Capital Football Referees are made up of people who walk all different paths in life but are united by a love for the game. Currently, there are around 600 individuals in the Canberra and Capital region who contribute to the success of our junior and senior football competitions, as well as futsal competitions too!
Being a referee can be a difficult task! But being a referee can offer rewarding experiences through a wide range of development opportunities, as well as the chance to make new friends.
Thomas Gellatly is one of Capital Football’s National Premier League (NPL) referees, who has committed himself to ensuring that football games continue to operate as smoothly and fair possible. While he may be refereeing some of the state’s top competitors now, his journey started almost ten years ago at the age of 13.
“I’ve been a referee since 2015, so this will have been my tenth season,” Gellatly shared. “I was encouraged to get into it because I was going to my sister’s games down at Mawson and they always needed people to run the line.
“I was fascinated by the referee and their role, so I stuck my hand up every time to run the line, calling the ins and outs, goal kicks and what not, and I just loved doing that. So, when I turned 13 or 14, I signed up to do my game leaders course and did my level four upgrade in the same year.”
For anyone who might be considering a career as a referee but might not know where to start, Tom shared the process he went through that kickstarted his journey.
“You get started by signing up online, there are courses on the Capital Football website,” he said. “In the referee’s section, there are a bunch of courses that run mainly at the start of the year.
“You sign up for a game leader course or a level four referee course, then go out for a day to learn all about the laws of the game, get run through a few practical drills, then you get to go out to your junior clubs or state league and give it a go!”
In the last ten seasons, Tom has gained copious amounts of experience that led him to the position as an NPL referee for the Canberra and NSW competitions. Some of the experiences that he highlighted involve the Kanga Cup, where in his second year was named junior referee of the tournament, which shaped him into the referee that we see today.
“It was really valuable to attend the Kanga Cup and events like that,” he said. “More experience dealing with people; players, coaches, officials, that exposure really helped at tournaments like the Kanga Cup. I was also a part of the Capital Football Referee Academy as well, which was helpful because it allowed me to get national exposure.
“From the academy I was selected to go to the National Youth Championships, I went to that twice in 2018 and 2019. From then I was selected to referee for the Foxtel Youth League, known now as the National Youth League, which my first exposure to refereeing at the national level.”
After all these years, it is interesting to hear what it is about the position that keeps Tom coming back season after season.
“It’s just a love for the game,” Tom stated. “I love watching football, I love being involved, I used to play and always wanted to be a part of that. As well as the people involved. I’ve got a great network of friends in the community which always keeps me coming back.
“Just being able to go out and referee with your mates and do something as a team to achieve an outcome which is favourable for the people involved and just referee what’s in front of you, it’s almost like a cognitive exercise.
“You have to know the book inside out and then you go out there and apply the laws as you know it to what you’re seeing and it presents a challenge, no game is ever the same.”
Tom also shared one simple piece of advice for anyone who may be considering getting involved…
“Just give it a go!” he exclaimed. “People don’t know the difficulty in refereeing until they have actually done it. There is a bit of sympathy there for people who have done it and tried, and respect to those people who have tried and decided it wasn’t for them!
“So, all I would say is just give it a go! It’s all about changing perspective and bettering people’s knowledge on of laws of the game, as well as develops people’s understanding of what football is really about.”
Words: Kate Reedy
