tournament.� Last year�s Under-20 World Cup marked Chenard�s third Under-20 World Cup, starting with 2008 in Chile. She was also on the roster of officials for 2012 London Olympic soccer and assorted other national and international championships. As for Women�s World Cups opportunities, however, all that remain are this year in Canada and, perhaps 2019 in France. After that, Chenard will be past the age limit of 45 for international-level soccer referees. �Right now I�m having fun, I�m enjoying it,� she says. �My goal is the next World Cup. I�ll look at it after, but I don�t foresee stopping any time in the near future, unless something happens. Right now I�m enjoying myself and I�ll be as ready as I can be�.

The 2015 CSA Annual Meeting of the Members concluded with the Annual Banquet marking the celebration of Canadian soccer and the achievements of its participants over the previous year. 

The 2015 International Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding work as an active referee or assistant referee within his/her provincial/territorial and/or national association and become a leader and an example to his/her fellow referees prior to as well as during the five years that his/her name appeared on FIFA�s List of Match Officials, was presented to Joe Fletcher (photo). While officiating at the London Olympics would be the pinnacle of most referees� careers, for this CA, a soccer official who has done high-level competition since receiving his FIFA assistant referee�s badge in 2007, London represented a stepping stone to his ultimate goal: working the pitch in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. From refereeing house league soccer in Niagara Falls, ON, when he was a teenager to working at some of the largest stages in the game, including the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup final in Colombia. In 2014, he participated in the FIFA World Cup and closed out the year by being appointed to the MLS Cup Final.
The 2015 Ray Morgan Award, presented to the referee whose performance at the national and international level is the most deserving of recognition for the year, was presented to Marie-Jos�e Charbonneau. In 2010, she made her debut on the National List of Officials. Within two years, she had been appointed to the FIFA International list of Officials. During her rookie year, she officiated at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In only a short period of 5 years officiating nationally and internationally, she has been appointed to three CONCACAF tournaments and one FIFA competition, including the finals at three of those four events. Charbonneau will also represent Canada on the international stage again this summer as part of the Canadian quartet to officiate at the FIFA Women�s World Cup Canada 2015.

The Awards Ceremony concluded with the introduction of three new Life Members recognised for their outstanding service, commitment and overall contribution to Canadian soccer: Sonia Denoncourt, Colin Jose and Richard Labrom. Since 1978, Sonia Denoncourt has been a pioneer in the field of refereeing and has written her name into Quebec, Canadian and international soccer history. She was the first female referee to obtain her FIFA international badge, as well as the first female referee to officiate an A-League game in 1991. She became FIFA's first female referee and was the first woman to referee men's first division matches, in El Salvador in 1996, and then in Brazil in 1997. Before her retirement in July 2004, Denoncourt was the only referee in Canada, either male or female, to have officiated in 100 international matches. She later went on to become FIFA referee instructor, Head of FIFA women�s referee development and has recently came back to the region as CONCACAF�s Director of Refereeing.

Source: cbc.ca

It started 17 years ago with a newspaper ad in Kamloops. The story of Michelle Pye�s refereeing journey will reach its zenith at the 2015 FIFA Women�s World Cup. �It was the epitome of my goal, of all these hundreds of hours that I�ve spent, and all the sacrifices that my family makes for me to be able to do this,� Pye said. �The chance to achieve a World Cup is such a faraway dream. It�s so cool to actually get that opportunity.� The Beautiful Game�s 24-country summit runs from June 6 to July 5 in Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. Pye, 36, and 38-year-old Carol Anne Chenard of Ottawa are the two Canadians among the 29 referees appointed to the tournament by FIFA�s Referees Committee, which picks only the best of the bunch from across the globe to work the World Cup.

