Chesterfield Referee's Association

Chesterfield Referee's Association Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Referee's Association - Provide Support, Training, Development & Help for All

26/02/2026

A year ago today our world changed forever. As many of you will already know Paul had a s… Rebecca Tattersall needs your support for Derbyshire Stroke Centre

20/02/2026

👏 It’s time to recognise the people who make the game happen.

The first ever Derbyshire FA Referee Awards Night 2026 is coming soon, and nominations are officially OPEN! 🏆

We encourage all referees to take part by submitting nominations for deserving colleagues (or yourself). Grassroots referees, academy referees, assistants, volunteers, and those supporting equality and inclusion are all represented across the award categories.

Know a referee who’s gone above and beyond this season?
📘 Check out the nomination e-booklet linked below and submit your nomination today. 🔗https://www.calameo.com/esports-media/read/001230235c4aab8ed8199?authid=DX0YWvEtE2ax

Happy 84th Birthday to our very own and truly amazing Ralph Morton for today..🎂🍻Have a wonderful day our friend (hope yo...
08/02/2026

Happy 84th Birthday to our very own and truly amazing Ralph Morton for today..🎂🍻
Have a wonderful day our friend (hope your game is on!!)👍⚽️⚽️⚽️

08/02/2026

A player cannot score in the opponents’ goal IMMEDIATELY after the ball has touched their hand/arm. In this case, any touch of the ball with the hand(s) and/or arm(s) is punished as a handball offence:
➡ regardless of the player’s intention (the referee does not determine whether handling the ball was deliberate or accidental)
➡ even if the hand/arm was in a natural position (the referee does not determine whether it has made the body unnaturally bigger or not)

WHICH PARTS OF THE BODY ARE CONSIDERED?

Only contact between the ball and the hand or the arm below the bottom of the armpit is considered when judging possible handball offences.

WHAT DOES ‘IMMEDIATE’ MEAN?

‘Immediate’ should be interpreted as ‘straight away’. If the player dribbles, passes the ball and receives it back, etc., this is not considered ‘immediate’.

The only time a delay is within the ‘spirit’ of Law 12 is when the attacker immediately shoots and the ball rebounds to them from the goal/opponent, and they shoot again and score.

Example 1: An attacker accidentally touches the ball with the hand/arm, then dribbles past an opponent (by touching the ball several times) and scores.

This would not be considered ‘immediate’ (thus no handball offence).

Example 2: An attacker accidentally touches the ball with the hand/arm in the middle of the field and kicks the ball into the goal, over the opposing goalkeeper, who is far from their goal line.

The ball has travelled a long distance (thus no handball offence).

Example 3: An attacker accidentally touches the ball with the hand/arm and shoots immediately. The ball rebounds from the goalpost or is blocked/saved by a nearby defender/goalkeeper. The same attacker controls the ball and scores.

The referee should apply the ‘spirit of the Law’ and disallow the goal for a handball offence.

WHAT IS THE OUTCOME?

If the ball accidentally touches the player’s hand/arm and the same player then scores immediately with any other part of the body:
➡ in the opponents’ goal – the referee awards a direct free kick to the opposing team
➡ in their team’s own goal – the referee does not penalise the offence, plays the advantage and awards the goal

There is no disciplinary sanction for the player (as there was no attempt to score, or prevent a goal, with the hand/arm).

WHAT IF THE TEAM-MATE SCORES?

If the ball touches the player’s hand/arm:
✔ which has not made the body unnaturally bigger
✔ the contact was accidental, and
✔ the team-mate of the player then scores immediately,
this is not a handball offence under current Law 12.

08/02/2026

Food will be available from 12-2pm on Friday 6th February.

On Monday we were delighted to hold our January Meeting with a really healthy attendance… Thanks so much to everyone for...
14/01/2026

On Monday we were delighted to hold our January Meeting with a really healthy attendance… Thanks so much to everyone for coming!!

Ben and Chris kicked off the first of their Referee Development Modules designed to help and support our newer referees in their journeys.
These will continue each month.

We were then absolutely honoured to host the lovely Sarah from Ashgate Hospice who was presented with a cheque for over £1,500 by the referees of the Chesterfield and District Sunday Football League for funds raised from their initiative to support the wonderful work that the hospice does.

We then had a brilliant session from our very own Jeffrey Wheatley who ran an interactive and engaging session on Observing and Coaching which gave us a real insight and will help those on the promotion pathway.
Thank you so much Jeff 💕

Next month we have the brilliant Ruebyn Ricardo as our Guest Speaker.. you don’t want to miss this one!

Monday 2nd February 2026

Harleys bar Staveley

Development Session starts 18:15pm

Main Session 19:00pm

See you there!

Thank you to everyone that came along to our December Meeting on Monday.We were delighted to have Premier League Assista...
09/12/2025

Thank you to everyone that came along to our December Meeting on Monday.

We were delighted to have Premier League Assistant Referee Steve Meredith as our guest speaker! Steve took us through an interactive presentation on DOGSO and held an interesting Q&A session with us…We really do thank him for his time and we all really enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone for their help and support and engagement this year and we wish you all a very enjoyable and peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎄⚽️

07/12/2025

Our thoughts,prayers and love are with our friend Bob Green and his family…❤️❤️

We were absolutely delighted to have Derbyshire County FA CEO Liam Rooney present our very own Ralph Morton with his Der...
09/11/2025

We were absolutely delighted to have Derbyshire County FA CEO Liam Rooney present our very own Ralph Morton with his Derbyshire FA Award for 50 Years Service to Refereeing at our November Meeting.
Many congratulations Ralph 👏👏👏

Anyone interested contact Gaz below..
04/09/2025

Anyone interested contact Gaz below..

Address

Harley’s Hotel And Bar
Staveley
S418NZ

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