THE Vale of Glamorgan Referee Society is offering football clubs the opportunity to be fully prepared in new law changes ahead of the new season.

Members of the society will run workshops on law changes and, most importantly, the interpretations for any team who would like to know more.

The society decided to offer their services after they noted how exceptional the refereeing had been in the Euro Championships tournament.

The UEFA referees in the tournament are controlled by Pierluigi Collina the former World Cup Final referee.

Collina, as a referee, was extremely meticulous in his preparation and has brought this to the table for the championships. Collina was always well prepared by ensuring he knew the players names, nicknames, any previous issues between players and teams - including supporters - extending this to the coaches. He has ensured this has become an important factor in the Euros' which has ensured minimal sending offs and cautions allowing play to continue dismissing the theatrics by players.

Vale of Glamorgan Referees Society secretary Terry Allday said: "I have been refereeing for 30 years and a referees preparation has changed hugely over the seasons. When I began we were always informed 'treat every game as if it was a Wembley Final' and 'always referee the teams as if it was the first time you have refereed them'. That was probably fine at that period but now we are in a different century.

"In the 1980s there was no internet, league tables were published monthly (at best) and the only real information was if the referee had previously officiated a game with any of the teams involved.

"Knowledge is power, as the phrase goes, but in refereeing terms knowledge can be the difference of controlling a game well or having a disaster. Whether the game is the title decider, relegation battle, if they had a previous incident last time the teams met gives the referee an insight to how the game could go. I say could as everything may go well but at least the referee will have the awareness on how to control the game beforehand.

"I recall a game a few seasons ago on the Welsh League in the FAW Cup at Cardiff's Athletic Stadium. I was unaware of any issue until the home coach brought in the team sheet and casually mentioned that the clubs had met the previous week in the league and there was an alleged 'racist incident' at the end of the game. It was something I was unaware of however it gave me the pre-match knowledge and the opportunity of ensuring any possible incident could be nipped in the bud before any possible flare-up. As it happened both teams were excellent on the day".

With that in mind the society wants to prepare teams for the new season law changes and the interpretations, which were evident in the France versus the Republic of Ireland match.

Shane Duffy was sent off for a foul on Antoine Griezmann. The foul occurred just outside the penalty area and Duffy was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

However should the offence had been a few yards further forward inside the penalty area then Duffy would've only been cautioned and a penalty awarded.

If your football team would like to take part in a workshop run by VoGRS then contact them via email at vogrs@hotmail.co.uk or visit their website pitchero.com/clubs/valeofglamorganrefereessociety