The River City ref didn�t pick up a whistle until she was a 19-year-old student at the University College of the Cariboo, when her mother saw the newspaper ad recruiting officials to take a certification course. Working in the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association ranks seemed like a nice way to earn some extra coin, to help pay tuition. It turned out to be a lot more than that. Pye has climbed the officiating ladder, juggling duties with her family � a husband, a three-year-old daughter and 20-month-old twin boys � and her job as a teacher in Vancouver while honing her craft. �To get here after so many people thought there was no chance.. like, �You�ve had twins. You had to lose 60 pounds. How can you possibly do this?� Pye said. �There is no other female international referee in the world that has three kids.� Pye�s husband, Alain Ruch, is a former all-Canadian soccer player with the UCC Sun Demons and a national-calibre soccer official. Thoughts of calling games at the highest level became more realistic when Pye refereed at the under-17 women�s World Cup in New Zealand in 2008. In 2010, she worked the under-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago and was appointed to officiate at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Last year, she was part of the crew at the under-20 women�s World Cup in Canada. After giving birth to twins, Pye took extended leave following her allotted maternity absence from Handsworth secondary in North Vancouver to ensure she could remain in peak physical condition this year while taking care of three children. There was still another roadblock in her way - Chenard, Canada�s ace women�s soccer referee, who already has World Cup and Olympic experience under her belt. �Carol Anne is excellent. If they were ever going to appoint two referees from the same country, though, this would be the time. But, there weren�t any favours done because Canada is hosting,� said Pye, one of four female international soccer referees in the nation. �We�re up against the exact same standards of all the referees in the world.� Those standards are exceptionally high. The list of 44 potential World Cup referees was released in December and each of them flew to Portugal in February for sprint, endurance and agility testing. They met minimum-requirement benchmarks or they left their dreams in Faro. FIFA trimmed the list to 29 after the Portugal camp, but the monitoring had just begun. Each referee is required to download and complete six training sessions each week, recording their results using Polar watches and uploading them for review by FIFA. One of those sessions must be a match. Pye patrols the pitch during men�s and women�s soccer games on weekends in Vancouver. The officials will gather again in Zurich for fitness testing, blood work, technical sessions and video analysis that begin on April 18 and wraps up on April 24. Ten days before the World Cup kicks off, there will be one final seminar in Vancouver, where the list of 29 referees will be cut down to 22, with the remaining seven to act as fourth officials at the tournament. �However I can be there, I�ll be totally satisfied with that,� Pye said. �After having the twins, feeling like all you do is change diapers and wipe noses all day long, it�s an achievement.� As for the pressure of officiating at a World Cup on home soil, Pye acknowledged it will be immense. �There are 40-plus cameras around the field watching every decision we make and we sit in a room after the game with 40-plus referees analyzing the clips and picking them apart,� Pye said. �We�re used to the pressure. Of course, you don�t want to make mistakes in your own country, but I don�t want to make mistakes in any country.� What Pye decides to do on July 6, a day after the World Cup final at BC Place Stadium, is a matter she will have to discuss with Alain. �With the kids, it�s hard for me to have to ask my husband to hold the fort down while I�m off chasing my dreams around the world,� Pye said. �But, you know, the Olympics are in 2016 � and that�s not too far away.� The all-female officials list for the 2015 World Cup features representatives from 49 countries. There are 44 assistant referees, including two from Canada � 32-year-old Marie-Josee Charbonneau of Mascouche, Que., and 30-year-old Suzanne Morisset of Beauport, Que. Referees are not paid by the game at the World Cup, according to Pye. They receive a per diem each day of the 29-day competition, plus a tournament-bonus fee. Pye is not certain, but she expects the referees� per diem to be about $100 per day. 

FIFA is pleased to confirm Hawk-Eye as the official goal-line technology (GLT) provider for the FIFA Women�s World Cup Canada 2015, which kicks off in Edmonton on 6 June 2015. It will mark the first time that GLT has featured at the pinnacle event for women�s football and follows the successful implementation of the technology at the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup and three FIFA Club World Cups. The decision comes after a tender process announced in December 2014, when interested FIFA-licensed GLT providers were invited to join an inspection visit to each of the venues in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg.