The Impossible Job

Booed.
Sworn at.
Spat on.
Threatened.
Accused.
Targeted.

Welcome to the world of football refereeing.

We’ve all seen referees in football games, but very few of us really know what they go through both on the pitch and once the final whistle goes.

In this eye-opening and jaw-dropping new book, journalist William Ralston interviews referees at all levels of the game – from amateur Sunday leagues right up to the bright lights of the Premier League’s top flight, Champions League clashes and even World Cups – to get the full, unvarnished truth of this essential but impossible job.

For the first time ever, Ralston shines light on the intense selection process, the brutal training regimes they have to go through and the pressures that come as you move up the ladder. Through a vast range of memorable games and a huge selection of era-defining moments, he looks at the increasing influence of VAR, the escalating demands of the game, the ways referees make their choices, the art of getting a game right and the consequences of getting it wrong. And he finally begins to understand why anyone would choose a job that – with its sacrifices, pressures, perils and even death threats – seems truly insane.

Revealing a side of the game you have never seen before, The Impossible Job is the first book to fully explore the truly unbelievable world of refereeing. You’ll never watch a game the same way again.